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The existence of Magazines Week is reason enough to celebrate

This is Magazines Week in Toronto, with two conferences -- Magnet, run by Magazines Canada and its partners and Magazines University, run by Canadian Business Press. As a result, there are something like 75 different seminars over the space of a week, addressing issues that are of interest to people in the magazine business.In many cases, our Canadian colleagues are talking of issues ranging from

Filipino magazine highlights players in the hotel trade in B. C.

Living Today, the Filipino Canadian magazine published out of Surrey, B. C. has just issued its fourth number. Every issue highlights Filipino Canadian success stories, but this issue contains a bumper crop, highlighting leaders in the hotel, hospitality and tourism industry of British Columbia.

Scotland may give teens free newspaper subs

Earlier this year, the French government launched a program to help the French newspaper industry by giving a free newspaper subscription to every 18-year-old in the country. Now it looks like Scotland may follow suit.According to a report in the Press Gazette, the Scottish government has been asked by distribution firm Menzies Group to provide a free subscription to the newspaper of their choice

Toronto Life and the case of the little red dress

Toronto Life magazine's style blog tapped into a motherlode of online controversy this week when blogger Courtney Shea featured an apparently innocuous Q & A about a "best dressed" socialite named Deena Pantalone and her economical little red cocktail dress.Pantalone (whose dad is president of National Homes in Toronto and who is a partner with her siblings in a local development firm) claimed

Rian Johnson - The Brothers Bloom Q&A

Senior Editor Jeff Goldsmith interviews writer-director Rian Johnson about The Brothers Bloom

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Top towns for doing business in Alberta not necessarily the big towns

Alberta Venture magazine has showcased 10 communities in the province that are best when it comes to doing business and the result -- based on factors such as rental rates, land costs, taxes, market size, transportation access, licensing fees, average income, cost of living, post-secondary institutions and other amenities -- are sometimes surprising."The change in the economy has really shuffled

Study details attitudes about working conditions in Canadian magazine industry

The Professional Writers Association of Canada (PWAC) and its partners in a joint industry task force, Magazines Canada and the Canadian Society of Magazine Editors, have published the results of an in-depth study of attitudes about working conditions in the Canadian magazine industry.[Disclosure: The research and report, entitled Respect And Remuneration: Attitudes about Editorial Working

Archie chooses Veronica? Say it isn't so.

One of the longest-running and most enduring romances in history -- a love triangle, really -- may be about to come to an end as the comic character Archie Andrews is about to propose to Veronica. It will happen in the comic's next issue on sale in comic shops August 19 and on newsstands September 1, for $2.50.For decades (65 years, in fact), Archie has dithered about Veronica, the rich, perky

School breakfast program started by Canadian Living editors is spread thin

A program to feed hungry children, begun 15 years ago by a group of editors from Canadian Living magazine is finding itself spread thin because of increasing demand and decreasing funding.Founded on the belief that hungry children have more difficulty learning, Breakfast for Learning began in 1992 and since then has grown into a national movement that has helped feed 1.5 million children across

When it comes to purchase intent, magazines play the starring role

Thoughtful publishers and marketers are concentrating more and more on accountability; how to track it, how to make the most of it. And we can all hope that the current trend towards "effectiveness planning" prevails over "reach-based planning" because that is very good news for this medium.In a guest column in Publishing Executive, Ellen Oppenheim, executive vice-president* of Magazine

Free magazine promotion partners publishers with cereal maker

Buy your favourite breakfast cereal. Get a free magazine.According to a story on mastheadonline, cereal maker General Mills has partnered with the publishers of Chickadee, Owl, Chirp and three other titles. By typing a code placed inside the box of selected General Mills cereals onto the General Mills website, consumers can receive a free copy of an OwlKids magazine. “I’ve been to many grocery

