Flare internship candidates apply on video, with readers voting

Flare magazine has turned unpaid internships at its magazine website into a competition in which readers vote on video applications.The three-month internships (January to April) at the Rogers fashion title are unpaid and successful candidates have to pay their own expenses to live in Toronto. To be eligible they must be registered or recently graduated from an accredited college or university. "

Green Living will turn 10 and quarterly

Green Living magazine is celebrating its 10th year of publication with a major relaunch as a full-size, national quarterly as of Spring 2008. What began as the annual Enviroguide, which provided information about environmentally friendly goods and services, it went bi-annual in 2004, and in 2005, was redesigned and renamed Green Living to reflect an expanded editorial content. (shown is the Fall/

Andrew Coyne jumps from National Post to Maclean's

There has been a major defection from the National Post with the announcement that national affairs columnist Andrew Coyne is joining Maclean's magazine as National Editor in early November.Ken Whyte, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Maclean's, said: "We are delighted to have Andrew at Maclean's," says Whyte. "He's a great addition to our enviable roster of correspondents. He's a brilliant

Aileen who? The 6th Ontario culture minister in 7 years

More than half of Canada's magazines are published in Ontario, so who is the culture minister is an important issue. Would that the Ontario government saw it that way.In a recent post, we pointed out that there had been five culture ministers in Ontario in seven years (and five different names for the culture ministry.) Of those, perhaps only one -- David Tsbouchi -- had obvious chops to do the

Canadian Jewish News criticizes This Magazine article as "imbalanced"

The Canadian Jewish News has written a longish article that takes issue with This Magazine's cover story about Israel as an apartheid state. The cover shows an image of the Israeli flag and the headline "The New Apartheid".Andy Levy-Ajzenkopf, a staff reporter, gathered views from a number of sources about perceived shortcomings and "imbalance" in the various stories in the cover package. He

Regrets, we've had a few

Craig Silverman of Regret the Error, the website that reproduces the correction notices that magazines, books and newspapers publish, has gathered them together in a book Regret the Error: How Media Mistakes Pollute the Press and Imperil Free Speech (Union Square Press/Penguin Canada).And the website for the book contains a page in which Silverman, punctilious as ever, publishes corrections of

Marketing magazine and CARD staffs merged

Rogers Media Inc. is merging the staffs of its Canadian Advertising Rates and Data (CARD) directory and Marketing magazine. There will be a full integration of the two brands, with primary focus on the linking of their websites and online services.Chris Loudon, the editor-in-chief of Marketing magazine, has been promoted to publisher and CARD publisher Bruce Richards will assume additional duties

New LIVElibrary program links authors, teachers and students

Author and Broken Pencil magazine founder Hal will this week be teaching a lesson called “DIY ZINES: Your Own Pop Culture Machine” as part of an unusual online program just underway for middle and junior high school students. (Nedzvieki's presentation this week was preceded by author Mark Shulman and media literacy activist and author Shari Graydon.)Annick Press and Skype Technologies, with two

Alexander Graham Bell's g-g grandson to revive American Heritage magazine

Last April, we reported that the venerable history magazine American Heritage was being suspended by Forbes Inc., its owners. Now, Edwin S. Grosvenor, the great-great-grandson of Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone and a founder of the National Geographic Society, has bought 75% of American Heritage and its affiliated Web site (americanheritage.com) and book division. According to a

Rue Morgue shivers its way into its second decade

Congratulations on 10 years of horror and entertainment to Rue Morgue magazine, started in the fall of 1997 by Rodrigo Gudino, who was bailing out of the frustrations of the music business (he had been music and reviews editor of the late RPM Weekly). No one can say Gudino isn't diligent in his study of "horror culture"; before he launched the magazine, he watched -- in order -- all 100 of the

Being noticed; being remembered; being released; being launched

As part of its Saturday package redesign, the Globe and Mail has started thumbnail reviews of magazines picked up off the newsstands by writer James Adams. On The Stand's inaugural reviews includes the October 22 issue of the New Yorker, one of Portfolio (both imports from Conde Nast) and (obligatory Canadian content) the fall issue of Geist. Paradoxically, of course, by the time Adams reviews

