Of course readers do indeed vote with their feet and wallets. But it's not a case of losing touch with target markets - quite the opposite in fact. The dwindling market for print media means that (as I mentioned previously) style and content has to broaden to suit what is perceived to be the main market. That's why it's no longer possible to produce magazines that cater for the more esoteric interests of people such as yourself (and myself!). It's not laziness, it's more a case of survival in a very harsh marketplace.
I agree that it's rather shabby to simply increase advertising space to compensate for dwindling sales, but that's something that others would have to justify. I don't think that's something that Aeroplane Monthly could be accused of in any case. In the case of Aeroplane's special magazines, the advertising content is virtually zero, so that in terms of actual written and illustrative content they are excellent value for money, even though the cover price is higher than a standard monthly.
But the fundamental problem isn't any lack of standards on the part of publishers, it's the destructive nature of the internet. The web gives us so much as consumers but for print publishing it's poisonous. Obviously it's difficult to compete with an on-line source that costs nothing to produce, and isn't affected even if only a dozen people read it.
Having said all that, there's always value in telling publishers and magazine editors what they want. Obviously there can never be any promise that one's wishes will be translated into reality but unless the wishes are expressed, publishers don't know. No matter how many surveys and market research projects are conducted, nobody has the power of telepathy (as far as I'm aware!) so - as a colleague once told me - if you don't ask you don't get