Corduroy co-editor moves back to Toronto, keeps on publishing

Interesting to see that Tim Chan, the co-editor of Corduroy Magazine (that's issue 5 shown), is moving back to Toronto from New York, nevertheless keeping on with publishing the quirky quarterly that he and fellow Torontonian Peter Ash Lee launched in October 2007. (I know this from an interview on the Torontoist blog by Sarah Nicole Prickett.)He’s already sacrificed his New York job—and the work

Canadian Newsstand Awards deadline is June 26

The deadline for the Canadian Newsstand Awards/Grand prix d'excellence en kiosque 2009 has been announced. Entries from all Canadian magazine publishers with newsstand sales are due by June 26. Entry form, rules, and regulations:www.newsstandawards.ca The awards are sponsored by: HDS Retail/ Great Canadian News/ Maison de la Presse; CMC (Circulation Management Association of Canada); ABC (Audit

Magazine world view

More mags jump on the premium app bandwagon (paidContent.org)Is this Britain's youngest newsagent? (Guardian)NYT's price hike can't hide the real problem: the paper lacks a core mission (Lauren Rich Fine) (paidContent.org)Hello beats OK to newsstand with Monday print date (Press Gazette)A brief history of AP's battles with news aggregators (MediaShift)

Monkey business is good as magazine expands into Scandanavia

Monkey, the free digital men's weekly from Dennis Publishing (Maxim) is expanding into Sweden, Denmark and Norway after successfully launching in Thailand last year. Monkey was launched in 2006 as a digital "flipbook" e-mailed to subscribers, which following conventional magazine layout and with plenty of audience-pleasing female pulchritude.According to an item Guardian,The Denmark-based digital

The subject who is truly loyal...will be obscure

The recent post about the departure of Edward Greenspon as editor-in-chief of the Globe and Mail and his replacement by John Stackhouse was based on a memorandum by publisher Phillip Crawley. We didn't bother to comment at the time on the turgid, jargon-laden, confusing, burying-the-lede nature of the memo; we just extracted the facts.But David Olive, over at The Toronto Star makes a case for why

Magazine world view

Bunny Hop: Playboy Up For Sale, No Takers (Folio:)Christianity Today Folds Four Titles (Folio:)NYT creates 'social media editor' post (paidContent.org)Paul Raymond Publications (Men Only and Mayfair) blames net porn competition as it posts loss (Guardian)World's richest man rues stake in Independent (Guardian)Has The Ad Recession Hit Bottom Yet? (paidContent.org)

New Yorker publishes first cover created with an iPhone

The New Yorker magazine has published its first cover created on an iPhone. According to a story in the New York Times, artist Jorge Colombo used a $4.99 'Brushes' app after buying his iPhone in February and rendered the view of a hot dog stand outside of Madame Tussauds on 42nd street.“The best feature of it is that it doesn’t feel like something that was done digitally; quite the opposite,”

Magazines volunteers of the year announced

Magazines Canada has announced this year's winners of the volunteer of the year award from across the country. The regional winners, selected by the five regional magazine associations, will be honoured along with national volunteer of the year winner Patrick Walsh on June 4 at 5:30 at an awards reception during the MagNet conference in Toronto.The regional winners, with the accompanying

Texterity offering chance to win Kindle e-reader as incentive

For those who are curious about the new Kindle e-reader, Texterity, the digital edition provider, is offering the chance to win one as an incentive to come to its booth at MagNet, June 3 -5 at 89 Chestnut Street or to attend a digital edition seminar at the Canadian Business Press's Magazines University at the Old Mill Inn on Tuesday, June 2. Enter the contest and you may be kindling (that didn't

Encouraging advanced sales for Magnet and Magawards

Projected attendance at next week's industry events should be quite heartening. Word is that there are about 900 registrants for the MagNet conference, booked for 3,000 sessions. And sales for the National Magazine Awards are going well, so much so that the floor tables at the Carlu are all but sold out. No word yet on what attendance is expected at Magazines University conference run by the

