United Kingdom Magzines

Creative industries band together with statement on copyright opposing "fair use"

Some 45 organizations in Canada representing the creative industries have submitted a joint statement to the current federal consultation process on copyright reform, asking the government not to implement the concept of "fair use". The stance, not surprisingly, runs counter to the position taken by many of the advocates of fair use.The signatories include such magazine-related organizations as

These guys say our democracy is broken and they know how to fix it

Unknown 20:05 promotions

Two of Maclean's magazine's lead columnists -- Andrew Coyne (right) and Paul Wells -- say they know how to fix Canada's "broken democracy". One way is to square off in this week's issue of the magazine. Another is to hold a roundtable discussion with guests former NDP leader Ed Broadbent, former prime minister's chief of staff Eddie Goldenberg and author John Ralston Saul.The roundtable is at the

Fashion magazine gives away everything in its October issue

Unknown 17:01 promotions

Fashion magazine is giving away to readers everything featured in their October issue - from clothing to makeup -- between September 21st to October 16th. There’s quite the mass of excellent merch up for grabs; among the mass is a Dsquared dress, Pink Tartan skirt suit, Mackage coat and a buttload of designer makeup and hair care products.The main coverline of the shopping issue (isn't every

Research universities start own wire service to promote discoveries

Unknown 16:25

Concerned that journalistic coverage of science, medical and other discoveries is declining with the unhappy financial fortunes of traditional media, a group of 35 leading U.S. research universities have decided on an end run. According to a story in the Mercury News, they have formed their own nonprofit wire service, Futurity, to provide articles and information to the top news and social media

Wal-Mart, moving magazines to back of store, also reducing space and titles

Unknown 21:44 Circulation , newsstands , single copies

Not only is Wal-Mart moving magazines to the back of its stores, its "Project Impact" remodeling program will actually decrease the space devoted to magazines and reduce the number of authorized titles, based on profitability and sales. According to a story in Audience Development, the major magazine retailer is reducing mainline space by 20 feet -- about half of what it was previously -- which

Duncan Hood named editor of MoneySense, managing editor of Canadian Business

Unknown 17:24 appointments , layoffs , Rogers

[This post has been updated]Duncan Hood, formerly a senior editor at Maclean's, has been named to the double-barrelled job of editor of MoneySense magazine and a* managing editor of Canadian Business. Word came in a message to staff from publisher of all three magazines, Ken Whyte.[*Conan Tobias was the managing editor; now he is a managing editor.]His appointment to both jobs is consistent

The circulation promotion worked almost too well. Too bad about the premiums

Unknown 14:11 Circulation , subscriptions

For the Conde Nast circulation boffins in Britain, there was good news and bad news. The good news was that their subscription promotion for House and Garden magazine went quite well, exceeding expectation by 50%. The bad news, according to a story in the Press Gazette, was that they ran out of the advertised premiums -- Molton Brown toiletries -- and tried substituting other things (in this

Traffic's up, page views are up, but where's the revenue for newspaper sites?

Unknown 13:45

Figures provided by the Newspaper Association of America indicate that there has been a 75% increase in unique audience U.S. newspapers' online sites. Which, says a story from MediaDailyNews, raises the question about whether or how newspapers could capitalize on this "spectacular growth".The story reports that active reach -- the measure of how many U.S. internet users viewed newspaper web sites

Is Best Health's U.S. cousin, Best You, toast?

Unknown 05:04

[This post has been updated]Not so long ago, a couple of months in fact, Reader's Digest Association Inc. was trumpeting its new publishing model, its efficiency and publishing savvy in launching Best Health in Canada and then all-but-cloning it for the U.S. market as Best You. RDA's president said the cost was far less than a traditional magazine launch. Since then, RDA (US) has gone into

Paid ad traffic management portal launched by BC publisher

Unknown 22:48 Advertising , production , software , traffic , web and print

[This post has been updated]Media Hill Publications Inc. of Burnaby, B.C. has announced the launch of AdSupplier.com an integrated online ad traffic management application designed to fit the needs of the small to mid-size magazine publisher.Billing itself as an “ad traffic management portal” AdSupplier’s features include: automated insertion order confirmations; email reminders of approaching

Launch party for Vancouver's Sad Mag will be anything but

Unknown 22:14 launches

This Thursday, in Vancouver, there's a launch of a brand new local arts and cultural magazine called Sad Mag, which seems to be a misnomer.In fact, it seems like a joyous celebration of the writers and artists of Vancouver. Here's what could well pass for the magazine's mission statement:We wanted to tell beautiful stories in rich, vibrant language that made Vancouver’s most interesting

Why staffers at Condé Nast have good reason to worry

Unknown 21:54

People are magazines' most important asset and their most expensive element, which is why there has been significant nervousness in the hallways of Condé Nast (Vogue, New Yorker, W, GQ, Self, Glamour, Brides, Gourmet, Wired, Vanity Fair etc. etc.) The company, which publishes among the most prestigious magazines around, last summer brought in the consultants, McKinsey and Company, to nose around

Finalists named in Canadian Online Publishing Awards

Unknown 20:44 awards

The 75 finalists in each of 10 categories in two divisions have been announced in the first annual Canadian Online Publishing Awards, produced by MastheadOnline. Among magazines in the consumer, custom, religious, public association category:Overall best magazine websiteBC Business OnlineCanadian LivingGreen LivingHouseandhome.comThe Hockey NewsThe United Church ObserverTorontolife.comUp Here

Parsing Ontario's legal aid boycott

Unknown 20:34

This Magazine's blog has published a post by Kim Hart Macneill about the Ontario legal aid boycott that told me some things I didn't know, or may have missed elsewhere. One was making the comparison between the 15% fee increase that legal aid had received over the past 22 years and the fact that Crown attorneys have received a 57% wage increase in the past 10 years. Another was the huge number of

Global Brief magazine finds new home, renewed hope

Unknown 18:28

The reports of the death of Global Brief magazine were exaggerated, it seems. The world affairs magazine's very first issue was caught up in a welter of rumour when, right after it published, kabillionaire Jim Balsillie pulled the plug on it.An article in the Globe and Mail suggested that the Canadian International Council, which Balsillie chairs, was startled by the cost of producing the lavish

Those staffers? They'll be gone by Christmas

Unknown 18:13

The brutality of the magazine business these days is evidenced by the way in which BusinessWeek staff found out about massive layoffs -- they read about it in a story in the New York Times, based on an offering memorandum from the magazine's owner McGraw-Hill to potential buyers. According to a post on the Silicon Valley Insider, Stephanie Clifford of the Times got her hands on the memo from

Maclean's AD Dewairy takes over Canadian Business, MoneySense & Profit

Unknown 17:58 art direction , Maclean's , Rogers

The recent consolidation of management and staff dismissals at Rogers Publishing's news and business consumer group proceeds apace, as Christine Dewairy, the art director of Maclean's, takes over responsibility for Canadian Business, MoneySense and Profit magazines. This means the four publications share one publisher and one art director. According to a story in Mastheadonline, Dewairy will do

Quality counts, not just in editorial, but in customers

Unknown 15:30 Circulation , subscriptions

Within recent memory, circulators were bedevilled by publishers who wanted more subscribers, period. It didn't matter who they were, or what quality; the company strategy was pinned on getting a lot of them and then charging advertisers for access to them. As a result, magazine databases became bloated with marginal customers who didn't really care about them and who had to be bribed to subscribe

Better Farming magazine field editor wins two major farm writing awards

Unknown 16:15 awards , farm

A London, Ontario journalist who is a field editor for the magazine Better Farming, has won two prestigious awards from this year’s Canadian Farm Writers’ and Broadcasters’ awards competition.Mary Baxter was awarded the Jack Cram gold award for monthly press reporting and the Dick Beamish silver award for press feature. The awards were announced at the federation's annual conference, held this

Canadian Newsstand Awards to be announed October 7 at CMC reception

Unknown 16:08 Canadian Newsstand Awards , newsstand , single copies

The winners of the eighth annual Canadian Newsstand Awards/Grand prix d’excellence en kiosque will be announced on Oct. 7 as part of the annual social of the Circulation Management Association of Canada (CMC). The reception will be held at Spice Route located at 499 King Street West, Toronto, beginning at 5 p.m. and the awards presentation is at 6 p.m. CMC members are free; all others $10 at the

Quote, unquote: on being in a funny, interesting, playful, scary place

Unknown 15:54 quote

I think any smart editor is well aware that they’re in a business that is partly about permanence and partly about disposability. We’re sort of in the middle. Newspapers were much more disposable. They came in one day and they’re gone. Magazines are in 30 days and maybe you file them away, but how often do you really go back to them? So you’re in this funny place between the tactile object and

Magazine world view

Unknown 15:37 world view

TV Guide to chop rate based by more than 30% (New York Post)How the Financial Times gets readers to pay (Columbia Journalism Review)Slate founding editor Kinsley tapped by Atlantic (Folio:)Reader's Digest Association announces business realignment (Folio:)Speculation of closing world's oldest Sunday newspaper said "not accurate" (Guardian)Circulation-boosting editors head BSME shortlist (Guardian

Ad preflight portal has signed up 90 titles

Unknown 15:31 advertisers , Advertising , prepress , production

More than 90 magazines have signed up for AdDirect™, Magazines Canada’s web-based magazine ad preflight and delivery portal, launched last month. The service, which was launched in July, automatically validates client PDF ad files against your own unique publishing specifications and instantly delivers them to you, print-ready, along with an automatic digital notification that the ad file is

Audio podcasts about magazine business launched by Magazines Canada

Unknown 13:36 magazine business , podcasts , professional development

Magazines Canada is launching a series of audio podcasts called Audiomag, related to key magazine issues. The first, available now, features Paul Rossi, North American publisher of The Economist and a speaker at MagNet 2009. He talks about how he doubled his newsstand sales in just over one year.In future,there will be episodes fromAnthony Licata, Editor of Field & Stream, on how to keep service

Neither borrowers nor lenders

Unknown 22:36

Hell in a handcart dept: The city of Philadelphia is closing all of its libraries October 2. Funds were cut off by the Pennsylvania legislature. Nobody can borrow a book after September 3o.The first free library in the U.S was started there by Benjamin Franklin.

Dimensional typography -- moving out of flatland

Unknown 22:24 typography

For all type dweebs there's a long essay in eye weekly eye magazine on dimensional typography. It is full of paragraphs like this one:These dimensional projects stretch the definition of graphic design. They add fresh substance to the decades-old debate about whether the moniker ‘graphic’ design is appropriate to what we do. This dimensional typography highlights novel twists on design processes,

Departed indie bookstore Pages to be documentarized

Unknown 21:58

For those who were interested in the lamentable closing of Pages bookstore, you may be equally interested that a documentary film is being made about it. [h/t to BlogTO]

Green Living launches guide to shopping, eating and living green in Toronto

Unknown 19:12 launches

Green Living magazine is launching an editorial digest-sized directory of more than 375 sustainable stores and services in the Toronto area. Green Living Guide will be published September 14 concurrently with the next issue of the magazine, but will be available at participating retailers across the city.The magazine has already had online guides for Vancouver, Calgary, Ottawa and Toronto, but

Time Inc. pondering whether to launch its own e-reader

Unknown 17:55 digital , e-readers , Journalism Online , web and print

Time Inc. is apparently considering creating its own e-reader, in competition with the Kindle by Amazon and others. According to a story on an NBC website, an internal memorandum suggests that the company has radically shifted its attitude towards the technology. The document is a printout of a slide presentation, complete with handwritten notes.The Time Inc. presentation, titled "New Platforms

Wordstock explores tools for a new universe

Unknown 17:31 conferences , professional development , seminars

The annual Wordstock conference, sponsored by the Ryerson Journalism Alumni Association, is on Saturday October 3 in Toronto, with the theme "Journalism tools in the new universe."Wordstock is about broadly-based journalism (newspapers and other media), not just magazines, but this year's sessions are bound to be of interest to anyone who writes, edits and publishes. And a couple of well known

In Style magazine uses 3-D to enhance holiday gift guide

Unknown 22:19 advertisers , Advertising , promotion

Although, to me, it seems like something that readers might find only fleetingly interesting, In Style magazine has created a December holiday gift guide using “augmented reality” technology to make some advertisements three dimensional. As a story in Folio: describes it:The initiative, called Gifting in 3-D, generates a three dimensional gift box on readers’ computer screens when they log online

Pages praised for being "hyper-local" and "human scale"

Unknown 19:26

Spacing magazine posted on its blog a nice "afterword" about the event this week that marked the passing of one of Toronto's (and Canada's) best independent book and magazine stores, Pages. The tribute is made more poignant by the facts about how important such an outlet has been to indy magazines like Spacing. Pages was special to us because the store embodied everything we like about the city

Audience Development to be quarterly

Unknown 18:48

Audience Development magazine, the monthly magazine which only last year rebranded itself from Circulation Management, is to become a quarterly starting in the 2010, it has been announced by Red7Media.This fall, only two issues will appear. The magazine, which has been considered a very important resource to circulators in both the U.S. and Canada, will continue to develop its online offerings

