Billy, you're soooo right!
JW's are kept too busy to read the mags.
You hardly ever hear anyone asking, "did you read that interesting article on ..."
No, the articles aren't very interesting to the majority of JW's. They are repetitive, they contain filler rather than spiritual "meat" in due season.
How can they be interesting to the public? If not even JW's find them so???
Cutting down on the number of pages is a benefit for the religious publishing corporation. A big money saver of a decision.
However, it does little to alleviate the pressure on publishers to make magazine placements.
Since JW's aren't really reading every article, especially in the "public" editions, their load remains a burden that too many just can't carry.
Therefore, the change does nothing more than save the WTS more money.