Rémi Marcoux, Transcontinental founder, named Member of Order of Canada

Rémi Marcoux, the founder and Executive Chairman of the Board of Transcontinental Inc., was made a Member of the Order of Canada on Friday at a ceremony presided over by Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaelle Jean, Governor General of Canada. Marcoux's company is not only dominant in printing, it controls the largest consumer magazine publishing operation in Canada.The citation from the

France Lefebvre resigns as editor-in-chief of Châtelaine after only 8 months

The editor of Châtelaine, the French counterpart to Chatelaine magazine, has left the job after only 8 months. France Lefebvre, left Transcontinental's coup de pouce (the French equivalent of Canadian Living) to be appointed editor-in-chief at the Rogers title just last February. She resigned recently, without any fanfare.This means that both the English and French versions of this flagship of

Maybe those free papers aren't such an easy sell

A story in the Georgia Straight points out that Metro International S.A., which is a partner in the Vancouver Metro Vancouver free commuter paper lost twice as much in its third quarter as it lost all of 2006.Metro International's US$18.2 million loss came on sales of US$91.5 million. This means that for every $5 in sales, the company posts a loss of almost $1. This has occurred despite Metro's

Canzine this year is a horror

Just in time for Hallowe'en, Canzine, the annual zine fair, is gearing up for a ghoulish good time in Toronto. It's Canada's largest annual Zine Fair and Festival of Alternative Culture, organized by Broken Pencil, the Magazine of Zine Culture and the Independent Arts. (Canzine East was held last weekend in Halilfax).Hotel Canzine is on Sunday, October 28, 2007, 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. at The Gladstone

U.S. mag covers may need to change to suit new high speed sorting system

For those U.S. magazines who hate how the mailing label on their magazines clutters up their covers, worse may be coming. Magazine mailers in the U.S. have until December 10 to comment on -- and, many hope, to head off or modify -- some drastic changes in handling and delivery standards that the US Postal Service is proposing, according to a story in Folio: magazine.The changes would be set in

Harrowsmith Country Life launches companion "100% Canadian" almanac

Harrowsmith Country Life magazine has launched a companion, wholly Canadian, almanac.Now, almanacs (particularly published at this time of year) are nothing new. But usually they are American or repurposed American content. This one promises to be 100% Canadian, right down to the weather."Don't be fooled by the American Almanac that claims a "Canadian edition". Harrowsmith Country Life magazine

Where your $5.29 went: Canada Council annual report available online

The Canada Council for the Arts is looking ahead at its next 50 years and its annual report is now available online. The Shoestring Blog, published by Magazines Canada, gives a brief summary of the challenges, opportunities and underlying statistics extracted from the report, including the fact that the Council invested $5.29 per Canadian in the arts in 2006-07. The full annual report is

Shambala Sun turned away from immigrant mentorship program

It's enough to make you lose your serenity. An application by Shambala Sun, a well-respected magazine about Buddhism and the contemplative tradition, published in Halifax, was turned down by the federal government's immigration mentorship program.According to a story in the Halifax Daily News, despite the magazine's award-winning ways it was twice not selected for the work-experience program. The

Self-made heiresses

It was said by some wag that George Bush was born on third base and thought he'd hit a triple. I was reminded by the Hello! magazine top 10 list of North American heiresses. As hard as the magazine tries to justify this ("While they may have been born into a world of privilege, these ambitious ladies are building their own roads to success.") the preview of this selection of silver spooners (out

Utne Reader publishers start green shopping portal that buys carbon offsets

The publishers of Utne Reader, which has a strong following in Canada, is launching a shopping division whose hook is that it will remit half of its commission revenue from vendors to buy "carbon offsets". This is rather than "marking up" costs and diverting the difference to environmental causes.According to a story on the website Environmental Leader, Ogden Publications, publishers of Utne

CanGeo to publish 10 issues a year

Canadian Geographic will put 10 issues a year into subscribers hands, with the announcement that it is increasing in addition to publishing its CanGeo flagship magazine 6 times a year it is increasing the frequency of the companion Travel issues to quarterly. This, according to a story in Media in Canada.The new magazines may be being put out from a different location, however; as predicted, the

CalgaryInc. promotes from within

CalgaryInc. magazine has hired a new editor. According to a story in mastheadonline (sub req'd), RedPoint Media Inc. has promoted former managing editor Carol Harrington as editor-in-chief, replacing Christina Reynolds, who left the magazine in August.