BC arts cuts said to take province back to "prehistoric" levels

Unknown 16:06

A column in the Georgia Straight brings into sharp relief the drastic nature of the cuts that the BC government is imposing on arts and culture that has small magazine publishers in the province reeling. Ellen Woodsworth, a community activist who is seeking to be a candidate for deputy mayor of Vancouver city council under the COPE municipal party, says in her commentary, in partBefore the cuts,

Wal-Marts move magazines to the back of the store

Unknown 03:24 newsstand , single copies

Wal-Mart stores are in the midst of a major and significant remodeling program called "Project Impact" that will shift magazines to the entertainment department at the back of stores. Folio: magazine reports that about 650 stores are adopting the new floor-plan. The chain, best known for discounting titles and often being one of the biggest newsstands in many towns, says the change is the result

Recycled paper gets special displays for some U.S. magazines

Unknown 19:30 paper , recycling

Barnes & Noble stores in the U.S. are in the second year of featuring magazines that use recycled paper in special magazine racks in over 240 of their largest stores. The project is being done in partnership with Green America’s Better Paper Project. Since the project started, 46 magazines have taken part.The ten magazines participating in this month’s promotion include: Tricycle, Mother Jones,

Report on Mining spawns three digital magazines

Unknown 19:13

Report on Mining, a 12-year-old magazine published by Fusion Publishing Inc. of Vancouver for the investment community, has spun off three digital magazines. They are Report on Cleantech, Report on Oil and Gas and Report on Mining.Report on Mining will continue as a print publication, circulating 25,000 copies to high end investors, brokers, analysts, hedge fund managers and government officials

The Walrus magazine receives $225,000 funding boost to help pay writers

Unknown 17:17 fundraising

The Slaight Family Foundation has committed $225,000 ($75,000 per year for three years) to create the Allan Slaight Writers Fund inside the Walrus Foundation to support writers at The Walrus magazine.While very pleased with the funding, which will all go to pay writers, co-publisher Shelley Ambrose cautions that the magazine still has some way to go in its fundraising -- it spends $400,000 per

Boycott of Ontario legal aid cases only hurts the vulnerable, editor says

Unknown 16:55

A boycott of the Ontario legal aid system by the Canadian Lawyers Association hurts those who need good legal representation most, according to Melissa Kluger, the editor of Precedent magazine, a publication for younger lawyers distributed throughout Ontario.Our criminal justice system only works if everyone who travels through it receives fair treatment under the law — no matter what they earn,

Times may be tough for BusinessWeek, but 93 potential buyers have emerged

Unknown 16:38

Times may be tough, but there's a lot of interest in solid properties and magazine brands; at least that seems to be the case when BusinessWeek magazine gets expressions of interest from 93 potential buyers, according to a story in Bloomberg.com. The parent company, McGraw-Hill, started shopping the magazine when ad sales fell 33 per cent in the first half, compared with 21% industry wide.“

New magazine in Saskatoon highlights narrative illustration

Unknown 16:07 launches

Three people in Saskatoon have started a new magazine called Vehicle: the anthology of contemporary narrative. At first glance, it's a high-end comic book, but inside it's something of a combination of a comic, graphic novel and pulp magazine of the '50s like Weird Tales and Astounding Stories. It's intended to provide an outlet for people to tell their stories in a number of different ways.One

OptiMYz magazine says fitness club takeover is good publishing news

Unknown 16:00

Max Brennan, the publisher of OptiMYz magazine in Halifax, says that the purchase of the Nubody's fitness clubs by the GoodLife fitness chain is good news for his magazine. According to an item in the Chronicle-Herald, GoodLife founder the CEO David Patchell-Evans is interested in possible expanding the publication, which is now in its 26th year.The magazine was distributed to Nubody members as

T.O. Night mag-style evening paper launches in Toronto

Unknown 15:46 launches

Toronto will see a new evening daily paper starting today. Commuters will be handed 100,000 copies of T.O. Night between 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. at locations around the business core, according to a story in CBC.ca. The glossy, magazine-style "freesheet" will rely on wire stories, but is partnering with BlogTO for additional local coverage. "We wouldn't dare launch another paper in the morning —

24 Hours redesigned with new logo, new type, new colours

Unknown 15:35 redesigns

Sun Media Corporation has redesigned and reorganized its magapaper 24 Hours; its new look is in the boxes today (Tuesday 8th). According to a release from the company, the facelift has new fonts, new colours and a new logo."We have decided to revamp 24 Hours to continue to meet and exceed our readers' expectations. The redesigned product will provide our readers with all the information and

Reed business division hopes to get half its total revenue from digital in 3 years

Unknown 15:17

The business division of Reed Elsevier is hoping to get half of its total revenue from digital, online publications within the next three years. According to a story in Press Gazette, Reed Business Information (RBI) reported half-year operating revenue of £463m.RBI publishes more than 80 b2b titles such as New Scientist, Publishers Weekly and Variety. In Canada, the company has a number of

Magazines Canada site grows 29% in views

Unknown 11:00

Interest in the Canadian magazine industry is demonstrated by the 29% increase in page views on the Magazines Canada site (magazinescanada.ca) with 1.8 million so far this year, 400,000 more than the same time last year. (The consumer portion of the site consumer website attracted over 500,000 page views.) Only 10% of visitors came from a search engine, with 65% either coming via a bookmark or

Magazine gets a new name every month -- its cover subject

Unknown 21:10

There have been magazines named after their city, after their founders, after their topic, even after their typeface but now, a monthly guide from Luxembourg, City Magazine, is changing its name to that of the cover star every issue. The first issue features illustrator/entrepreneur Estelle Sidoni, who is interviewed at the start of the issue. [Thanks to magCulture for this.]

Canadian Freelance Union announces Toronto meeting

Unknown 19:43 Canadian Freelance Union

The Canadian Freelance Union is holding a meeting this coming Friday, September 11 at 7 p.m. in Toronto; a sort of preliminary to the formal, inaugural meeting of members next month.That formal inaugural meeting is scheduled for October 3 and -- to be done virtually, using webcast and online forums -- will be when the charter members elect the union's first national executive and pass the

TFEW tops 400 members

Unknown 19:22 freelancers

Congratulations to the Toronto Freelance Editors and Writers list, which has just crested 400 members. TFEW runs as a plain vanilla e-mail exchange and the often lively threads about topics including getting paid as a freelancer, the finer (if obscure) points of grammar, movies, music, books you name it has apparently caught a lot of attention. The list started over 10 years ago with a meeting in

Time Inc. suspends Time Style & Design

Unknown 18:13

Time Inc. has "suspended" its Time Style & Design fashion quarterly. It comes on the eve of Fashion Week in New York. The reason given? The collapse of the luxury market in the current recession. "This really is a suspended publication," said a spokeswoman of the one million-circulation magazine. "We'd hope to bring it back when the economy improves."According to a posting by Keith Kelly in the

The Economist offers custom home delivery with a newsstand price

Unknown 17:31 newsstand , promotions , single copies

The Economist has introduced a trial program in New York City that allows people who have signed up for weekly e-mail alerts on their cellphones about what's in the next edition and have it home-delivered overnight at the newsstand price.According to a story in Advertising Age, the approach was tested successfully in Britain two months ago, but with a simpler interface -- people who were

La Presse threatens to stop publishing Dec. 1 unless it gets major concessions

Unknown 02:30 newspapers

Montreal's largest broadsheet newspaper, La Presse, has told its staff they have until December 1 to allow for major cost cutting or the paper will close. Among the concessions the company is demanding is the end of a four-day work week and the cutting of up to 100 jobs.La Presse is the flagship newspaper of Gesca Ltee, a wholly owned division of Power Corp. The last collective agreement at the

Harper's Bazaar magazine skips 39 folios

Unknown 19:46

Powerful ammunition for those of us who promote the virtues of those vital behind-the-scenes workers -- good copy editors, fact-checkers, production people and proofreaders.The current issue of Harper's Bazaar magazine has 39 pages missing, as folios jump from 256 to 295. An embarrassing flub. No suggestion that they pulled any content.

Futura to Verdana: Ikea stirs up designers by switching fonts after 60 years

Unknown 19:06 design , typography

"Look, I know this isn't world hunger. But if a company like Ikea can make this mistake, you have to wonder who is going to lead when it comes to design."-- Romanian designer Marius Ursache, who was so incensed about the furniture chain's decision to drop its ubiquitous customized Futura font in favour of Verdana, he started an online petition in protest. See the Time.com story.

Michael Jackson death coverage a $67 million windfall for U.S. magazine titles

Unknown 16:22 newsstand

The death of pop star Michael Jackson was worth $67 million to the magazine business, including $55 million from tribute editions alone. This figures reflects only U.S. based titles, so revenues accruing to such Canadian titles as Maclean's and Hello! would add to that figure.The data came from the Magazine Information Network, often called MagNet, which tracks wholesale and retail magazine

Some gambling grants restored, but B.C. magazines and other arts groups bitter and confused

Unknown 15:53 BC , funding

[This post has been updated] The B.C. government has backed down, in part, on cuts to gambling-revenue grants to arts groups, including magazines, made in Tuesday's provincial budget, acknowledging that three year funding commitments had been made. The cuts were announced as part of a cost-saving strategy to reduce discretionary grants by $354 million this year across the

Magazine world view

Unknown 15:34 world view

Mencken American magazine work featured in exhibit in John Hopkins library in BaltimoreContrix Inc. to launch ‘Pay As You Go’ online magazine sub service (Audience Development)American Apparel squeezed over ‘Inappropriate’ ad in Vice (Folio:)Information commissioner defends lack of journalist privacy prosecutions (Guardian)Hearst to launch customizable beauty site (Audience Development)Cooking

Quebec magazine Summum condemned for article on suicide information sources

Unknown 02:56

A Quebec magazine, Summum, has provoked major controversy by publishing a story in its September issue that gave leads to websites where people could learn how to commit suicide.The editor is unapologetic, according to a story circulated on the CanWest News Service, contending that the intention of the article was to denounce the fact that so many websites give out information on how to kill

Popular Science for paying e-readers proves to be a hard sell, even at 99 cents

Unknown 23:56 e-readers , web and print

It seemed like a good idea at the time. Popular Science, which earlier this year launched a paid digital edition called the Genius Guide for e-readers, in anticipation of a large public interest, is scrapping the notion, at least as a paid vehicle. According to a posting on MediaWeek, readers were lukewarm to the idea.Publisher Gregg Hano originally hoped to get 900,000 downloads for the first

Straitened Esquire goes with double issue and 30% cover price hike

Unknown 23:46

The growing magazine trend to turning down the screws on costs and seeking new revenue sources is evidenced by Esquire magazine's plans to reduce its frequency next year, albeit by the time-worn device of a "double issue" covering June and July. According to a posting on FishbowlNY, the magazine is also increasing its cover price in 2010 by 30% (to US$4.99) and it is soon to launch an iPhone app

LouLou magazine celebrates 5th anniversary by giving away $10,000 in prepaid Visa cards

Unknown 20:35 anniversaries , promotions

LouLou magazine is celebrating its five-year anniversary by giving away $10,000 in Visa prepaid cards. The September issues of the French and English editions of LouLou feature a mock Visa card on the magazine cover, with a corresponding contest page. Readers can register at LouLou5th.com for their chance to win.In addition, the shopping magazine, published by Rogers, is having a "block parties"

Amazon wants courts to quash Google settlement on digitization of books

Unknown 20:28

Amazon.com Inc. has asked the U.S. District Court to annul Google Inc.'s copyright settlement with the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers, claiming it is anticompetitive. According to a story in the Wall Street Journal, the Amazon action says the agreement would increase how much consumers pay for digital books and undermine Congress's role in amending copyright law to

Best Health magazine teams with Sympatico to provide health and fitness content

Unknown 20:05 ad sales , web and print

Best Health magazine, published by Readers Digest Canada, is partnering with the web portal Sympatico.ca to provide its health and fitness section. Besthealthmag.ca content has been progressively integrated into Sympatico.ca (owned by Bell Canada) since the beginning of August and, according to a Best Health press release, there have been 1.5 million visits in the first three weeks. A tab on the

Canadian Business Press calls for federal fairness in funding

Unknown 18:59 Canada Periodical Fund , Canadian Business Press , funding

The Canadian Business Press, which represents about 119 b2b, trade and farm titles published by 46 companies, has asked the federal government to completely overhaul its support to the Canadian magazine industry to ensure that the business and trade press gets its fair share of funding. In its 2009 pre-budget submission to the Commons' standing budget committee on finance, the CBP

No comment

Unknown 18:52

Rogers acquires French-language marketing magazine AMPQ

Unknown 17:34 acquisitions

Rogers Publishing has bought AMPQ magazine, thereby giving Marketing magazine a French-language counterpart for coverage of the advertising, marketing and communications industries. AMPQ is published 10 times a year and read by more than 58,000 marketing and communications professionals. Aside from the print magazine, AMPQ maintains AMPQ.com, produces a daily e-newsletter, AMPQ Quotidien

