The news was of the sort that just several years ago would have shocked many, word that Condé Nast was folding House & Garden, the 100-plus-year-old shelter title.

But in these far tougher times, last week's news was not such a shock after all, as just the most recent in a line of closings that have beset the magazine industry.

That's certainly the take of media planners and buyers in a survey last week by Media Life. While media people continue to hold a deep regard for magazines, as revealed in a succession of Media Life stories and polls, they are ever mindful of the challenges facing publishers.

There is the sense that more titles will fold, though perhaps not in the huge numbers some people think.

Media Life asked readers: Were you surprised when Condé Nast announced that it was shuttering House & Garden?

A goodly share were, some 39 percent of respondents, agreeing with the statement: "Yes. I know Condé Nast closed Cargo awhile back, but I don't think of it as a publishing house that would give up on a title as esteemed as H&G. Times have changed."

But a slightly larger number were not. Some 46 percent agreed with this statement: "Not really. You never knows these days who's in trouble and who's not. There are so many different ways to make magazines look stronger than they are."

But then again, only a small share think a flood of closing is upon us. Just 15 percent agreed with the statement: "We're heading into a period of severe shakeout. More titles will go. Smart publishers are moving to shed their losers before losses pile up."

What categories of magazines are most in danger?

In the minds of media people, newsmagazines are way out ahead. Well over a third, 39 percent, picked newsmagazines. Next, at 17 percent, come the teen titles, which have already seen several closings.

In third, at 9 percent, are the celebrity titles, a category many believe is way overcrowded, and tied for fourth, at 8.5 percent, are business and general interest magazines.

All the remaining categories--fashion, sports, women's service, parenting, travel, men's, shelter and beauty--came in well below, suggesting they face little risk of major closings.

The results of that question raise another often-asked question: Just how at risk are the newsweeklies these days?

The question: Do you see any of them being folded in the near future?

A respectable number, 35 percent, thought not, agreeing with this statement: "No. There's still a demand on the part of advertisers, and readers continue to subscribe. Enough already."

But a larger share, 65 percent, saw a shakeout coming.

Some 45 percent of respondents agreed with the statement: "Yes. And the weakest of the big three will go, U.S. News & World Report. Mort Zuckerman cannot continue to dump millions into it each year without any hope in sight."

Just 20 percent saw The Week as the title most likely to fold, agreeing with the statement: "The Week will go. It's a come-lately from Brit Felix Dennis, and it has not really caught on here."

Upon seeing the Media Life survey, Steven Kotok, general manager of The Week, wrote in to challenge the suggestion that the magazine has not caught on. Writes Kotok: "The Week is profitable and has seen circulation percentage growth of double digits for eight consecutive ABC periods. Over the last five years, no magazine in our category has shown faster circulation growth, with only The Economist achieving even half our growth."

Media Life then asked several questions about the celebrity titles, wanting to know what readers thought were the strongest and weakest titles.

The strongest was easy: People, at 79 percent and way out ahead.

The next closest was Us at 15 percent. The rest, In Touch, Life & Style, OK! and Star, hardly registered.

And the weakest? Life & Style, the Bauer publication, led at 35 percent, just ahead of OK! at 33 percent. The next most vulnerable, at 18 percent, is Star. In Touch came in at 12 percent, with Us and People having negligible rankings.

No surprise, readers picked Life & Style as the most likely to close, at 40 percent, with OK! at 29 percent.

This reverses findings of a Media Life poll last spring in which readers chose OK! as the most likely to close, at 42 percent, versus 35 percent for Life & Style.

Media Life then asked readers about TV Guide, which underwent a makeover a couple of years ago in which it went to a larger format while chopping its rate base to 3 million from 9 million.

The question: What’s your impression of the new TV Guide and its future?

The answer, in sum: not so hot but improving.

Two thirds, 67, percent, agreed with the statement: "It’s a noble attempt at a makeover but one that will ultimately fail. There are too many outlets for TV listings now to compete, and none of its content feels fresh. Still, I don’t see it disappearing anytime soon."

That's up from 55 percent in an earlier survey last spring, when the same question was asked.

Also, this time around fewer readers dismissed the makeover outright.

A quarter agreed with the statement: "It’s a complete disaster. I see a magazine that lacks an identity and that could be gone in a few years, or at least switch to web-exclusive."

That's down from 33 percent in the earlier survey.

But then again, slightly fewer readers think the makeover was truly successful. Just 9 percent agreed with the statement: "I think it’s great and it will thrive. They’ve done wonders refreshing the content, it still has a huge circulation, and I have clients who are interested in it." Last time, 12 percent agreed with the statement.

Media Life then asked readers their thoughts on Portfolio, the new business title from Condé Nast that's gotten so much buzz since its launch in April. The issue facing Portfolio from the first was whether there was any need for another business title when the category was continuing to lose ad pages as more people went online for their business reading.

As it turns out, while media people applaud Condé Nast for a smart launch, there's still lots of doubt over whether Portfolio has or can create a need among readers.

Some 15.6 percent of respondents agreed with the statement: "I give it all A's. It was sold well to media buyers, and they're behind it. The editorial is first-rate, and it has that Condé Nast look, and you can't look any better than that."

But twice that number, 33.6 percent, had yet to be convinced. They agreed with this statement: "I'll have to wait on that one. It looks good, it reads well, but I have yet to sense any real demand for it. Did we, do we, need yet another business magazine?"

And yet a larger share, 50.8 percent, see Portfolio as extraneous, agreeing with this statement: "I'm not impressed. It's smart enough, as you would expect, but it doesn't bring anything new to the category. I think it's a big investment that's going to tumble big time."

Media Life then asked readers what they thought the next big trend in magazines would be. The answers reveal more optimism than one might expect.

Tops was a slew of rate-base cuts, with 31 percent of respondents.

But next, at 21 percent, was a flood of new titles serving local markets and very vertical niches.

Just 18 percent saw a rash of more titles closing. And that was just ahead of the No. 4 choice, at 15 percent, more titles launching from established brands.

Just 10 percent thought the next big trend would be the drying up of new launches.