Dad was cool and so was his highball

Although it is Canadian in name only, Fortune brands' Canadian Club rye whisky is getting its first advertising push in 20 years, built around the theme "Damn Right Your Dad Drank It".Some of that advertising may find its way into Canadian magazines though, for now, the campaign is running in Rolling Stone, Sports Illustrated and The Sporting News, with additional placements in Playboy, Men's

What should we do about Indigo deal? asks the Book & Periodical Council

The Book and Periodical Council (BPC) is asking its members what stance the organization should take (if any) on the issue of Indigo Books & Music taking over all sales of books and periodicals to school libraries, with the blessing of the Ontario Liberal government.As you know, during the Ontario Provincial election Premier Dalton McGuinty announced $120 million in additional new funding over

Does the magazine industry have a permanent "kick me" sign?

The newspaper industry absolutely hates it when people talk about it being in freefall and the daily newspaper being doomed. But a major Canadian paper, the Calgary Herald, part of the dominant Canadian chain, felt no compunction whatever about running a story that characterizes the whole magazine sector as a hopeless case. The headline on the story makes it appear that government funding --

How cool is that? Trend hunters look to Flare

Cool-hunting site Trendhunter Magazine has scooped up some shots from Flare magazine to illustrate what's cool for fall.These looks are a little wild, but don’t think by any means that dressing in technicolour is the only way to look haute this autumn. Even an outfit in blacks and neutral tones the second you add some vibrant bangles, a bold hued scarf, or a colourful, statement making handbag.

Canadian Freelance Union: a lamentably long time coming

It was more than two years ago (August 2005) that the first word of the launch of the Canadian Freelance Union was heard about, under the auspices of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, the country's largest media union with 25,000 members.Since then, there have been a series of information meetings and repeated promises that the founding, annual general meeting of the

Is Transcontinental plum job sour to the taste?

Is it taking an unusually long time to find a new boss at Transcontinental Media?Back in July, it was announced that Francine Tremblay, until that point the Senior Vice-President of Consumer Magazines responsible for all English and French consumer titles, would be focussing on the Quebec Consumer Group effective November 1. A wholly new position, Senior Vice President and General Manager,

Young writer despairs of the tyranny of CanLit

[This post has been updated]It's a bit off topic but there's a remarkable personal essay in Saturday's Toronto Star by a young writer who is mad as hell. The reason? Stephen Marche is 31 and he maintains that the CanLit environment in Canada is heavily biased in favour of "boomer self-congratulation".Marche spent a couple of years in Brooklyn, where he said the writing community was youthful, or

Bob Sexton of Outdoor Canada new CSME president

The Canadian Society of Magazine Editors (CSME) has elected Bob Sexton, associate editor at Outdoor Canada, as its president, according to a report in mastheadonline (sub req'd).Sexton replaces Douglas Thompson, editor in chief at Canadian Home Workshop, who served as CSME president for three years. Thompson, currently studying for his MBA at the Odette School of Business at the University of

Puncturing the Afghan survey balloon

Maisonneuve magazine's daily news roundup, Media Scout, provides a smile this morning with its headline: AFGHANS LIKE US, THEY REALLY LIKE USThe post by regular contributor Jordan Himmelfarb points out that all the gushing prose of the main media these days (what Media Scout calls the Big Seven newpapers and networks) might give Prime Minister Stephen Harper "a big head". (We thought he already