Spacing publisher to lead Globe forum on bicycle safety in wake of tragic incident

Unknown 21:36

Spacing magazine publisher Matt Blackett has been tapped by the Globe and Mail to moderate an online conversation about safety and cycling in the city. Of course it is prompted by the arrest (and, now, serious charges) of former Ontario attorney general Michael Bryant for a fracas that resulted in the death of cyclist Darcy Allan Sheppard on Bloor Street in Toronto.The incident is by turns

Departing Masthead editor says Maclean's has become Canada's most interesting magazine

Unknown 20:32

In what is essentially his swan song as editor of Mastheadonline (he leaves his post on Friday 4th to go to teacher's college), Marco Ursi has written a hymn of praise to Maclean's magazine and its publisher/editor Ken Whyte. His occasional "From the Editor's Desk" column says Maclean's has become Canada's most interesting magazine and points out that Whyte-driven covers have built up weekly

RDA sold its World Almanac division

Unknown 19:51 acquisitions

In one of the things it tidied up just before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week, Reader's Digest Association sold its World Almanac and Book of Facts to New York-based Infobase Publishing. According to a story in Folio:, As part of the transaction, Infobase acquired The World Almanac and Book of Facts, The World Almanac for Kids and The World Almanac Book of Records. Earlier

Border Crossings magazine launches new size, new face

Unknown 19:27 newsstand , redesigns

Border Crossings magazine has launched its September issue with a new, larger format and a new typeface . The Winnipeg-based magazine has increased in size to 9 x 11.75", with the larger size allowing even more latitude for the visuals that the arts magazine is well-known for. The new-look magazine is on the newsstands now. The new look will be celebrated with a launch party at McNally Robinson

Wallow in covers with searchable site

Unknown 18:03 covers , history , research

A friend has pointed us to a fun and fascinating resource -- a site called Cover Browser, that was created in 2006 and has more than 450,000 searchable covers of comic books, pulp magazines and magazine covers for mavens to explore.It's fun regardless of whether you see them as historical artifacts or reference for magazine design or just general interest. Even more amazing, the searchability is

Deadline looms for lunatic writers to enter 3-Day Novel Contest

Unknown 17:52

There's only four more days to register to spend your Labour Day weekend madly hammering out a novel. Paid registration f0r the 32nd Annual International 3-Day Novel Contest must be in the mail by Friday, September 4 (along with the $50 entry fee). Participants in Vancouver can drop off entries up until 7 p.m. Then hundreds of writers all over the world will begin writing their novels, which

Controversial Canadian-made ad nominated for Creative Media Awards

Unknown 17:31 ad:edit , advertisers , Advertising

Starcom MediaVest Group has received four nominations for its media work with clients Kraft Canada and Proctor and Gamble in the 2009 Creative Media Awards, sponsored by MediaPost Communications. One of these nominations was for controversial ad that some felt breached industry ad:editorial guidelines. The ad, for Kraft's Tassimo coffee machine, appeared in Style at Home magazine last

Canada Style bonus issue to be published by Flare

Unknown 16:54 promotions

To help celebrate its 30th anniversary year, Flare magazine has announced it is publishing a bonus "portrait" issue called Canada Style -- featuring fashion and beauty trendsetters and 30 influential and inspiring Canadian women. The 64-page bonus issue has a single sponsor, P & G Beauty (Pantene, Olay, CoverGirl and Clairol etc.) , and will be polybagged with Flare's October issue on newsstands

What investigative journalism costs

Unknown 20:16 investigative journalism

Mother Jones asked the New York Times to provide a cost breakdown of the major investigative piece in the magazine this past weekend, done in collaboration with ProPublica: 2 years of reporting by a staff writer, full-time: 200kEditing for that period by 2 ProPublica editors: 30kLawyering hours at ProPublica: 20KEditing hours at the Times magazine over past year (from me to copy editors, 5

Sure, information wants to be free; unfortunately, it's not

Unknown 19:53

In their editors' note in Mother Jones magazine's September /October issue, co-editors Monika Bauerlein and Clara Jeffrey articulate their scepticism about the belief that, in future, journalism will be free. We liked it enough to reprint the piece. Most of what they say applies equally well in Canada.In our business, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting some expert waxing on about what

Today's Parent founder one of directors swept out of Ontario lottery corp

Unknown 18:05

The founder of Today's Parent magazine and the Today's Parent Group, Beverly Topping, is one of the six directors of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) swept out of their positions today. The CEO of OLG, Kelly McDougald was also fired from her $400,000 position "with cause", according to a story in the Toronto Star.The Ontario Liberal government of Dalton McGuinty is attempting by

Canadian magazine subs and singles seem to be starting to stabilize

Unknown 17:23 ABC , Circulation , single copies , subscriptions

[This post has been updated] The latest Audit Bureau of Circulations' latest data, for the first half of 2009, shows a decline in single copy sales, but a much smaller decline than the same period a year ago. According to a story in Media in Canada, overall paid and verified circulation was down 1.58% (paid subs down just 0.3% and total single copy sales down 8.43%)Although the drop in

Magazine world view

Unknown 16:52 world view

FT Wealth mag launched in U.S. (MediaDaily News)Rolling Stone ties to catch up online (Mediaweek)Magazines get into the digital mainstream (min)Newsstand sales may start trending up (Audience Development)Despite tough economy, a wave of print magazines to launch (Folio:)Commemorative magazine isues boost magazine sales (Ad Age)Publishers weigh up the perils and the positives of advertorials (

Globe and Mail says its future is to have a magazine look and style

Unknown 23:18 printing

The Globe and Mail will be more like a magazine than a newspaper by late next year as new printing equipment comes online at its primary printer, Transcontinental Inc.What was once the good, grey Globe will become a four-colour newspaper and change its format to fit the new Commander CT presses that Transcon has purchased in order to meet the obligation of its 20-year, $1.7 billion contract

Quote, unquote: Oh, for heaven's sake...

Unknown 05:25 quote

“To be honest with you, I am a lot more concerned by God's verdict regarding my life than the one of historians.” -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper, in an interview in the September issue of Prestige magazine [Quebec City] . [reported in the Globe and Mail]

Canada Council flying squad applications now being accepted

Unknown 21:47 Canada Council

Magazines that receive Canada Council funding are eligible and may now apply for the 2009 Flying Squad program. The program allows for literary and cultural magazines to hire consultants and for projects that address internal organizational challenges, growth opportunities and future development. The deadline is October 15, 2009. The program is managed by Magazines Canada on behalf of the Canada

Six Canadian Business staffers and EIC of MoneySense magazine fired

Unknown 17:17

Ian McGugan, the editor of MoneySense magazine, who was the founding editor-in-chief of the publication since it was launched in 1999, has been dismissed by Rogers Publishing. Six staff members of Canadian Business were also fired, according to a report in Mastheadonline.CB executive editor Scott Steele, features editor Andy Holloway, staff writers Sharda Prashad and Jeff Sanford, online managing

Cosmetics site to keep beauty advisors on top of new products

Unknown 14:51 launches , online , web and print

Cosmetics magazine, the Rogers trade publication, is launching a new website aimed at beauty advisors and cosmeticians. CosmeticsMag.com goes live September 1 and is designed to be of interest to people in the industry, but also to "fashionistas" and "beauty junkies" as well, according to a story in Marketing magazine. Links to vendor and retail training sites, as well as beauty schools will also

Chatelaine food editor Monda Rosenberg: nobody knew her readers better

Unknown 11:00

Guest post:This week, Monda Rosenberg retired as food editor of Chatelaine magazine after working at the magazine for more than three decades. We asked Rona Maynard, who spent a decade as editor of Chatelaine, to write an appreciation of Rosenberg's remarkable contribution.Among the best perks of editing Chatelaine was being able to take my culinary dilemmas to a maven who knows home cooking the

Montreal agencies' pitch a "Latin spirit" with "American business sense"

Unknown 19:47

Ad agencies in Montreal are intent on convincing marketers that their city is the ideal place to develop and test international marketing strategies. According to a story in Advertising Age, the agencies have created YUL-Lab (the YUL standing for the city's 3-letter airport code) and have already signed their first marketer -- L'Oreal Canada, which happens to be one of the biggest and most

Lucky, the ground breaking shopping mag, discontinues regional editions

Unknown 20:09

Lucky, the much-imitated shopping magazine from Condé Nast, started out in 2003 with 14 regional editions.Providing local shopping information and special call-out covers was one of its unique selling propositions. However, harder times have meant that the company has steadily discontinued most of its regional editions and will drop the New York edition in January, according to a story in

Ad drought forces BPAWW to freeze audit fees and dues at 2008 levels

Unknown 11:00 audits

Faced with a significant portion of its customer base reeling from a 30 per cent decline in ad sales, the circulation audit firm BPA Worldwide (which includes the Canadian Circulation Audit Bureau (CCAB)) has frozen its rates and dues at July 2008 levels.A large number of BPAWW members are b2b publishers who have been struggling to manage costs in the face of a recessionary-driven loss of ad

The long and short of what magazine content works online

Unknown 17:09 online

Go figure...The managing editor of Time.com, Josh Tyrangiel, says in a web interview:long form Time journalism is just not working online because it is...too long and95% of what Time.com carries is created exclusively for the webBut, according to an interview with New York Times Magazine editor Gerald Marzorati, it is the longest articles that get the site the most online traffic.

Utne Reader hikes sub cost 50%: "pay for the journalism you value"

Unknown 16:33 newsstand , pricing , single copies , subscriptions

After 25 years in business, Utne Reader is making the bold move of increasing its prices dramatically. A one-year subscription goes up 50% to $29.95; the single copy price goes up 40% to $6.99."We're asking those who value quality journalism to support it," said Utne Reader's publisher and editorial director Bryan Welch [reported in Audience Development] in a statement, tapping the current

Do you want fries with that magazine?

Unknown 16:11 compensation

A blogger for the Press Gazette points out an example of the downward pressure on wages exemplified by an advertisement for a b2b editor, with the skills to "produce a lively mix of magazines and newsletters". The salary is between £18,000 and £25,000 -- roughly $32,000 to $44,000 at today's exchange rate.So to edit not just one but several publications - in London! - you are getting a salary

Quote, unquote: the guys who have skin in the game

Unknown 15:56 quote

I’m going to keep on believing in most of what I read, of course. Except for one specific area: I’m not interested in anybody who says anything that I like is dead. Liquor. Meat. Books, magazines and newspapers. Personal computers that do not depend upon the cloud. I’m not going to consider anything dead until I’m no longer interested in it, and I’m going to watch out for emotional conflicts of

Finalists named for Canadian Newsstand Awards; Mike Hughes named marketer of year

Unknown 17:51 awards , newsstand

Mike Hughes, National Marketing Manager for Transcontinental Media, will be honoured as Newsstand Marketer of the Year at the eighth annual Canadian Newsstand Awards/Grand prix d’excellence en kiosque. The award is presented annually to an individual who has demonstrated passion and innovation for a newsstand project. He was won amongst a record number of nominees and will be honoured at the

Ontario magazine publishers seem resigned to HST

Unknown 17:30

The forthcoming harmonization of sales taxes in Ontario has been met with a strange silence, at least publicly, on the part of the province's magazine publishers. It effectively adds 8% to the cost of magazines bought by subscription as of July 2010. Provincial sales tax had previously not been charged on subs (although it had been charged on single copies at the checkout).Magazines Canada seems

Turning the page in Ireland

Unknown 15:05

The recent launch of Magazines Ireland, the new name for an association of 43 Irish publishers brings with it a brand new image. (Previously, the association was called the PPA Ireland -- Periodical Publishers Association Ireland).The association's new logo, in a fetching emerald green (natch) seemed familiar, somehow...Ah, yes.The Irish magazines have a lot in common with Canadian ones. For

Dose founders sell GigPark search site to CanPages Inc.

Unknown 14:27 acquisitions

The founders of Dose, the online magazine, have sold their website GigPark to CanPages Inc. Pema Hegan and Noah Godfrey created GigPark to allow searches for local businesses and services. According to a story in the National Post, Canpages, headquartered in Vancouver, B.C., plans to integrate the user recommendation functions from Gigpark.com into its own local search platform at Canpages.ca."