Beating back the aggregators? They wish

Publishers -- principally newspaper executives -- rage about aggregators who repost their content online, with or without links. Said publishers can be heard to mutter into their Scotch and water that these guys are "stealing" their "intellectual property".Recently, the Associated Press announced it would be taking steps to prevent "illegal" use of their content, though they haven't revealed how

Homemakers pulls in e-subscribers

Homemaker's magazine has its own, unusual way of getting readers to sign up for their Insider Access e-newsletter: they're offering a chance on a vaccum cleaner.The monthly Insider Access newsletter gives readers the top 10 most-read online articles, a recipe and "ingredient of the month" from food editor Andrew Chase, a message from editor-in-chief Kathy Ulyott, access to other contests and an (

The mystery of Global Brief magazine

The decision by the Canadian International Council to pull the plug on its planned flagship publication Global Brief immediately after its first issue, raises more questions than it answers. An article in the Globe and Mail on Saturday suggests that the CIC and its multimillionaire chair Jim Balsillie were startled by the cost of producing the lavish, perfect-bound magazine. The magazine had a

Shakeup at the top at Globe and Mail -- Greenspon steps down as EIC

In a major shakeup at the Globe and Mail, editor-in-chief Edward Greenspon is stepping down, to be replaced by Report on Business editor John Stackhouse. Greenspon (right) has been editor-in-chief for almost 7 years. Stackhouse, 46, (below, right) has been with the Globe since 1989 and has served as a foreign correspondent and both foreign and national editor before joining ROB.What will happen

Transcon exec sees upside potential in online direct marketing

Last November, Transcontinental acquired four, small technology firms and consolidated them into a communications marketing division. The new head of that division, Christian Trudeau, said in an interview published in La Presse that the company is prepared to act quickly on other acquisitions in database and e-mail marketing "if it finds rare pearls in the market".The communications marketing

Elsevier's fake journal had company

Scientific publisher Elseiver published not just one, but six fake medical journals between 2000 and 2005. Readers will recall our recent post about Australasian Journal of Bone and Joint Medicine which was surreptitiously created on behalf of and paid for by the pharmaceutical company Merck. The blog The Scholarly Kitchen now reports that there were five others (all in Australia) and expresses

New design and decor title, Montreal Home launches

A new English language design and decorating magazine, Montreal Home, has been launched that hopes to go national. Publisher Leah Lipkowitz says the magazine is dedicated to covering the city's best interior design, architecture and landscapes.According to a story in The Gazette, the inaugural edition is limited to Quebec, but will go to the rest of Canada with its next issue.Lipkowitz is quoted

Careful on behalf of our readers? Not us, says Entrepreneur

It's hard to take seriously a $178 million suit readers who claim that they were guided in their investments by a list published in a magazine. But that's precisely what's happening in the U.S.According to a posting on MediaBistro's Fishbowl NY, Entrepreneur Magazine has filed a motion in federal court in New York seeking to dismiss a case filed by 87 readers sho accuse the magazine of gross

Dave Eggers says he'll send you an e-mail message of hope

Popular writer and publisher Dave Eggers of McSweeney's magazine has an irresistible offer, made at a New York Authors Guild event held in his honour earlier this week. He told people who were worried about the so-called "death of print" that he would e-mail them to convince them they are wrong, to worry that is.I actually have established an e-mail address, deggers@826national.org – if you want

Magazine world view

UTV seals deal to buy Sport magazine(Guardian)Plan B magazine to close after five years in print (Press Gazette) Eric Schmidt: Why Google won't put money into newspapers (Guardian)Kicking Ink: The Struggles of a Print Newspaper Unsubscriber (Mediashift)Google Adds More Ads—This Time To Search 'Suggest' Function(paidContent.org)

Quote, unquote: on "bare-knuckles publishing"