Cottage Life cleans up at IRMA awards

Cottage Life magazine was named Magazine of the Year and won 12 other awards at the International Regional Magazine Association (IRMA) conference last week in Lone Wolf, Oklahoma. (That's the magazine's current issue at right.)It received seven gold and two bronze medals as well as two awards of merit. It was picked as Magazine of the Year (over 40,000 circulation).IRMA is an association of state

Transcontinental Inc. pledges to promote "environmentally preferable" paper

It's too early to say if this is a tipping point, but the announcement yesterday by Transcontinental Inc., Canada's largest commercial printer, that it would champion "environmentally preferable" papers may be the breakthrough that the green paper movement has been working for. It is the first major North American printer to do so.The company, which is also the largest publisher of consumer

Happy Media Democracy Day

Today is Media Democracy Day and the day actually stretches over the next week across Canada. In Montreal the 19-21st, there's a conference with keynote address on Friday by Amy Goodman of Democracy Now!, in Vancouver on the 26th, there's a Media Democracy Fair and film screenings, in Toronto today, there's a screening of short documentaries and a panel discussion on Burma at the Brunswick

Momentum building towards green paper

Magazines in the U.S. are being slow to convert to recycled paper, but momentum is building. Cost, misconceptions and general ignorance are among the reasons given in an item in Folio: magazine's online site. [see earlier posts about ancient forest friendly paper.]There are about 100 magazines currently printing on recycled paper, says Frank Locantore, director of the Magazine Paper Project for

Protégez-Vous beats back injunction application by toymaker

Les Éditions Protégez-Vous, publishers of the consumer magazine Protégez-Vous, successfully defended itself against an injunction application by Montreal-based toymaker Mega Brands Inc.[UPDATE: A story in the New York Times quotes David Clerk, the magazine’s publisher and the executive director of Les Editions Protégez-Vous saying: "“This is a loophole. Why is it that in 2007 we are still finding

Geist and The Tyee team up on postcard story contest

Small is indeed beautiful, at least when it comes to the Geist Literal Literary Postcard Story Contest, self-described as "the writing contest whose name is almost as long as the entries!"The 4th annual contest, co-sponsored by The Tyee, is underway now, with a deadline of December 1 to write a fiction or non-fiction story of no more than 500 words. Details on how to enter can be found here.The

Your name and rep here; Graphic Arts hyper-customizes its covers

Graphic Arts magazine, a Newmarket-based business-to-business title has published an October issue in which all three covers are customized to the customer receiving them, according to a story in Media in Canada. The project was carried out for Fujifilm Canada and, in the process, the magazine produced more than 428,000 variations on its covers.Graphic Arts is published 10 times a year and has a

What, is it that time already? Merry, er, Holiday

I know you may not even have bought the Hallowe'en candy yet (OK, smarty, you did) but it's that time of year again.The November issues of the big shelter magazines are already celebrating the seasonal event that may not speak its name, using their covers to pump up "holiday" cheer.

PWAC fighting back against contractual rights grab

The people lowest on the compensation ladder of this business are being asked to choose between being paid at all and being paid fairly, according to the Professional Writers Association of Canada (PWAC). The organization, which represents more than 600 individuals across Canada, is urging freelance writers not to sign contracts that take away their rights to their own work without compensation.

The rich are not like you and me; they use more media

The top magazine reads in terms of average issue audience among the affluent and business elites in the U.S. is not, surprisingly, financial magazines, golf journals, or high-end luxury magazines: but People magazine, followed by House & Garden, National Geographic, and Sports Illustrated. And the affluent consume not only consume more print than the average citizen, but huge amounts of all sort

Quote, unquote: Newsweek on pieces that repay the effort of reading

We have two pieces of news close to home: a redesign of the magazine and of Newsweek.com. Our renovations come at an interesting time for journalism. As the number of news outlets expands, it is said, attention spans shrink; only the fast and the pithy will survive. Some people in our business believe print should emulate the Internet, filling pages with short, Weblike bites of information.We