Give responsibilty -- and money -- for small mags to the Canada Council, Mags Canada says

Unknown 11:00 Canada Post , Canada Periodical Fund , Canadian Heritage , Magazines Canada

The federal government is being urged by Magazines Canada to transfer responsibility and the approximately $620,000 funding envelope that affects small cultural magazines distributing fewer than 5,000 paid copies annually to the Canada Council for the Arts.In its pre-budget submission to be released today (Monday), Magazines Canada says that while it supports the new Canada Periodical Fund (CPF),

Business media summits announced by Magazines Canada

Unknown 11:00 b-to-b , b2b , professional development , trade

Magazines Canada is taking a couple of major strides in serving its new b2b constituency with a series of "Business Media Summits" to be held in October. As will be recalled, this year Magazines Canada began not only to accept, but welcome, trade publications into membership and the new summits are tailored to business media professionals. The two events, one in Toronto, one in Montreal, will

The wayback machine

Unknown 23:14 wayback

Another in the occasional look-backs at what was happening in Canadian magazines one, two or more years ago. (Note that Magazines Canada is still talking to the federal government about reining in Canada Post*):One year agoRogers mag content on mobiles running 10,000 downloads a monthCoda, Canada's longest-running jazz magazine, celebrates golden anniversaryKen Whyte to publish biography of press

Profile raises question of whether The Tyee is hooked on one man's vision

Unknown 18:28

David Beers' profile in the Globe and Mail on Saturday was puzzling. The article seemed to celebrate the success of The Tyee online paper but paradoxically I came away from it with the feeling that while enjoying amazing growth and influence, it would not survive without Beers' vision and energy. And this was despite his valiant attempts to share glory and responsibility.As Vancouver journalist

Thaw in BC freeze on gaming revenue grants

Unknown 18:16 bcamp , funding

There has been a partial thaw in the B.C. freezing of gaming revenue grants. The ministry of housing and social development has lifted a freeze on $159 million dollars, some of which goes in stable funding grants to B.C. magazines and magazine-related organizations.

Fight spam, but protect legitimate media activity, federal review is told

Unknown 17:51 digital , regulation , spam

The House of Commons industry, science and technology committee has been told by Magazines Canada that Bill C-27, the Electronic Commerce Protection Act -- the so-called "anti-spam" act -- needs to be modified to remove potential impacts on the Canadian magazine publishing industry. While it agrees that e-commerce needs to be regulated, unwanted spam needs to be managed without unduly restricting

Magazine world view

Unknown 23:38 world view

Fashion magazines are losing ad revenue and readers (Brand Republic)The Beatles to dominate magazine covers? (Blog Magazine)Vogue magazine documentary to open next week (Blog Magazine)Who's using Anna Wintour's name to sell leggings on Twitter? (Daily Finance)Is Time Magazine's cover story "The Myth About Exercise" irresponsible? (Blog Magazine)The Magazine Group rebrands as TMG (Folio:)News Corp

Regret the Error blogger Silverman lands additional gig with PBS MediaShift

Unknown 20:37 appointments

Craig Silverman, the prolific Montreal-based freelancer and helmsman of the popular blog (and book) Regret the Error, has added a new gig with PBS MediaShift as an associate editor, according to Mastheadonline. He'll work with contributors on articles and write a monthly feature for MediaShift as well as being involved with sister site Idea Lab. Silverman also writes a weekly column for the

No matter what happens, RD chief execs have looked after themselves

Unknown 15:06 compensation

According to a post by Jason Fell at Folio:, based on documents filed this week with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, no matter what happens in the bankruptcy reorganization of Reader's Digest, its two top managers will have a soft landing.During the Chapter 11 process, [CEO Mary] Berner will be paid $125,000 per month in base salary. Meanwhile, [CFO Tom] Williams will receive $68,200

Murdoch bows out of "freesheet" newspaper war in London

Unknown 14:45

International newspaper mogul Rupert Murdoch has shut down the London Paper, the "freesheet" evening paper that, since 2006, has been giving out over half a million copies a day on the streets of London. The paper, which a story in Forbes.com says has been in a brutal struggle for advertising support with the rival London Lite (owned by Associated Newspapers), posted a lost of £12.9 million ($

Nova Scotia Policy Review changes its name and casts its policy net wider

Unknown 16:43 branding

The Nova Scotia Policy Review has changed its name to Coastlands: The Maritimes Policy Review.Started in June 2007 as a quarterly and published out of Bridgetown, Nova Scotia, the magazine will under its new name be able to cover the same politics, culture and justice issues, but casting a net over all the Maritime provinces. In a note to readers, editor Rachel Brighton saidUnder the new title

On-page video makes its debut in Entertainment Weekly

Unknown 17:44 promotions

It is the latest in a long line of innovations (if you think they're cool) or gimmicks (if you think they're lame), but the fall preview print edition of Entertainment Weekly will contain video. It is due out on newsstands September 11 and the latest attempt by magazine publishers to differentiate their print products.According to a story in MediaPost, the thin, battery-powered player runs a

"Cash for Clunkers" works for publishing websites, too!

Unknown 22:06 promotions

Now there's a cheeky initiative. A web design company in Norwalk, Connecticut is offering magazine publishers a $4,500 discount to trade in their old websites for a new one.GNC Publishing Partners, which has partnered with Fry Communications Inc. (a well-known consulting name in publishing circles) has riffed off the Obama administration's "Cash for Clunkers" grant program, aimed at revitalizing

Learning about The Business of Magazine Publishing at Ryerson University

Unknown 21:35 professional development

I am a part-time faculty member at Ryerson University and teach a course called The Business of Magazine Publishing (CDJN112) which is part of the Magazine Publishing certificate at the Chang School for Continuing Education. The 14-week course is being offered this fall, starting September 14, but people may be having difficulty navigating the Ryerson CE website, which was hacked a few weeks ago.

Magazine world view

Unknown 18:23 world view

Fashion magazines are losing ad revenue and readers (Brand Republic)Gourmet magazine to debut Public Television show (Blog Magazine)Sports Illustrated features regional covers for College Football Preview (Blog Magazine)Charging for content online: some remedial math (Daily Finance)12 tricks for optimizing your freelance career (Freelance Switch)Manchester Evening News pulls out of ABC (Guardian)

Watch! Read! Subscribe! Walrus tries out video trailers for every issue

Unknown 17:27

The Walrus magazine is taking the unusual initiative of putting out 90-second video in the style of a movie trailer, promoting a feature for each issue. The current one presents Helen Humphrey's re-enactment of the battle of the Plains of Abraham. The next (due out September 14) will highlight the October cover essay by writer Chris Turner.The videos are being done pro bono by Ingenious Devices,

Coming soon to Toronto: a Canadian Monocle shop?

Unknown 22:56

There's no word when, but Monocle magazine apparently intends to start one of its iconic shops in Toronto, to join those is London (Marylebone High Street), Palma de Majorca, Zurich and Los Angeles. There are also plans for Seoul and Hong Kong.According to a story in The Independent, the retail side -- which wasn't considered by expat Canadian founder Tyler Brûlé when the magazine was launched --

U.S. Reader's Digest Association files for bankruptcy protection

Unknown 19:33

Reader's Digest Association has filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States and has negotiated agreement in principle for an arrangement to reduce the company's debt to 25 cents on the dollar. According to a story in Folio: the Chapter 11 filing affects only the U.S businesses.Reader's Digest Association (Canada) LLC, based in Montreal, is managed separately (although it mirrored recent

Meredith Corporation rebrands to reflect emphasis on cross-platform marketing

Unknown 20:26 branding , brands , Meredith Corporation

Meredith Corporation, long known as one of the pre-eminent magazine publishing companies, is re-branding itself to shift the emphasis to its capabilities beyond print.According to a company release the Better Homes & Gardens behemoth has created a new logo (shown) and is promoting its offerings in cross platform, and integrated marketing and renaming some of its divisions; for instance, the

Publications lining up with Journalism Online system

Unknown 19:34 Journalism Online , monetizing content , online , pay-for-use

Pooh-poohed as it was at the start, Journalism Online, the system for helping newspaper, magazine and online publishers to make money from their content, seems to be catching on. More than 170 daily papers have signed on and more than 500 publications in total have agreed to join, representing more than 90 million unique monthly visitors.The company was created by several partners, including

Major health research journalism awards deadline is October 15

Unknown 19:22 awards

All working journalists in Canada – reporters, editors, photographers, producers, editorial writers and freelancers or Canadian journalists working abroad -- are eligible for major new awards, up to $20,000 each, for articles related to health research.The Canadian Institutes of Health Research is funding up to five Tier 1 Awards (worth $20,000 each) up to five Tier 2 Awards (worth $10,000 each)

Literacy levels on decline among media recruits: British training watchdog

Unknown 19:44 training

A British watchdog organization says it has a major concern about the decline in literacy levels among young media recruits, according to a story in Press Gazette.Skillset, the body supporting skills, education and training for the UK's creative media industries, said the impact of digital technology on the publishing world has exposed "critical" skills gaps in businesses where editorial quality

Microsoft faces court order to tweak Word...or stop selling it

Unknown 23:28

[This post has been updated] Microsoft faces the very real necessity of changing its ubiquitous Word program or being forbidden to sell it.According to a posting on the Wall Street Journal's legal blog, the company has lost a patent infringement court case to a Canadian firm i4i that could result in Word 2003 or 2007 or any future Word versions being ordered off the shelves come October.The

Vibe magazine revived under new ownership

Unknown 18:08 relaunches , Takeovers

Vibe magazine, which recently folded, has been bought by Uptown Media Group in partnership with private equity firm InterMedia Partners and Blackrock Digital, the company which formerly handled digital sales for Vibe.com, according to a story in Folio:. The plan is to relaunch Vibe.com immediately as the "centrepiece of the new venture". The print edition of Vibe will relaunch with a November/

Where is your favoured technology? Understanding the "hype cycle"

Unknown 17:27 technology

Assailed by new developments in social networking, even while struggling with the perennial challenges of selling ads and making good magazines, publishers and editors could be forgiven for feeling overwhelmed.You may take comfort (or add to your confusion) by familiarizing yourself with the analysis done by technology market research firm Gartner. It tries to track what it calls the "hype cycle"

Magazine world view

Unknown 21:38 world view

Economist launches single copy subscription service (Guardian)Paid-for content: online readers who pay for content may be more attractive to advertisers (Brand Republic)Is Uptown buying Vibe? (Folio:)Is there a case for Playboy + Maxim? (paidContent)Meredith repositions business divisions (Brand Republic) (Guardian) Guardian News & Media drops bulk salesMPA expands supermarket newsstand promotion

Flare magazine marks 30th anniversary

Unknown 21:06 anniversaries , celebrations

Flare magazine celebrates its 30th anniversary with its 264-page September issue, on newsstands this week. It features 30 years of the hottest fashion, beauty and celebrity coverage in a magazine with not one, but three covers, each featuring Daria Werbowy, a top super model.And the issue sells for only $1.99."For three decades Flare has remained the style authority for Canadian women, offering a

Halifax's Frog Hollow Books closing

Unknown 19:43

Another fine independent book and magazine store is going out of business, this time in Halifax. According to a posting on The Coast, Frog Hollow Books, which moved recently will close August 22. In a letter to customers, owner Heidi Hallet explained:A number of things have contributed to this decision, from ever increasing rents, the slumping economy and increased competition from online, big

Open for business: stylish kiosk for selling magazines and newspapers

Unknown 19:15 single copies

We don't know whether it would make more people buy magazines and newspapers, but this very stylish, bronze-clad Paperhouse newsstand kiosk is by Heatherwick Studio in Britain and is featured in the Great Ideas issue of Azure magazine. You'll find a slide show that shows the clam-like stand opening up.The kiosk design was commissioned by Kensington & Chelsea Council and two of them have been

Sure we airbrush, but so what? This isn't journalism, says Self editor

Unknown 22:20 covers

Editors shouldn't apologize for retouching cover subjects, says the editor-in-chief of Self magazine. In a posting on her blog, Lucy Danziger says that Self's portraits are not meant to be unedited or true-to-life snapshots. “This is art, creativity and collaboration. It's not, as in a news photograph, journalism. It is, however, meant to inspire women to want to be their best. That is the point,

Heavy hitters contribute to The Walrus promotional video

Unknown 17:53

The Walrus Foundation, publishers of The Walrus magazine, are getting a little help from its better-known friends, as award-winning authors, actors, musicians and designers have come together to create a video that promotes the independent magazine and explains why it matters.“We Need The Walrus,” a video that quickly explains why the magazine matters, and encouraging Canadians to read, subscribe

TEDx Toronto announces speakers

Unknown 17:28

Matthew Ingram, the Globe and Mail's communities editor, and Min Sook Lee, the broadcaster and documentarist, are among the speakers announced today to take part in Tedx Toronto, which takes place September 10 at the Theatre Passe Muraille. Ingram will be talking about "Five ways new media will save old media" and Lee about "Raising my toxic baby". Other speakers and their topics can be found

Cover "pouch" newest wrinkle in making most of covers for magazine ad sales

Unknown 04:16 "church and state" , ad:edit , ASME , editorial

House Beautiful, a major U.S. shelter magazine, features a "pouch" behind (or sandwiched inside) the front cover for its September issue. It is but the latest attempt by magazine publishers to find a way to strike a balance between maintaining the integrity of editorial covers while finding creative ways to engage advertisers.According to a story in the New York Times the pouch contains a card

The obit for the insert card is premature

Unknown 18:49 insert cards , single copies , subscriptions

A brief article in the New York Times claims that blow-in cards for magazines are on the verge of vanishing. Seems like wishful thinking. It won't happen anytime soon.The article noted that Outside magazine stopped inserting them last year and The Believer has just stopped doing so, saying that "everybody seems to be subscribing online".Yet, as a recent post here reported that, while it is

Kelowna's airport magazine wins top spot

Unknown 17:38 awards , custom publishing

YLW Connection, Kelowna International Airport’s custom-published magazine, has taken top spot in the Airports Council International-North America 2009 Excellence in Marketing and Communications Contest.Now in its second year, YLW Connection is published four times a year though Accelerate Communications, with a free circulation of 20,000.