“We’ve been feeding off of excessive advertising revenues for years, and now it’s over. It’s time to get back to bare-knuckles publishing and create great products with fewer resources.”-- Atlantic Media president Justin Smith, speaking to the Fulfillment Management Association in New York

Shameless anthology to launch June 23rd

Shameless magazine, the publication for teenage girls, is launching its inaugural collection She's Shameless: Women write about growing up, rocking out and fighting back (Tightrope Books) at an event Tuesday, June 23 at the Gladstone Hotel Ballroom, 1214 Queen Street West in Toronto. It's a This is Not A Reading Series event . It's $5 at the door, free with the purchase of a book. Check out the

Paring the big apple: New York magazine increases sub 25% and cuts rate base

New York magazine is increasing its subscription rate by a whopping 25% and reduced its guarnteed circulation rate base by 6% in an effort to offset the recent decline in advertising. The sub price, according to a story in MediaDaily News, will now be $24.97 and publisher Larry Burstein said:"Our magazine is valuable and worth paying for, and history has shown that our readers feel the same way.

More on the fake scientific journal

The Current, CBC's morning current affairs program, has today picked up on the story we first posted here May 5, about a fake scientific journal, paid for by the drug company Merck, published by the scientific publisher Elsevier. (The program is not yet posted on The Current's website, but should be by tomorrow.)

Easy Virtue Q&A

Senior Editor Jeff Goldsmith interviews co-writer/director Stephan Elliott and co-writer Sheridan Jobbins about Easy Virtue

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Vancouver Sun Olympics reporter writes for Olympics promotional magazine

The Tyee in Vancouver has reported that the Vancouver Sun's lead reporter on the Olympics, Jeff Lee, freelanced an article to the Olympics promotional magazine, Olympic Review. "Feeling the Buzz" appeared in the January-February-March issue of the Review, which is billed as the "offical publication of the Olympic movement". The 84 page magazine is published by the International Olympic

Print-on-demand books outnumbered traditional titles in 2008

Total output of books in the U.S. jumped by 38% in 2008, according to data from Bowker's Books in Print database, reported by Quill & Quire magazine. The details are quite interesting: traditional book production actually fell 3%, to 275,232 titles; but on-demand and short run titles jumped 132% to 285,394. In other words, print-on-demand now outnumbers what we have thought of as book publishing.

Quote, unquote: why we started a magazine

Why does anyone start a magazine? The idea definitely didn’t start with, “Let’s figure out a way to sell advertising.” We were looking for a way to communicate. Abe’s Penny starts a conversation. First, between the artist and the writer, then between the result of their work and the person who reads it.-- Anna Knoebel, one of the founders of Abe's Penny, a "micro magazine", each volume of which

CAJ says Harper government is front-runner in Code of Silence award

The Canadian Association of Journalists has announced the nominees for its 2009 Code of Silence Award and Prime Minister Stephen Harper is the front-runner.Journalists from across Canada nominated Harper and his government for "muzzling civil servants and cabinet ministers, blackballing reporters who pose tough questions and building a huge spin machine designed to staunch the flow of information

Porftolio magazine's website gets new lease on life

Portofolio magazine was folded last month and most of the print staff and the staff of the well-regarded online site portfolio.com were let go. That seemed an end of it. But Mediaweek reports that the web site will get a new life as a part of American City Business Journals’ online division Bizjournals, a unit of parent company Advance Publications.“At the time of the announcement, we knew we had

alive Magazine partners with in-store digital media system

alive Magazine, the natural health publication based in Vancouver, has partnered with Planet-Tek systems to provide content and advertising sales for in-store digital signage in Whole Food Markets and other natural health retail locations.According to a press release, the digital system is called The Marketplace Station and will feature short video or "condensed full-motion segments" on topics

Amber Bowerman foundation to celebrate its work in her memory

[This post has been updated] Almost a year ago, highly respected freelance writer and editor Amber Bowerman was killed in a multiple murder-suicide in a Calgary home. Her shocked friends, of whom there are many in the magazine business, immediately talked about some tangible and lasting means to commemorate her life and interests.The Amber Webb-Bowerman Memorial Foundation was created and next