The Tyee offering fellowships to promote B.C. investigative reporting

The Tyee, the excellent online newspaper published in Vancouver, has announced a proposal call for $5,000 fellowships for independent journalists who want to do investigative or "solutions reporting" on important issues in British Columbia.Entries are due Dec. 15, 2007 and will be judged by an independent advisory board who will share only the winning entries with Tyee editors. Winners will be

Quote, unquote: why we don't need any more literary magazines

It’s time to stop the presses. I know it’s not easy to pull that plug. Litmags are icons of intellectual privilege. You have to fight against a lifetime of programming that’s telling you literary magazines are good, therefore more literary magazines must be better. You respond out of habit, and assume it’s good news, like when a baby is born. It’s not. Magazines aren’t babies. In the world we

National Post notices small business

The Financial Post section of the National Post has swung its gaze around to small and medium-sized businesses and is now focussing on them in its Monday paper. Former magazine publisher and editor Rick Spence (Profit and U of T magazine) is now writing a weekly column and linking his entrepreneurial blog on the National Post website. A number of other features are being launched in the Monday

Kim Pittaway speaks to Ed2010 event

The Toronto chapter of Ed2010, a group dedicated to helping young editors find their dream jobs, is hosting the first event in a speakers series on Tuesday, October 16th at 6:30 p.m. in Room 224b/c, Northern District Library, 40 Orchard View Blvd.,near Yonge and Eglinton.The speaker is Kim Pittaway, writer, industry consultant, president of the National Magazine Awards and former editor of

Five culture ministers in Ontario in 7 years

With the defeat* of Caroline Di Cocco in Wednesday's Ontario election, the Culture Ministry is again without a minister. She was the 5th culture minister in 7 years! Many of them have had their training wheels on; for most, it was a way-station in their ambition for higher office.If you wanted an indication of the relative low-level concern that Queen's Park places on the culture file you need

The Kingdom Q&A

Senior Editor Jeff Goldsmith interviews screenwriter Matthew Michael Carnahan about The Kingdom

Not Currently Available

Good Luck Chuck Q&A

Senior Editor Jeff Goldsmith interviews screenwriter Josh Stolberg about Good Luck Chuck

Not Currently Available

Robert Benton - Feast of Love Q&A

Senior Editor Jeff Goldsmith interviews director Robert Benton about Feast Of Love

Not Currently Available

The Jane Austen Book Club Q&A

Senior Editor Jeff Goldsmith interviews writer-director Robin Swicord about The Jane Austen Book Club

Not Currently Available

Quebecor Media jumps into directory business in a big way

Quebecor Media, the publishing division of media and printing giant Quebecor Corp., is taking the plunge into the estimated $1.4 billion print and online directory market. It is starting a new Montreal-based subsidiary, Quebecor MediaPages that it expects to expand quickly to have 100 employees over the next year or so. The company told the Canadian Press that it will start off with 30 new print

Modern Dog gets glowing notice

Modern Dog, the Vancouver-based magazine, gets favourable notice south of the border in MediaPost's regular (hard to please) Magazine Rack feature. Tanya Irwin, who writes the review, says:I can honestly say that every single article is well-written and interesting. Reader-content is kept to a minimum, with the exception of the page at the back wasted on dog horoscopes.She cavils a little about

It gives a whole new meaning to words and pictures

Perhaps it is creeping Canadian reticence that has infected The New Republic since that magazine was taken over by the CanWest Asper family. But editor Frank Foer killed a commissioned illustration for an article on swear words in this week's issue, according to a story in SF Weekly. Harvard psychology professor Steven Pinker had written an article on curse words titled "What the F***?",

Shed-a-tear-for-the-hyphen

The New York Times reports the impending death of the hyphen, with word that 16,000 hyphens have been eliminated from the latest edition of the Shorter Oxford English dictionary.The dictionary is not dropping all hyphens. The ones in certain compounds remain (“well-being,” for example), as do those indicating a word break at the right-hand margin — the use for which this versatile little

It's not plastic, it's Plastique

The Toronto Star runs a feature on ex Oakville native Brylie Fowler who has launched international fashion glossy Plastique in London. "A fragile fashionista she is not" says Star stylist Derrick Chetty.He notes that this is but one other Canadian who is cutting a swath in publishing, citing Tyler Brulé 's Monocle and rocker Bryan Adams with the Berlin-based Zoo."London was missing something.