Péladeau buys out brother, tightens grip on Quebecor empire

Unknown 03:26 Péladeau , Quebecor

Pierre Karl Péladeau now has full control of the entire Quebecor multimedia empire after buying out his brother Erik, according to a story carried by Canadian Press.In a press release on Thursday, Péladeau said that in accordance with the will of his late father Pierre Péladeau, he had bought "for a nominal amount" (undisclosed) the interests of his brother in the firm Placements Péladeau (PPI),

BCAMP promotes its members in Vancouver bus shelters

Unknown 20:28 bcamp , promotions

The BC Association of Magazine Publishers has taken advantage of an opportunity to promote its publication members in ads in 15 bus shelters around Vancouver.It is part of a City of Vancouver program for non-profits and gives priority to campaigns tied to specific events. So BCAMP is promoting the Word on The Street festival on September 27. It's headed There's More to Explore in B.C.'s Magazines

Magazine world view

Unknown 18:27 world view

Time Inc. closes Southern Accents (Audience Development)Relax, people: Here's what Murdoch really said about charging for news (Daily Finance)Sulzberger speaks (Media Nation)Off the beaten path: Afar, a new travel magazine, launches (Daily Finance)Pink Magazine shuts down print edition (Folio:)USPS reports $2.4 billion loss in 3rd quarter (Audience Development)

Marco Ursi resigns as editor of Mastheadonline

Unknown 17:20 resignations , staff

Marco Ursi is resigning from his editorship of Mastheadonline. He is going back to school to the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) to become a teacher. His last day is September 4.Ursi took over as editor in August 2007 and soon after presided over a major renovation of the print magazine's website. Last fall, he was presented with the challenge of making the transition to a

Canadian Art magazine starts next 25 years with new logo, design and format

Unknown 22:30 anniversaries , Canadian Art , celebrations

Canadian Art magazine is celebrating 25 years this fall with a new logo (shown below) , a complete redesign and a larger format, according to a posting on Mastheadonline. The fall anniversary issue is focussed on contemporary Canadian artists who are "setting the pace for the new art scene". The magazine will have reason to celebrate, the story says, since the magazine had record sales revenue

Parlour magazine takes its launch party guests down the rabbit hole

Unknown 22:00 launches , promotions

Parlour magazine, the Edmonton-based fashion, beauty, art and lifestyle title, found an unusual way to launch its latest issue...by taking its guests down the rabbit hole.According to a Vancouver Sun story, the launch party theme was based on Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and featured models portraying such characters as Alice and the Queen of Hearts in outfits designed by independent local

This Magazine blogger gets under Alberta's skin about the tar sands

Unknown 21:40

A small magazine can sometimes punch well above its weight, as This Magazine seems to be doing. A posting by regular blogger Emily Hunter about an eco-activist's campaign to get a moratorium on tar sands development in Alberta seems to have struck a nerve in Edmonton.So much so that a government spokesperson wrote and requested corrections to the post, denying any link between polycyclic

Google paper archives grow, with Halifax Gazette from 1753

Unknown 18:50 archives , Google

Google has put a digitized version of the Halifax Gazette, June 2, 1753 edition online, the oldest newspaper in its growing archive. It has also put the complete archives of the granddaddy of alternative papers, the Village Voice, online, going back to 1955. Plus papers from around the world, including the Sydney Morning Herald, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, The Manila Standard and The Nation from

Magazines Canada launches ad portal to automate workflows

Unknown 18:05 ad sales , advertisers , Advertising , production , tracking , workflows

Magazines Canada has launched AdDirect™, a free, web-based ad preflighting and delivery portal that will help to automate workflow and ad handling for advertisers and advertising agencies. The new portal is powered by SendMyAd.AdDirect™ automatically validates ad files against Magazines Canada and publishers’ specifications and instantly delivers them to any participating title. Plus senders

3-Day novel contest kickoff in Toronto and Vancouver

Unknown 17:46 awards , contests

A launch party and pep rally for the annual 3-day Novel Contest is to be held on Thursday, August 27 at 7 p.m. at the Victory Cafe, 581 Markham Street, Toronto. A similar event will be held in Vancouver on Friday, September 4 at the Lugz Coffee Lounge, 2525 Main Street, where last minute registrations can be dropped off.The contestants and observers will be fueling up for the gruelling

Deadline September 9 for OMDC creative cluster partnership fund

Unknown 17:38 creative clusters , funding , OMDC

There is a little over a month 'til the deadline for pre-qualification for the Ontario Media Development Corporation's entertainment and creative cluster partnerships fund. All applicants must submit information for pre-qualification by Wednesday, September 9. Final applications are due Wednesday, September 23, 2009 at 5 p.m.Program guideline packages Guidelines and application forms

CDS handles PrintAction; BCAMP holds fair for writers; *Briarpatch seeks publisher

Unknown 17:15

CDS Global has announced that it is handling the circulation management for Youngblood Publishing and its flagship magainze PrintAction. A craft fair for established, emerging and aspring magazine writers is being held by the BC Association of Magazine Publishers (BCAMP) on Saturday, August 15, 2009, 10:00 a.m. – 3:15 p.m. Room 7000, SFU Harbour Centre, 515 Hastings Street, Vancouver. Cost for

BC magazine community dealing with quadruple funding whammy

Unknown 20:19 funding

The decision by the British Columbia government to freeze lottery funds is only the latest blow to magazine publishers in the province.Magazines will cost 7% more next July when a harmonized sales tax comes in.The funding to the BC Arts Council was cut by 40%, inevitably affecting funding for literary and cultural magazines.The former federal support for arts and literary magazines (SALM) is

Modify the circulation threshold? The answer is no, says minister Moore

Unknown 19:18

[This post has been updated] Whatever hope small literary and cultural magazines had that they could change the minds of Canadian Heritage about its 5,000 annual paid threshold for the new Canada Periodical Fund are pretty much dashed. The small magazine community started a letter writing campaign and a Facebook group and certainly made its needs and interests known through its industry

Magazine world view

Unknown 22:10 world view

Twitter racks up 44.5m global users (Brand Republic)Teens don't tweet: Twitter growth not fuelled by youth (Brand Republic)Magazine Innovation in Practice: Maggwire, the iTunes for magazines? (Mr. Magazine)AMI Brings Natural Health, Fit Pregnancy Under New Umbrella (Folio:)Rain or snow? No problem, but revenue shortfalls cripple the Postal Service (Daily Finance)Playboy Reports $8.7M second

Quote, unquote: Consumers' changing media habits challenge industry

Unknown 17:12 quote

“While we have seen consumer media usage remain generally flat over the past year, the way in which consumers are spending their time continues to evolve. No longer are newspaper and magazine subscription purchases and network prime-time viewing the norm. Instead, they are declining and consumers are spending more time with media which they support and pay for as opposed to ad-supported media,“

Green living books grow out of Natural Life magazine

Unknown 16:50 line extensions

There are few things greener than recycling and reusing and Natural Life magazine is doing just that by publishing a series of green living books starting this fall. The first book will be Green and Healthy Homes, from Alternate Press, which will sell for $24.95.The book is edited by Wendy Priesnitz, the co-founder and editor of Natural Life. It will include tips on making your own cleaning

U.S. b2b publishers take significant hit on trade shows & events business

Unknown 14:23 American Business Media , b-to-b

U.S. b2b publishers, like others in print, are feeling the recession both in depressed ad pages and revenue, but also in what had been a growing and hopeful part of their business -- trade shows and events.According to a story from MediaDaily News, trade association American Business Media reported Monday that trade show revenues declined 18.6% during the first half of 2009: down 20.1% during

Magazine editor pilots Brunswick House through some neighbour troubles

Unknown 23:35

The owner of the well-known/infamous Brunswick House in Toronto is Abbis Mahmoud, the owner and editor-in-chief of Urban Male Magazine, who also owns several bars in Ottawa. But he's facing some heavy duty criticism from his neighbours in Toronto's Annex neighbourhood who don't like the way the traditional jug-o-beer watering hole, favoured by university and college students, has been gradually

Truckers' magazine reports Alberta minister approves of pedal to the metal

Unknown 21:28

A Missouri-based trade magazine for truckers, Land Line Magazine, reports that Alberta Transportation Minister Luke Ouellette rejects any idea of making commercial trucks observe the speed limits on the province's highways. He apparently made the remarks during an Alberta Motor Transportation Association conference last Friday. "Transportation Minister Luke Ouellette announced that Alberta will

BPAWW and CCAB certified to audit trade and consumer show attendance

Unknown 19:42

Magazine audit firm BPA Worldwide and its Canadian division, CCAB, were recently certified to provide audits of attendance at trade and consumer shows. It thereby became the first auditor of media to be certified by the Canadian Event Audit Advisory Council (CEAAC). The CEAAC, a not-for-profit organization formed in May 2008, is made up of a group of trade and consumer show professionals for

Not dead yet: UK Press Gazette bought and carries on under new ownership

Unknown 19:30

Not so long ago, we posted a report of the demise of the UK Press Gazette magazine, which seemed a lamentable parallel to the end of the print editon of Canada's Masthead. Well, happily, just as word of Masthead's death was exaggerated and it has come back strongly as an online vehicle, now the Press Gazette has been bought by deep-pocketed investor Mike Danson (who recently also acquired full

Herald Trib's nameplate changes as NYT "tightens the leash"

Unknown 19:10

A slight detour from this blog's usual fascination with magazines, into that delightful cul-de-sac of typography.This time about the decision by the New York Times to essentially "tighten the leash" and remove distinctiveness of the International Herald Tribune newspaper by redesigning its nameplate and slugging it "The Global Edition of the New York Times". Plus redirecting people who go to the

Print papers see big online growth with complementary sites

Unknown 18:54 digital , online

The magazine Editor & Publisher has published a tally of the best-drawing US newspaper websites for the month of March and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, which stopped its print edition March 17 has dropped out of the top 30 as a consequence of seeing its number of unique visitors fall by 23%.This adds fuel to the controversy over whether digital-only publishing can ever replace the power of

More on Barbara Moon

Unknown 18:49 obituary

For those interested in more background about the late Barbara Moon (see earlier post about her death), there is one of Sandra Martin's usual, excellent obituary articles in the Globe and Mail today, headed: She was tough and smart and (some) people loved her.

40 magazine jobs cut at Rogers Publishing

Unknown 18:40

[This post has been updated] Masthead magazine is reporting that 40 jobs have been cut happening in the consumer and b2b magazines at Rogers, apparently as part of wider layoffs across all divisions.Rogers Publishing Ltd. laid off about 40 staffers in its consumer and b-to-b publishing divisions this morning, a source close to the company tells Masthead. The figure represents about 4% of the

Playboy may be stripped of NY stock exchange listing

Unknown 16:49

The mighty Playboy empire, built on the eponymous magazine, is in danger of being delisted by the New York stock exchange.Playboy Enterprises Inc. has received notice from the New York Stock Exchange that it is not in compliance with the exchange's listing criteria, per a SEC filing [says a story in MediaDaily News.] Playboy's average market cap over a 30-day trading period fell below $75 million

American ambassadorships often one step in a lobbying career path

Unknown 13:30

Embassy magazine publishes a column about speculation of who will be the next U.S. ambassador to Canada; the smart money is on David Jacobson, a Chicago lawyer, fundraiser and "bundler" for Barack Obama. Columnist Leslie Campbell explores the career path of past U.S. ambassadors, many of whom wind up as lobbyists advising Canadian clients after their term is up.Campbell is critical of the Harper

Walrus, L'actualité & Toronto Life lead magaward nominations

Unknown 03:59

The finalists for the National Magazine Awards have been announced. Among the highlights:• Cynthia Brouse has been awarded The Foundation Award for Outstanding Achievement for her exceptional contributions to the Canadian magazines community. • The three finalists for the coveted award Magazine of the Year are AlbertaViews, Canadian Business and Spacing.• The winner of this year's award for Best

With Mom, you get air miles

Unknown 23:10 promotions

Today's Parent magazine has partnered with LoyaltyOne, Inc. and created a website where you can say nice things about your Mom and make yourself eligible to receive 25,000 Air Miles reward miles. Second prize is 10,000 points; third is 5,000. The "Celebrate Mom" promotion runs until May 8.