Doug Bennet of Masthead to receive editorial career award

Congratulations to Doug Bennet, the publisher of Mastheadonline and Design Edge Canada, who is to receive the 2009 Harvey Southam Editorial Career Award at the KRW trade magazine awards in two weeks.[photo by Nik Sheehan]

Homemaker's sponsors women's health series with Women's College

Homemaker's magazine (Transcon) is teaming up with Women's College Hospital in Toronto to present a speakers' series on women's health. The first presentation is May 27 at 7:30 p.m. at the Toronto Lawn Tennis Club, 44 Price Street, with three expert panelists:Dr. Lorraine Lipscombe, an endicrinoligist and expert on how lifestyle can influence healthDr. Catherine Kelly, a registered dietician,

Magazine world view

Hachette Sells 5 Titles To Bonnier (MediaDaily News)People, Better Homes & Gardens Have Most Readers(Blog Magazine)MPs' expenses scandal gains Telegraph more than 600,000 sales(Guardian)Mr. Magazine Says Now Is the ‘Best Time’ to Launch a Print Magazine(Folio:)GateHouse zings the Globe(Media Nation)Supreme Court to hear Conrad Black appeal(Guardian)Google Turns To (What Else) An Algorithm To

"In-taxi" magazine launched in India

Talk about niche. Apparently first in the world, Mumbai, India has seen the launch of an "in-taxi" magazine, MumBaee. It was launched Tuesday evening by the Mumbai Taximen’s Union (MTU) and and bears a strong resemblance to slick in-flight magazines. Explaining the need for such a magazine, editor-publisher of MumBaee Vishnu Kadam said that on an average, commuters spend anything from 15 minutes

Aeroplan custom pub now available online

Aeroplan Arrival, the custom pub produced for the frequent flier program by Redwood Custom Communications, is now available online to members and prospective members. According to a release from the company, the online site will contain the current issue as well as a archival material from the first three issues of the travel and lifestyle pub.Sylvie Bourget, Senior Vice President, Marketing and

In-house ad customization a growing trend at magazines

Chasing the elusive and wary advertiser, magazine companies are doing more and more ad work in-house, which allows them to customize ads for various titles. According to a story in Women's Wear Daily, Hearst has gone on the road to agencies and advertisers with a one-hour presentation about the kind of customization they are willing and eager to do. The initiative started two years ago and now is

Former Masthead editor roars ahead in motorcycle racing

"This day was a relief for me," says Shields. "Normally, my pre-race thoughts tend to focus on organ donation. This time I just decided to tailgate the front pack and pick up any scraps they might leave. Turned out they left enough for these two wins."Many of you will remember Bill Shields as the editor of Masthead who, after a brush with cancer, decided to smell the roses/follow his bliss which,

Early bird deadline for Magawards is Friday

A reminder that Friday 22 is the last day to get early-bird price of $90 + GST for the National Magazine Awards gala. www.magazine-awards.com The 32nd annual National Magazine Awards gala will be held on Friday, June 5, 2009 at the Carlu in Toronto.

What is a magazine?

What makes a magazine a magazine? Bo Sacks, president of the Precision Media Group, told the Independent Magazine Advisory Group’s sixth annual meeting in Boulder, Colorado this week that a magazine has the following properties. (Thanks to Tony Silber of Folio: for reporting on them.)1. It’s metered. It’s paginated. It has a beginning, middle and end.2. It’s edited, or curated.3. It’s

Marie-José Desmarais named publisher at Châtelaine

Marie-José Desmarais, the acting editor of Châtelaine, has been named Publisher. This is in addition to her current role as publisher of the French and English editions of LOULOU.The appointment was announced today by Rogers Publishing Ltd., a division of Rogers Media Inc.Châtelaine, which next year celebrates its 50th anniversary, is one of Quebec's largest and most influential women's titles.