Feeling nervous, are we? Canadian Lawyer tries to squelch upstart competitor

CLB Media's Canadian Lawyer magazine has apparently rushed together a "preview edition" of a new magazine for associate (read: young) lawyers, timed to come out concurrently with the launch of Precedent, a new magazine aimed at...young lawyers. This, according to a post on the new magazine's blog. (That's the cover of the Precedent's launch issue, debuting October 19). [See our earlier post.]"To

Masthead is looking for the 20 most influential Canadian magazines

Masthead magazine (sub req'd) is celebrating its 20th anniversary by assembling a list of the 20 most influential Canadian magazines of all time. An online forum is available* until Dec. 1, at which point an editorial panel "swayed by" the forum discussion will make the final choices. The list will be published in the Jan/Feb 2008 print edition of Masthead. Influence will

Can Geo makes clean sweep of its circ department

Canadian Geographic has lost the last of its original circulation department staff and has had to bring in "emergency" consultants to keep it running. Erin Rogers-Lay, the Acting Director of Consumer Marketing has left the company. In August, Francine Morris, the Membership Marketing Manager, left. Maureen Murphy, the Vice-President of Consumer Marketing and Operations left in June and Ian

Balancing your inner and your outer readers

Bruce Headlam, who worked once at Saturday Night and Canadian Business, is now the media and marketing editor for the New York Times and in charge of Business Day, the Monday special section of the Times. (If you want to ask him some questions -- maybe about the good old days -- you can do so Oct. 9-12. Send your questions to askthetimes@nytimes.com.)Before joining the business section, Headlam

Toronto Star dumps P.M. mini-paper

As hard as the Toronto Star's spinmeisters try, it was difficult to see the ending today of Star P.M., the free pdf mini-paper, as anything but an admission of defeat. A little over a year ago, the 8-to-12-page downloadable formatted version of the paper was unveiled with some fanfare. TodayNext Wednesday will be its last. A message to subscribers from J. Fred Kuntz, the publisher, tried to make

Fashion magazine fetes models to celebrate 30th

Fashion magazine is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a 300-page issue that, among other things, salutes Canadian models, three of whom -- Julia Dunstall, Heather Marks and Meghan Collison grace the cover."When we started to plan this anniversary issue and discuss what really stays with people when it comes to fashion, we kept coming back to the models. Those beautiful creatures who bring

Google's valuation: is this the new reality?

That whooshing you heard was the cold chill running down the necks of traditional publishers, as Google's stock market value surpassed that of the Big 3 traditional media companies. A story in MediaDaily News says:If there were any doubts that we were back into a new, digital media economy, they were laid to rest Monday when the price of Google's shares topped $600 for the first time, giving it a

I cut down trees, I love my job...

From the other end of the magazine supply chain comes news that the guys who cut down the trees love their jobs.Canadian Forest Industries magazine is a trade title that serves the logging industry coast to coast and its website gives an advanced peek at a survey of loggers that will be published in its Nov/Dec issue.1,500 loggers were questioned by PREfoRT, an industry consortium of forest

Bad breaks and help when it's needed

A friend, David Hayes, is one of the country's top freelance writers. He was "doored" in July while on his bicycle in Toronto (at right is what his bike looked like after the collision.)Extensive injuries to his arms, elbows and wrists essentially mean that, even now, he has great difficulty practicing his craft -- take notes, type etc. For a freelancer such a situation is a major financial

Nominations sought for Best Student Writer

The National Magazine Awards have issued a call for nominations for the Best Student Writer award. Nominations are due January 11 (at about the same time as magawards entries). The award, for a published non-fiction piece in a Canadian consumer or university magazine in 2007, carries with it a cash prize of $1,000 and tickets to the National Magazine Awards gala. Further information may be had at