Magazine people step up to help the awards

Unknown 22:44 National Magazine Awards

This being a tough year for the National Magazine Awards, it's interesting to see how people from within the industry are stepping up to help. An appeal went out yesterday from former awards foundation president Kim Pittaway, asking for contributions to a "creators' fund"; if she can raise $1,500, that will be enough to sponsor one of the awards. Anyone interested can reach Kim at kapittaway[at]

Publishers of Driven to create custom pub for XM satellite radio listeners

Unknown 22:15 custom publishing

Auto Journal Inc., the publishers of DRIVEN magazine and Auto Journal, have announced that they are launching a new, quarterly custom publication to be delivered to subscribers to XM Canada satellite radio.The first issue will be published June 22 and go to 80,000 XM Canada subscribers across Canada. “This is exactly what our subscribers have been looking for: a way to link their listening

Province goes ahead with promised $5 million increase for Ontario Arts Council

Unknown 20:52

The Ontario Government is, despite concerns that it might be having second thoughts (because of the dire economy) will add $5 million to the budget of the Ontario Arts Council, bringing its annual grant to $60 million. The province's press release says that the money will helpdevelop Ontario arts organizations and artistspromote art and culture in communities across Ontarioincrease its services

Toronto Life to launch fashion and home design e-letter

Unknown 17:00

Toronto Life, which has been innovative in using e-letters, is launching a weekly fashion and home design newsletter next week, according to a story in Media in Canada. The newsletter will be sent to an intitial base of 15,000 readers (those who have opted into other e-info from TorontoLife.com. The newsletter will feature the latest trends in clothing and home fashions, and dons regular sections

Corporate Knights lauds top companies for getting along with aboriginals

Unknown 16:51

Corporate Knights Magazine has published a list of Canada's top companies when it comes to relations with aboriginal communities. It examined 28 companies based on size in four sectors: Forestry, Mining, Oil and Gas, and Utilities. It looked at employment, business development, community relations, environmental impact, and governance. And the top companies were:Forestry: Domtar Corp.Mining:

Esquire on its last legs? List of doom says two major mags will vanish by next year

Unknown 15:48

Department of ghoulish speculation: The blog 24/7 wallst.com has created a list of the 12 major brands that will disappear in the next 18 months or so and among them are Esquire magazine and Architectural Digest.Based on examining the public information available on some 100 brands, including sales information, brand histories, level of competition in each brand’s market and the extent to which

Transcon's CEO says -- cautiously -- that advertising slump is stabilizing

Unknown 05:14

Well, that's all right then. Francois Olivier, CEO of printer-publisher Transcontinental Inc., said Monday that the 2008 slump in newspaper and magazine advertising is stabilizing in Canada and probably in the U.S. He told the Montreal Gazette:"The signs give us hope in Canada but we won't get a firm idea where the market is heading until autumn," he said after addressing the Canadian Club of

B.C. Marijuana Party may fold and throw its support to the Greens

Unknown 03:54

The publisher of Cannabis Culture magazine and leader of the B.C. Marijuana Party, Marc Emery, says that he may fold the party after running in the B.C. provincial election and put his energies into getting the B.C. Green Party elected from now on. According to a story in The Tyee: The Marijuana Party has been active in B.C. politics since May 2001 when the party ran a full slate of candidates

Youngblood's PrintAction mags retain CDS Global to handle subscription services

Unknown 21:34 fulfillment

Youngblood Publishing Ltd., the publishers of various graphic arts magazines, including PrintAction and its trade and buyers guides, have hired CDS Global to handle its fulfillment and e-commerce transactions, outbound telemarketing and invoicing and renewals for all subscriptions. Previously and for the past 38 years, Youngblood has maintained its own full-time circulation marketing manager

Magazine world view

Unknown 21:10 world view

Senate newspaper hearings to begin May 6 (Huffington Post)Feds looking at "Amazon" tax (Adotas)Hearst to Double Rate Base of Food Network Mag (Folio:)Striking journalists in Scotland backed by SNP and Labour MPs (Guardian)A degree of despair: Journalism students question their choice of career(Guardian)Peter Preston: As the web cripples papers, an internet licence fee could help deliver the news(

OHS Canada article wins health and safety award

Unknown 15:17 awards

A feature by Dan Birch in the June 2008 issue of OHS Canada magazine has been given a major award by the Industrial Accident Prevention Association. The article "Under Fire", dealt with the non-traditional workplace health and safety concerns of police officers. The IAPA Russ Ramsay Media Awards, now in its second year, was established to honour outstanding journalism that enhances the public

What teeth ad:edit guidelines had are being pulled for expediency

Unknown 14:54 ad:edit

Ad:edit guidelines in both Canada and the United States have always been voluntary, relying on the good sense and goodwill of subscribing members. In Canada, it was an industry task force made up of editors, advertising sales people and publishers who hammered out the rules, which rely wholly on moral suasion. In the U.S. they were developed by a committee of the American Society of Magazine

Respected magazine editor Barbara Moon dies

Unknown 17:14 obituary

[This post has been updated] Much, doubtless, will be written in recollection in the days to come about Barbara Moon, known to many as one of Canada's most outstanding magazine editors and writers. According to a death notice in the Globe and Mail, she died last Wednesday near her home in retirement, Picton, Ontario, after a brief illness. She is survived by her husband, Wynne Thomas.Barbara was

Compliments to Geist magazine received, and deserved

Unknown 02:55

It doesn't happen very often (or, perhaps, not often enough) that one Canadian magazine sends a mash note to another. In the case in question, Toro magazine (now an online site only) has published a panegyric by senior writer Salvatore Difalco to the Vancouver-based literary Geist that must make founding editor Stephen Osborne blush, if only for a moment. [Disclosure: Osborne is an occasional

Canadian Business Press publishes digital directory of members

Unknown 21:07 b-to-b , Canadian Business Press

It's a definite sign of the times that the new Canadian Business Press directory is published digitally. Working with Texterity, the Guide to Business and Professional Publications provides thumbnails of all CBPs 156 publications; the directory is searchable and contains live links to the various individual publication and publishing company websites.

CAJ awards finalists announced

Unknown 21:30 awards

The finalists in the Canadian Association of Journalists awards have been announced. In the magazine category the nominees are:Susan McClelland, "Cut Both Ways" -- ChatelaineAlex Roslin, "The Pill Pushers" -- The Georgia StraightMichael Friscolanti, "A National Embarrassment" -- Maclean’sMichael Friscolanti and Martin Patriquin, "Caught in the No-Fly Web" -- Maclean’sCaitlin Crawshaw, "Go the

Not dead yet; Mr. Magazine's startup tally shows amazing innovation

Unknown 20:01

The gleeful reporting of the decline of the magazine industry has some antidotes and they are facts. Samir (Mr. Magazine) Husni is the source of some of those facts, most notably a running tally of magazine startups that has much greater reliability and depth of analysis than other sources. And he doesn't pull any punches about the reporters and pundits who witter on about magazines' decline; he

Budget cuts mean fashion vanishes from weekly New York Times Magazine

Unknown 17:19

Those devoted to the weekly fashion pages in the New York Times Magazine will have to get their fix elsewhere. A memorandum to staff from executive editor Bill Keller detailing budget cuts, (reproduced by Gawker, the Manhattan media blog), says in part:The weekly fashion spreads will no longer appear in the main magazine; instead we will focus our fashion coverage in the T Magazines, and the

PM criticized in Embassy magazine for squandering Canada's Cuban advantage

Unknown 16:46

Two academics, writing in the latest issue of Embassy magazine, have severely criticized Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government for allowing Canada's relationship with Cuba to deteriorate. In the article, "Our Disappearing Cuba Advantage", coming as it did just before the announcement of a slight thaw in U.S. attitudes to Cuba, Dalhousie University's John Kirk and University of P.E.I.'s Peter

Sheridan graduate show highlights the "power of illustration"

Unknown 16:30 art direction , design , illustration

The Sheridan College illlustration program graduate show in Toronto is always a highlight and this year is no exception.For the second year the program partnered with Rethink Communications to create a brand for the illustration grads and the program. This year's theme is "the power of illustration".The students were handed an unfinished sentence: "Illustrators have the power to ________." and

Freefall magazine story shortlisted for Alberta Literary Awards

Unknown 16:30

A short story published in the Calgary-based literary quarterly FreeFall magazine has been shortlisted for the 2009 Alberta Literary Awards. Andrea Beca, who is well-known in Edmonton theatre circles, was selected for her short story" The Disappearing Act". (Beca's story was also nominated for the Writers’ Trust of Canada/ McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize.) The Alberta Literary Awards will be

Freeze blue box rates; make system fair, demands Magazines Ontario

Unknown 19:47

Magazines Ontario says the Ontario blue box recycling program works against the interest of Ontario-based magazines. In a bulletin published today, the association has made some vigorous recommendations to Stewardship Ontario, the body that presides over the blue box recycling program, one of which is to freeze its rates at 2008 levels.Tomorrow morning, Stewardship Ontario is holding its annual

Quebec court authorizes freelancers' class action again Montreal Gazette et al

Unknown 19:03

The Quebec Superior Court has authorized a class action to proceed against the Montreal Gazette and many of the biggest companies in Canadian publishing, after a 10-year struggle by the Electronic Rights Defence Committee (ERDC) .According to a posting on the ERDC website: At issue is electronic use without permission or compensation for work by freelance writers in The Montreal Gazette. The

"Online only" may not be the panacea some publishers think

Unknown 18:48 digital , online

Here's a cautionary tale for those who seem to think that a choice must be made between publishing in print or online. It has always seemed to me that the "complementary" nature of print and online is self-evidently beneficial; the trick is in striking the right balance.

Six Canadian magazines nominated for Utne Independent Press Awards

Unknown 17:33 awards

The annual Utne Independent Press Awards finalists have been announced, among them six Canadian titles. (Unfortunately, one of the titles -- ascent, from Montreal, has closed as of March 31.) Winners will be announced at a celebration in Boulder, Colorado, during the Magazine Publishers of America’s Independent Magazine Group conference (May 17-19) and published in the July-August issue of Utne

Masthead editor prowls the Aussie newsstands

Unknown 16:16

After a visit to Australia, Masthead editor Marco Ursi has some observations on magazines on the other side of the world, including remarking on the higher cover prices and the preponderance of single copy sales.

The Tyee tops $13,000 donations to election reporting fund

Unknown 15:59

The Tyee's innovative election reporting fund has topped $13,000 to help the online magazine ramp up its reporting of the campaign leading up to the May 12 BC election.

Canadian magazine stats are "tremendously stable", says Magazines Canada

Unknown 15:51 research

Magazines Canada has published an analysis of the recently released PMB data which shows that, over the past five years, time spent reading, average interest scores and average number of reading occasions have remained "tremendously stable" and consistent:Readers per copy (RPC) has remained stable over recent years while average magazine readership, 1.03 million compared to 1.06 million in PMB

Magazine world view

Unknown 15:28 world view

Natmags absorbing Hearst Digital, laying off fifth of staff (paidContent:UK)Sport magazine ceases publication (Guardian)News Corp to form global editorial hub (Guardian)Mike Danson buys New Statesman (Guardian)Interview, Steve Brill, Part I: ‘We Shouldn’t Sue, We Should Do It’ (paidContent.org) Consumer mag ad pages sink 26% (Folio:)

Wholesaler disruption blamed as US newsstand sales drop 12%

Unknown 14:04 newsstand , Single copy

The recent disruption of delivery to newsstands, including the closure of Anderson News, resulted in U.S. single copy sales falling roughly 12% in the first quarter, according to figures from Magazine Information Network (MagNet), as reported in Mediaweek.The results are based on point-of-purchase estimates and could end up higher once all returned magazines are counted.The delivery disruption

Magazine Industry needs to preach optimism, says Time Inc. CEO

Unknown 13:30

The CEO of one of the world's largest magazine companies acknowledges that the current downturn in the industry is"more challenging than previous recessions," but Ann Moore of Time Inc. told an industry event that there were many reasons for optimism. And she said that the magazine industry needs "to start preaching optimism in our businesses and brands." According to the story in MediaDaily

High-powered trio setting up system to enable pay-for-content

Unknown 21:50 online , pay-for-use

Several longtime media players, including Stephen Brill (creator of Brill's Content, Court TV and American Lawyer) have launched a company called Journalism Online Inc. which aims to provide print publishers with the tools necessary to get paid for their online content.Along with Brill, the company includes Gordon Crovitz, a former publisher of the Wall Street Journal and Leo Hindery, who headed

Stars unmasked in French Elle

Unknown 20:01

It would not be so remarkable, were it not so remarkable: French Elle's April issue publishes several covers of extremely attractive stars -- without makeup! and without Photoshop! What is the world of magazines coming to? [Via Jezebel]

CSME lunch panel to talk about reconciling sales and the reader experience

Unknown 19:36 events

Bringing in revenue without compromising the reader experience. Sounds good. "How to Sell without Selling Out" is the topic of the next Canadian Society of Magazines Editors (CSME) luncheon, with a panel discussion including:Peter Willson, Associate Publisher, Hello! CanadaDouglas Thomson, Editor, Canadian Home WorkshopSharon Donaldson, Online Editor, cottagelife.com, exlore-mag.com and

A major shift underway in attitudes about magazine pricing and value

Unknown 17:32 Circulation , management , single copies

Some magazines are realizing that they have consistently undervalued their products, to the point where readers could be forgiven for being confused about the value proposition. In another context, I have said how bizarre it is to price a magazine for less than it costs to buy a high-end greeting card.It has made less and less sense to give the whip hand to advertising revenue. A recent article

"Bootstrap" business mag for designers launched as print on demand

Unknown 14:50 launches

A new magazine in the U.S. aimed at helping design firms run good businesses has been launched as a "bootstrap publication", made available through the print-on-demand firm Lulu.com.Design Business Review's first edition (129 pages, b&w pages) is available now for $13.50. No apologies are made on the DBR website for the plain-vanilla appearance or rush to publication:DBR is a quick-to-market

Mike's heart belongs to Audi...