Robertson suit settlement goes to court for approval June 16

Possible claimants in the settled class action suit Robertson v. Thomson, have until June 8 to submit any objections they may have about the terms and conditions to the law firm Kloskie, Minsky LLP.A notice in the Globe and Mail and National Post on the weekend says that there is a hearing before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on June 16 at 10 a.m. at Osgoode Hall, 130 Queen Street West,

Rick Boychuk, former CanGeo editor, now handles communications for NDP's Jack Layton

Rick Boychuk, who recently resigned as editor-in-chief of Canadian Geographic magazine, is becoming director of communications to the New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton, effective June 8. He replaces outgoing director of communications Brad Lavigne who moved over to the NDP party headquarters and holds the position of national director.Boychuk, before his 13-year stint at Canadian

Quote, unquote: Wintour of Vogue on price and value

You have to remember exactly who you are and not panic. I don't think that Vogue should turn into Recession Weekly. But at the same time, I think that we have to be very aware of what's going on in the world. In terms of our fashion choices ... racks and racks of clothes are wheeled into my office, and we discuss what's going to be in the magazine and what's not. And up until a year ago, we've

Lavish spreads in wedding magazines create envy in penny-pinching couples

A Calgary wedding planner says couples are suffering serious wedding envy as the economic downturn requires them to cut back, but bridal magazines continue to show lavish ceremonies, Ciara Daykin of Firefly Occasions, said in a release “I have brides and grooms come to me and tell me that they are really upset because the weddings in the magazine seem so amazing and they actually have a bit of

Watery radio doc wins science writers' journalism award

Freelancer editor and writer Kim Pittaway (former editor of Chatelaine), hasn't done a radio documentary for some years, since university in fact. But last year she teamed up with her sister Tina (the first time they had ever collaborated), a very experienced and award-winning documentarist, to do a radio program on water and our use and abuse of it. The program documents the sisters' exploration

Manitoba nursing magazine criticized for printing names of addicted nurses

The College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba regularly prints in its quarterly magazine RN Journal and on its website the names of nurses who are disciplined for being addicts. The practice has been condemned by the Manitoba Nurses Union, but defended by the Manitoba health minister Theresa Oswald."Protection of the public needs to be paramount," the health minister told the Canadian Press. The

Magazines West unveils a day chockful of professional development

Magazines West in Vancouver is a collaborative event, combining a day of professional development seminars on June 18 sponsored by the British Columbia Association of Magazine Publishers and the Western Magazine Awards on June 19. Both events at the Renaissance Hotel Vancouver Harbourside.Details of the seminars have just been released:Keynote luncheon speaker is Bruce Grierson, a multiple

Vogue editor submits to a TV profile

This Sunday, 60 Minutes will profile the usually elusive editor of Vogue magazine, Anna Wintour; she has apparently submitted to this because she wants to knock down rumours that she's about to retire. Not, apparently.The model for the overbearing boss in the film The Devil Wears Prada tells correspondent Morley Safer (who, according to the New York Post, followed her around to Milan, Paris and

New frontiers in magazine publishing

The Wall Street Journal has rummaged around on the fringes of the world magazine industry and come up with various initiatives which the article says -- perhaps with its tongue in its cheek -- push the boundaries of the print medium. But, certainly, attention is being paid...T-Post, a magazine which sends its new subscribers a new T-shirt every 6 weeksVisionaire, which arrives in black and white

Star Trek Q&A

Senior Editor Jeff Goldsmith interviews co-writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci.

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Magazine world view

The Atlantic to publish single-sponsored issue (Folio:)Is Geffen serious about buying the NY Times? (Media Nation)National Geographic restructures sales operations (Folio:)Dutch government to pay salaries of 60 newspaper journalists (Guardian)Paid search traffic down sharply (paidContent.org)i-D scales back to six issues a year (Guardian)Dow Jones writers get served new Twitter-specific conduct

Will Canada Council be required to cut $9 million from its base spending?