US News going big on rankings of things like cars and trucks and consumer goods

U.S. News and World Report, which pioneered university rankings (America's Best Colleges) on which the well-known Maclean's university rankings were originally modelled, have gone on to rank other aspects of American's lives -- health, hospitals, graduate schools, health plans, leaders. This doesn't make the magazine unique because many other titles, particularly business titles, thrive on the

Western Standard folds its print edition

The Western Standard magazine is ending its print edition. The announcement was made late on Friday by Ezra Levant, the Publisher. The newsmagazine, which was the inheritor of the mantle of Ted Byfield's late, unabashedly right-wing Alberta Report magazine, will continue online for now, or at least the magazine's popular Shotgun Blog. The Western Standard had a decidedly conservative cast and a

In search of more write-arounds; how magazines can stop being "access" junkies

Magazines are in danger of cashiering their integrity in return for access to celebrities, access that results in vapid, uniformative, misleading and repetitive stories, says Ron Rosenbaum in an article for Slate.Rosenbaum is particularly ticked off by the recent incident in which an investigative piece about Hillary Clinton's campaign for president in GQ was killed in order to preserve access

Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) said to have the best standard for green paper

Sometimes you can't see the forest for the acronyms and publishers who are considering doing the right thing when it comes to paper can become confused by the conflicting claims of the various certification bodies out there: FSC, CSA, PEFC, SFI.Some clarity may be forthcoming (though there will be disagreement between the contending standards), with new research conducted by ÉEM Inc., a

Careers group wants to know what professional development artists need

The Cultural Careers Council of Ontario (CCCO) -- also known as WorkinCulture -- wants to determine the professional development needs of professional artists in the province -- a category in which they include freelancers such as editors, writers, illustrators and photographers. They have commissioned Ipsos Reid to administer a confidential online questionnaire , which takes about 10 minutes so

The contentious struggle to impose scan-based trading

It's sometimes entertaining to see the big guys duke it out, but not when the implications are so major for magazine publishers large and small, in the U.S. and in Canada. I'm referring to the nasty fight between Time Warner, publishers of such heavyweight newsstand titles as Time and Fortune, and Anderson News, the largest U.S. single copy distributor. A story in MediaDaily News suggests that

Canadian Business launches new look mag and website

This week, Canadian Business magazine publishes its special "Canada in 2020" issue with a visual makeover for both the magazine and canadianbusiness.com.The website design remains incredibly busy and cluttered, which has almost been a hallmark for CB; there is a new panel added with tabs for analysis, blogs, video and so on and navigation may prove a little easier.This is apparently the first

Precedent, a stylish mag for young lawyers, launches October 19

A new magazine aimed at young lawyers will launch in Ontario on October 19. Precedent: the new rules of law and style has been a couple of years in gestation and, for more than a year has been represented by a stylish and feisty blog called lawandstyle.ca. The intention of Editor and Publisher Melissa Kluger was always that the website would be a shakedown cruise for a print magazine."We’re

Malahat Review at 40 celebrates legacy of founder Robin Skelton

The Malahat Review next week is celebrating its 40th year as one of Canada's leading literary publications. There will be a series of events at the University of Victoria including a launch party for the issue, a talk by writer Robert Bringhurst, readings by seven celebrated BC poets, and a puppet, spoken-word, and video extravaganza. For details visit www.malahatreview.ca. The celebration will

Web Weekend for magazines to focus on digital strategies

Magazines Canada, in partnership with Centennial College, is holding the first Web Weekend on November 24 and 25 at the Centre for Creative Communications at 951 Carlaw Avenue in Toronto. It's the first of what MagsCan plans to be similar sessions in cities across Canada, a combination of seminars and lab work designed to help magazine managers increase online revenue, integrate print and online

Irish mags offered by Dublin-based digital service

An Irish newsagent is hoping to sell magazines online the way iTunes sells music. Mymagonline.com, based in Dublin, will be offering readers PDF versions of Irish publications at a typical 40% discount off cover price. Current titles include Irish Garden, PC Live and Car Buyers Guide."The service does for magazine publishing what iTunes has done for music, delivering magazines to readers in