Unknown 14:27 ad:edit , Advertising

A friend who has been following our coverage of the erosion of the integrity of magazine covers, writes:The April/May 2009 Sharp magazine inserted with delivery of the Globe and Mail this morning has a flap opening on Mike Weir's chest to reveal an Audi Q5. Headline is "Mike Weir On Tiger's Tail: The Greatest Canadian Golfer talks fame, money and fatherhood"... oh, and then the flap implies he's

BC Book & Magazine Week has events across the province

Unknown 14:09

"Words connect" is the theme of BC Book & Magazine Week, which begins this weekend with a long agenda of events in locations across the province. The week-long literary celebration (April 18 - 25), co-sponsored by the BC Association of Magazine Publishers (BCAMP) and the Association of Book Publishers of BC (ABPBC)was founded in January 1999 as BC Book Week, and in 2001 the event expanded to

Enjoy...oh, of course this only applies if you still have your job...

Unknown 04:46

A memorandum to all employees of Reader's Digest, worldwide, from the company president:April 8, 2009To: All EmployeesFrom: Mary BernerRe: Thank You Initiative / Birthdays offThe Executive Committee and I wanted to do something for everyone across the world to express our thanks and appreciation for all of the sacrifices you have made and will continue to have to make to help

Green Living gets a makeover

Unknown 23:25

Green Living magazine has had a makeover. Gone is the eco-fashion and beauty, replaced with a greater emphasis on smarter eco features and more depth. The website has also been redesigned and relaunched, with the addition of eco guides for Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Ottawa. The new issue will be available Wednesday, in time for the forthcoming 3rd annual Green Living show at the Direct

Quote, unquote: Canwest Global shares said to be worth nothing

Unknown 21:06

"Given the significant liquidity challenges facing the company, we see no residual value in the shares of Canwest," -- BMO Capital Markets analyst Tim Casey. "We see no compelling reason to own, let alone buy Canwest shares, which we would continue to avoid," -- National Bank Financial analyst Adam Shine. "We continue to believe there is significant risk Canwest is forced into bankruptcy

Goodbye to the scoop

Unknown 20:32

Marketwatch columnist Jon Friedman laments the disappearance of the journalistic scoop. Remember when a reporter would revel in "beating" everybody else to a story? And when competitors had to scramble to "match" a scoop?But ego gratification aside, I have to wonder: How much do scoops still matter in the thick of the digital revolution? Not so much, I'm afraid. With the exception of a

"Cycles, trends and wobbles" in the magazine business

Unknown 18:22

Guardian columnist Jim Bilton observes that the underlying fundamentals of the magazine industry -- particularly circulation pricing -- is part of a complex mix :Cycles are relatively easy to spot, as they keep on recurring. Since the late 80s, the industry has seen two launch booms, the last one in 2003-05. In 2006, the number and size of launches fell dramatically and they have continued to

Magazine world view

Unknown 18:05 world view

Good scales back frequency (Folio:)Investigative journalism under threat from new regulations (Guardian)Boston Foundation not so hot to buy the Globe (Media Nation)Amazon Says 'Glitch' Caused Sales-Rank Outage For Gay, Lesbian Titles (Media Nation)Active Interest Media Acquires Four Magazines(Folio:)Hearst to offer coupons on sites (Folio:)

Canadian Musician magazine turns 30

Unknown 17:41

Canadian Musician magazine (CM) is marking 30 years of publication. It first issue appeared in the spring of 1979, featuring rock legend Burton Cummings on the cover.Jim Norris, the publisher, promises in a press release:"The next 30 years will be even more exciting than the last."CM is a bi-monthly that covers prominent Canadian artists, the latest gear, technique and the business of music.

Derek Weiler, editor of Quill & Quire dies, aged 40

Unknown 17:16 obituary

[This post has been updated] Derek Weiler, the editor of Quill & Quire, the magazine for the library and book trade, passed away suddenly on Sunday at 40. The death was announced in a posting on the magazine's website.Weiler graduated from the University of Waterloo with Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in English Literature, and from Centennial College in Toronto with a Certificate in

Quote, unquote: It's the links, stupid

Unknown 18:30 quote

Everyone talks about Google’s algorithms as if it were some giant artificial intelligence that had its own ability to judge the value of content. The greatest irony of the web content economy is that Google by itself doesn’t have a clue what content is good or bad. Google is able to deliver relevant search results only because every site on the web helps them figure it out. Google’s algorithm is

Readers pay up to ensure The Tyee can fully cover BC election

Unknown 18:06

The Tyee, the web-based magazine published in Vancouver, has so far raised more than $7,000 to help finance its enhanced coverage of the looming British Columbia election.According to a story published by Canadian Press, the magazine had hoped to raise $5,000 to pay for an extra reporter over the 10-day campaign; in return, donors could indicate which area of coverage they would like to see

That tears it...Financial Post magazine rips out story to mollify subject

Unknown 20:49

According to a story in the Toronto Star, the current issue of the Financial Post magazine has one of its stories ripped out of each copy at the behest of the Manulife Financial Corporation and the subject of the story, Manulife's CEO Dominic D'Allesandro. The magazine has a per-issue circulation of more than 200,000 copies.The story – titled "Bang for the Buck. Dominic D'Alessandro's options and

Quote, unquote: Tyler Brûlé puts more boots on the ground

Unknown 23:05 quote

Monocle publisher Tyler Brûlé in an interview with LAist, which asked for the reasons for the magazine's success when other magazines were failing:I think we have the single edition. We’re fortunate enough that we can rely on a variety of advertising markets. That we don’t just have to rely on New York as an advertising base. That’s one of the reasons how we’ve been able to very much in positive

ASME calls two magazines on the carpet for ad encroachment on covers

Unknown 19:51

[This post has been updated] The American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) has called two magazines on the carpet, criticizing ESPN the Magazine and Entertainment Weekly for recent ads on the magazines' covers, according to a story by Nat Ives in AdAge.As readers of Canadian Magazines will know, there have been a flurry of instances of advertising impinging on covers, traditionally viewed as

How freelancers can survive, even thrive, in the recession

Unknown 19:32 freelancers

In another of its occasional, laudable get-togethers for its members, the Toronto Freelance Editors & Writers group had a panel about how freelancers could best survive the recession. The panel included four freelance editors and writers (Kim Pittaway, Astrid Vandenbroek, Jason McBride & Nina Boccia.) A very good summary was made of the event by freelancer Jennifer McPhee who gave me permission

Geist goes green

Unknown 20:35

After nineteen years of patient study, Geist magazine has finally made the leap to green. The spring issue of the national quarterly of fact and fiction is printed with vegetable inks on eco-friendly paper stocks supplied by Hemlock Printers (who are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council).The occasion has been marked with a new cover design by Steffan Quong using artwork by Rebecca Dolan of

Magazine world view

Unknown 19:31 world view

Spectator Business cuts schedule from monthly to quarterly(Guardian)Vanity Fair kills green issue (Blogmagazine.com)Local Government Association defends council-run newspapers (Guardian)What Are A Million Social-Media Followers, Friends Or Subscribers Worth?(paidContent.org)Ecologist mag goes web-only(UK Press Gazette)Hearst's Bronstein Takes On Colbert: Internet Is Not Killing Newspapers—But

Printer Quebecor World to emerge from bankruptcy

Unknown 19:18

Quebecor World, one of the largest printers in the world and a major printer of magazines, says it is about to emerge from bankruptcy protection that was put in place January 2008. A restructuring has allowed the company to recapitalize and the announcement came after a year of negotiations with creditors."This is a consensual agreement among the three main creditor constituencies - the banks,

Ryerson Review launch on Tuesday 14th

Unknown 18:32

Everyone is welcome to attend the launch party in Toronto for the Ryerson Review of Journalism Spring and Summer issues at the Cadillac Lounge, 1296 Queen Street west of Dufferin, April 14, 2009, 5:30-8.

Questionable quote

Unknown 18:18

On the opening page (p. 147) of the Life section of Canadian Living this month is a quote from Clarence Thomas, the U.S. Supreme Court justice:Good manners will open doors that the best education cannot.Which would be all very well (nice sentiment) were it not coming from someone whose appointment to the bench was accompanied by considerable controversy, never fully resolved. Perhaps people have

All in the family

Unknown 22:14

Mixed feelings about the announcement that Moira Forbes, the daughter of billionaire media magnate Steve Forbes of Forbes magazine, granddaughter of Malcolm Forbes, has become the first publisher in Forbes' history with the launch of a new quarterly print mag and website spinoff from the eponymous business title. It's called ForbesWoman.Targetted at professional women, its first print issue due

Ad encroachment on magazine covers comes in many different forms

Unknown 16:42 ad:edit , advertisers , Advertising

For those who want to review the trends and controversy surrounding the encroachment of ads on magazines covers -- albeit in the U.S. -- Nat Ives has an good roundup in the April 1 issue of AdAge.

1. Cow. 2. Barn door. Closing 2 after 1 has walked through

Unknown 23:06

From a story in the New York Times:Taking aim at the way news is spread across the Internet, The Associated Press said on Monday that it will demand that Web sites obtain permission to use the work of The A.P. or its member newspapers, and share revenue with the news organizations, and that it will take legal action those that do not.From the New York magazine site, a similar story:The Associated

Is there a print magazine advertising correction coming?

Unknown 22:15

Blogger Dan McCarthy (ViralHousingFix) raises an interesting question about the disconnect between print advertising pricing and the expectations of advertisers. Yes, it can be proven that viewers only register 37% of internet ads and, yes, so-called "old media" are better value in terms of engagement and impact. But...We’re in the middle of the biggest economic disruption in generations.

Quote, unquote: print guy moves on

Unknown 20:37 quote

I feel like the man who has been poor and rich and is here to tell us that rich is better. A veteran of the pre-Internet era and a user of the Net for a decade and a half, I’ve formed a firm opinion: Net is way better.-- former Saturday Night editor, now National Post columnist and blogger, Robert Fulford, writing in a column about his conversion.

UK Press Gazette to close after 43 years

Unknown 19:32 closures

[This post has been updated] The UK Press Gazette, which has been reporting on the media industry in Great Britain for 43 years, is being shut down. The owners, Wilmington Group plc bought the magazine out of bankruptcy protection in 2006, but said that despite significant investment, it was not able to bring it to profitability.Unlike Masthead magazine in Canada, which closed down its print

Magazines Canada launches "friends" site -- a possible "e-mail army"

Unknown 14:56

Magazines Canada has plans to mobilize an "e-mail army" of Canadians to defend the Canadian magazines and content they love.The national association is today launching the "Friends of Canadian Magazines Network". MC says the goal is to use the site to build awareness of the value and impact of Canadian content magazines among Canadians and thereby among political decision makers.“Friends” who

Hook readers with free content, then sell them something, says Rodale CEO

Unknown 14:43

Rodale Publishing (Men's Health, Prevention) is riding out the recession because of the strength of its free online content is selling its paid books, according to a story in Forbes magazine.Chief executive Steven Murphy said in an interview that, though the magazine's ad pages were down 5% last year (compared with the industry average 12%) that approximately 42% of their subscribers have bought

Magazine world view

Unknown 14:21 world view

Thomson Reuters staff vote for industrial action (Guardian) NYTCO Threatens to Close 'Boston Globe' (MediaDaily News)The Husni Report: New Magazine Launches in Q-1 of 2009 are UP…(MrMagazine.com)Internet advertising revenues surpass $23 Billion in ’08 (Internet Advertising Bureau)

Adbusters wins appeal, can carry on with suit against Global, CBC

Unknown 22:08 legal

Adbusters Media Foundation, which operates Adbusters magazine, has won the right to continue its lawsuit against Global Television Network Inc. and Global Communications Limited. and won the right to add the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as a defendant to a lawsuit. This, according to a story published by the Georgia Straight. In a unanimous three-member decision released at the end of last

OMG!!! Maclean's!!! What happened to your cover?