Playboy cutting circ, putting emphasis on free online content

Faced with a "revolution", Playboy magazine is cutting its print circulation by 13% while trying new strategies to attract an online audience who wants free content, says a story in Advertising Age.Instead of obsessing over retaining print readers and trying to sell content online, as in the past, Playboy's brand managers will now try to expand its reach wherever that may be.Paid circulation is

INDAS Limited rebranded as CDS Global

INDAS Limited, Canada's largest fulfillment house, is getting a new name and image as part of a global rebranding by its U.S.-based parent company which is itself owned by publishing giant Hearst Corporation. Indas will now be called CDS Global.A press release says all divisions of CDS – INDAS Limited, Canada; Tower Publishing, England/Australia; and CDS, United States – will now be united under

Quebec anniversary to be celebrated in special two-language edition of The Beaver

The Beaver magazine, published by Canada's National History Society, is going to publish a 96-page, special issue (at right is a mockup) next year to celebrate the landing of Samuel de Champlain and Quebec's 400th anniversary. And there are plans to also publish the entire issue in French, the first time The Beaver has been introduced to a francophone audience."The special issue will be co-edited

U.S. mag industry wins battle to retain direct-to-consumer drug advertising

The U.S. magazine industry, in coalition with other advertising-driven media, has decisively beaten back an attempt by the U.S. Congress to restrict direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising.It means that pharamaceutical companies are free to place DTC ads in what represented $1.6 billion in ad revenue for the U.S. magazines last year.According to a statement from the Magazine Publishers of

Then there was one; Financial Times to drop its "pay wall"

There were the Big 3 "pay wall" papers and now there is just one, and it's thinking about demolishing it. The Wall Street Journal may well drop its requirement for a paid sub to read its material online, once the deal closes for Rupert Murdoch to take it over. The Financial Times of London, one of the very first papers to create such a system, announced yesterday that it was doing away with it

Well, it could happen...

And now a bit of fun. Graphic-designer-turned-artist Scott King, for a show in New York, imagined a series of complete makeovers for Vogue magazine. An ad-free issue. An "angry" issue. And an issue with an an anti-war theme. He decided it should also be free…Here, courtesy of CRblog, are some of the results. (King was, at one time art director of i-D magazine and went on to become Creative

Dampness at WOTS, BCAMP, Walrus

Word On the Street in Vancouver was heavily rained on for the first time in its history yesterday, and it was cold and windy and you had to keep jumping up and down to stay warm. The crowd was thin and hardy; indeed, heartiness was evident everywhere. CUPE picketers sang and led revolutionary chants. It was impossible to stand still long enough to grill members of BCAMP in a search for answers to

Rogers to sell ads for Hearst Magazines' digital properties

Rogers Media has become the exclusive sales agent for Hearst Magazines' digital properties in Canada, it was announced today. Rogers will represent cosmopolitan.com, marieclaire.com, cosmogirl.com, goodhousekeeping.com, redbookmag.com, seventeen.com, ecrush.com, espinthebottle.com, teenmag.com, kaboodle.com, quickandsimple.com, mypromshopper.com, myholidayshopper.com, mybacktoschoolshopper.com

Neo-opsis sci-fi magazine nominated for a "people's choice" Aurora award

Neo-opsis Science Fiction Magazine is nominated for an Aurora, in the category "Best Work In English: Other." These "people's choice" award for Canadian fantasy and science fiction will be made during the twenty-seventh annual award ceremony will take place at VCon 32, a science fiction conference in Vancouver, BC, on Saturday October 20th. In addition to an award for the magazine's 8th, 9th and

Policy Options spreads the views: Canadians like free trade

Later this week, Policy Options magazine will be publishing a special issue that marks the 20th anniversary of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Not surprisingly, the Montreal-based magazine and the conservative think tank that commissioned the poll (from SES Research) released it to the media to get some buzz about the issue. And, again not surprisingly, the poll is getting good play