Unknown 02:12 ad:edit , Advertising , covers

Maclean's. Its latest mission? To boldly go down slippery slopes, where Esquire has gone before. See posts passim.With its April 13 issue, Maclean's leaps aboard the flapvert toboggan. Complete with an arrow and the words "OPEN HERE".Not "OPEN HERE IF YOU WISH TO GAZE UPON AN ADVERT FROM A CAR COMPANY".No, it is implied that the reader would "open here" to partly reveal the answer to the

Magazines' amazing capacity to adapt

Unknown 20:23

There is absolutely no reason to think that most magazines and the industry itself won’t be able to adapt again, now, in the face of all that we’re dealing with. That’s as true for a larger consumer magazine as it is for a literary journal with 300 subscribers.-- From a keynote speech by D. B. Scott delivered to the Atlantic Magazines Association conference in Halifax, Sunday March 29.

Free news must stop, Murdoch says

Unknown 19:53 online

Rupert Murdoch, whose Wall Street Journal has always charged readers for access to its online content, says all other papers will have to do the same thing. According to a story from Reuters, Murdoch, who bought Dow Jones and its flagship WSJ in 2007, told a cable television conference in Washington:"People reading news for free on the Web, that’s got to change.” Murdoch pointed to the Journal’s

Big U.S. mags saw 7-year newsstand decline of 31%: ABC

Unknown 19:44 Circulation , newsstand , single copies

Newsstand sales for 70 of the biggest American magazine titles declined 31% in the seven years 2001 - 2008, according to an analysis done by the Audit Bureau of Circulations. It was reported by in MediaDaily News. 55 out of 70 titles saw newsstand sales fall and the over all decline was from an average 22.3 million in the second half of 2001 to 15.4 million in the second half of 2008.These

Magazines work for young-skewing brands, research finds

Unknown 01:53 Advertising , research

Magazine ads work in reaching young women, says a study conducted for Avon Products . According to a story in AdAge, Avon was so impressed by the impact print advertising had on its youthful-skewing Mark brand cosmetics, that it has reinforced its commitment to magazines. People are much more likely to pay attention to magazine ads than online ads, said David Shiffman, senior VP-connections

Small Farm Canada contributor honoured for her poetry

Unknown 01:36

A regular contributor for Small Farm Canada magazine, Emily McGiffin, a twenty-eight-year-old from Smithers, British Columbia has received the prestigious Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers for a selection of her poetry.The award, administered by the Writers' Trust of Canada, is given annually to a Canadian author under the age of thirty-five, for work not yet published in book form.

Atlantic Journalism Awards magazine finalists announced

Unknown 01:20 awards

The finalists for the Atlantic Journalism Awards have been announced. Magazine-related categories are:Atlantic Magazine - Best ArticleEleanor Beaton - Saltscapes Magazine, Giving Away The FarmJack MacAndrew - Saltscapes Magazine , Springhill '58Sandra Phinney - Saltscapes Magazine, Full Celtic CircleAtlantic Magazine - Best CoverFurry's Magazine, Halifax, January/February 2008, Time For

Magazine-friendly e-reader may be only a year away

Unknown 22:06

Current "e-readers" like the Kindle and Sony Reader weren't designed with periodicals in mind, such as magazines. They were designed for reading books.But it is looking more and more like technology may catch up with interest and need.As an article in the New York Observer points out, Kindle offers formats for magazines, but "hokey black-and-white screens" don't do them justice. And free

Digital guy on what makes printed magazines 'cool'

Unknown 21:07 online

Interesting short video interview by Samir Husni with Jim Sexton, senior vice president and editorial director of Southern Progress Corporation Digital Network. Among other things, he points out that in an digital age, if you knew nothing about a printed magazine and someone told them about all its attributes and benefits , they'd say "That's cool." The interview is one of a series of Q & As that

Quote, unquote: too much magazine inventory, not enough buyers

Unknown 20:55 quote

“Most publishers have the same problems as car dealers or home builders—that is, they have too much inventory and not enough buyers. There are too many magazines, too many web sites and too many conferences—and not enough advertising or marketing spending to support them. So just as stores close and auto dealerships disappear, media properties get shut down. It’s not really about costs or

Elle Canada rolls it all out into a day-long consumer show

Unknown 20:09

Elle Canada is taking a new tack in working with and wooing advertisers by hosting what is effectively an all-day consumer show for fashionistas, featuring thirty vendors and sponsored seminars on clothing, shoes and accessories, as well as makeup and hair trends. The event is at the Carlu in Toronto on April 25thAccording to a story in Media in Canada,this combination of seminars, fashion shows,

Canadian Homes Trends to launch enhanced electronic version

Unknown 19:39

Canadian Home Trends - Canada's Home Decor & Lifestyle Magazine is launching an electronic version, available April 7, that actually contains 20% more editorial pages than its print edition. Single copy and subscription sales will be available.

Royal Ontario Museum magazine relaunched with new look and content

Unknown 19:23 relaunches

The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) has relaunched its quarterly magazine (at one time called Rotunda) with a whole new look provided by the Toronto design firm Hambly & Woolley Inc. and new sections and features that explore latest acquisitions, stories about international curators, and interdisciplinary opinions on the latest buzz in arts and culture.“ROM magazine has always been full of fascinating

"Time spent" with magazine ads now more favoured metric

Unknown 13:58 research

Magazines have more than twice the impact of TV, online or radio and considerably more than printed newspapers in terms of time spent engaged with advertising, according to report done for the Magazine Publishers of America (MPA). The results were reported by MediaDaily News.The article noted that magazines have been reluctant in the past to use "time spent" as a measure in relation to other

South African ad wins best of show at Magazine Canada Best on Page event

Unknown 21:05 advertisers , Advertising

Late reporting that a DDB entry from South Africa won best of show in the reader's choice picks at Magazines Canada's Best on Page event last week. The ad, for Energizer batteries was picked by attendees at the fourth annual event, an exhibition of award-winning magazine creative from around the world. It featured 150 international award winners from the Cannes Lions Festival, the Epica Awards,

Atlantic Magazines Association lays down a good foundation

Unknown 20:32 industry associations

The Atlantic Magazines Association (AMA) is off to a good start after its first annual conference in Halifax. [Disclosure: I was a paid speaker and have done some consulting work with them.] The fledgling association has its work cut out for it in part because of a surfeit of geography; most other regional associations (BC, Alberta, Manitoba) don't encompass four provinces and two time zones (

Outgoing Canadian Geographic editor on fun with freelancers

Unknown 20:21

Outgoing Canadian Geographic editor Rick Boychuk makes a graceful exit with his final column in which he says what many other good editors feel about freelancers:The best of their pitches to us often result in more work than we can pay them to undertake. And yet, with assignments in hand, off they go by plane (Lisa Gregoire from Edmonton to Grise Fiord), canoe (Karsten Heuer from Calgary to

Magazine world view

Unknown 20:06 world view

Herald Tribune website revamped (Guardian)What's wrong with CNN? (Media Nation)Prevention cuts rate base 15% (Folio:)UK Online Sales Growth To Halve In '09, Publishers Say(paidContent)The AP Daily without AP (Buzz Machine)IAB: Online Ad Spend Grew 10.6 Percent In '08, Dragged Down By Difficult Q4(paidContent)

ESPN magazine takes "flapvertising" another step

Unknown 17:30 ad:edit , Advertising

The erosion of editorial cover integrity proceeds apace: this time, perhaps emboldened by the Esquire venture into cover "flapvertising" that, at least, had to be opened, ESPN magazine has gone a step forward with an advertising flap that virtually obscures the cover, according to a story in Portfolio.com. Once again, it seems an offence to the spirit and letter of the American Society of

Harmonized Ontario tax confirmed; magazines to take the hit

Unknown 14:12

Magazines publishing in Ontario will, as expected, have to charge a 13% harmonized tax on top of subscriptions starting in just over a year. It was confirmed in yesterday's Ontario budget that the 8% provincial sales tax will be merged with the 5% GST starting July 1, 2010.It is, in effect, an 8% increase in taxation, since the 50% of magazines in Ontario have not charged provincial sales tax on

Magazine readership shows slight decline in 2009 spring PMB study

Unknown 17:07 PMB

The just-released 2009 Print Measurement Bureau results, the first to be issued on a biannual (spring/fall) schedule, show a slight decline in readership of about 4%, based on data gathered in 2007 and 2008. English Canadian magazines were down an average of 3.2% in readership; French titles 6.2%.Average magazine readership is 1.3 million (English) and 522,000 French and a steady average

Does the government want to treat small mags and readers like cockroaches?

Unknown 12:34

Jon Barton, the editor of The Malahat Review and one of the people spearheading a protest group on Facebook about a funding floor in the Canada Periodical Fund (CPF) has written a strongly worded opinion piece for the Globe and Mail. The new measure, to come into effect April 2010 would restrict support to magazines with more than 5,000 annual paid circulation; this would effectively shut out

"Harmonization" of Ontario sales tax will wallop magazines

Unknown 10:00 taxes

[This post has been updated]Today's likely announcement in the Ontario budget of "harmonization" of its provincial sales tax (8%) with the federal goods and services tax (5%), will have a major impact on magazines sold in the province. It means that the provincial sales tax portion, never before paid on magazinesmagazine subscriptions, will now apply.In effect, the decision will automatically

Magazines Canada joins American Business Media as international member

Unknown 02:01 b-to-b

Here's a curiosity: American Business Media has welcomed Magazines Canada as an international member, one of nine new members announced in a posting on its website. The curious part is that ABM -- the major U.S. association for b2b print and online publications -- sought out MagsCan. This is despite the alliance between ABM and Canadian Business Press (CBP) which has made little secret of its

Quote, unquote: on letting U.S. papers go non-profit

Unknown 01:22 quote

"We are losing our newspaper industry. The economy has caused an immediate problem, but the business model for newspapers, based on circulation and advertising revenue, is broken, and that is a real tragedy for communities across the nation and for our democracy." -- Senator Benjamin L. Cardin, D.-Md., speaking to his proposal to allow beleagured U.S. newspapers to operate as not-for-profits.

Suits enwrap short-lived U.S. newspaper magazine supplement RiseUp

Unknown 01:08

About a year ago we wrote about the forthcoming June launch of a "curious new magazine" called RiseUp that intended to distribute 4 million copies through insertion in various newspapers across the U.S. and address relations between races.And, if the publisher's ambitions are to be believed, by the first quarter of 2009, circulation will be 8 million this fall and could be as high as 12 million

Founding editor of Style at Home retiring

Unknown 22:41

The founding editor of Style at Home magazine, Gail Johnston Habs, is retiring at the end of May after 12 years with the magazine and 23 with Transcontinental Media.After founding and editing artviews, a magazine for Canadian contemporary artists, for nine years, and active participation on the boards of several cultural organizations (including the Ontario Association of Art Galleries and the

Total newspaper readership held steady in 2008: NADbank study

Unknown 21:07 research

Those of us in publishing, print and online, should feel quite relieved with what passes for good news these days: Total newspaper readership for all of 2008 was essentially steady. The NADbank study shows that more than three-quarters of Canadians, 77%, read a printed or online version of a daily newspaper in a typical week, according to a report in Marketing magazine.The 2008 readership study

Keeping the good thought; interns talk about the future

Unknown 15:45

Stacey May Fowles, the circ and marketing director at The Walrus and publisher of Shameless magazine, was wondering how Walrus interns thought about the scary, pessimistic and generally uncertain tone these days; so she asked them and posted their comments on her blog on Masthead. For instance when they were asked if they were optimistic about the future:Ashton Osmak: Oddly, yes. There was a

Cannabis Culture couple run for different parties in B.C. provincial election

Unknown 15:18

The publisher and editor of Vancouver-based Cannabis Culture magazine are both running in the 2009 British Columbia provincial general election, but for different parties. Jody Emery, the editor is running as a Green Party candidate for the riding of Vancouver Fraserview. She's married to high-profile marijuana activist Marc Emery, leader of the Marijuana Party, who is running in Vancouver

From the genteel world of magazines...

Unknown 20:48

A concert sponsored by Abort magazine in Vancouver had to be broken up by the Vancouver police when controversial New York rapper Necro (he's the one in the middle) failed to show up and fans, um, demonstrated their displeasure.According to a report on the Abort magazine website, fans had been waiting for hours at the Richards on Richards nightclub on Saturday, only to be told that Necro's

Roundup of Alberta Magazines Conference awards

Unknown 20:25 AMPA

Here's a roundup of the awards given out at last weekend's Alberta Magazine Conference. Dan Rubinstein was named editor of the year as the founding editor of Unlimited magazine.

Quote, unquote: Thinking about the consumer

Unknown 19:22 Circulation , newsstand

“I want to see some innovation. I want to know that when we stop the mental fisticuffs we can go back to thinking about the consumer. We’ve spent the last two months thinking about every other stakeholder. Let’s get together and think how we can get closer to the consumer.”-- Dwell publisher Michela O’Connor Abrams speaking at the 2009 MPA Retail Conference.