For literary and cultural magazines the news about the Canada Council for the Arts facing a possible 5% cut is disturbing. This is a possible -- some would say likely -- outcome of the Government of Canada’s Strategic Review program.This is a process whereby each government department in turn is subjected to a review of its direct program spending to ensure that the money is being spent

Printer vs. printer: R. R. Donnelly makes unsolicited bid for Quebecor World

One of the world's biggest printers is making an offer to swallow one of the world's biggest printers. Both are major suppliers to the Canadian and U.S. magazine publishing industry.R. R. Donnelly & Sons of Chicago is making an unsolicited offer of $1.35 billion for the troubled Quebecor World in what may have huge implications for both QW's debtors and for its employees.In a letter to Quebecor

Westworld BC is launching a digital version (can AB and SK be far behind?)

The auto club magazine Westworld, one of Canada's largest circulation magazines, is launching a digital version starting with its summer issue. The magazine, which is published under contract by Canada Wide Media Limited of Vancouver (it is by far their largest circulation title) will apparently still be available in printed form for BC members of the Canadian Automobile Association (BCCAA), at

Canoe sinks into Sun Media; CEO out, Peladeau now runs the whole show

Quebecor Media is rolling its Canoe interactive media division under Sun Media and putting its internet and newspaper operations under one management team, headed by Quebecor Media President and Chief Executive Officer Pierre Karl Peladeau. "The current reality dictates that we must always be reinventing ourselves, and that's exactly what we're doing today. The integration of Canoe into Sun Media

Clinging to the ice floe

Shelley Ambrose, the co-publisher of The Walrus magazine and executive director of the Walrus Foundation, has put out a video appeal for donations. Its essence is that the Walrus, which has always received (and as a charity is only allowed to carry) limited advertising and now, with the recession, even that limited revenue stream has taken a major hit, with ad revenue down 50%. As she puts it

Luminato festival teams up with...The Atlantic magazine?

[This post has been updated]Luminato is a Toronto festival of arts, culture and creativity that is driven in large part by the ambitions of co-founder and co-chair Tony Gagliano, the executive chairman CEO of St. Joseph Communications, which publishes some of Canada's largest and most successful magazines -- Toronto Life, Wedding Bells, Fashion, Canadian Family and so on.Now in its 3rd year (it

Tell the truth and tell it first, Atlantic Business Magazine awards gala told

It was a bit of a coup for Atlantic Business Magazine to land Michael McCain, the president of Maple Leaf Foods, as its keynote speaker for its annual Top 50 CEO awards gala in Halifax last week. McCain is a hometown Atlantic boy, who grew up in Florenceville, New Brunswick.McCain made the most of his opportunity to share with his fellow CEOs what he learned from last summer's listeria outbreak

Eastern Woods & Waters relaunching itself online

Eastern Woods & Waters, an Atlantic Canada magazine that closed its print version last fall, is relaunching online. As part of the relaunch it is reformatting and uploading some 24 years of print content with the aim of providing a knowledge base for today's younger readers. Jim Gourlay, the publisher and editor (who is also co-publisher for Saltscapes), told Mastheadonline:“We have young people

Magazine world view

Sulzberger family loses 86% of New York Times fortune (New York Post)News Corp. plans micro-payment system for WSJ website (Reuters)Vibe to launch "tabloid-themed" spinoff (Folio:)Playboy Plans 'Radical Changes' to Print Model(Folio:)Facebook Planning Its Own Virtual Payment System (paidContent.org)New Study Probes What Readers Will Pay For Beyond Financial News (paidContent.org)London Evening

Success is all about engaging the audience

Here's a really good example of how small, specialty magazines can engage with their audiences by writing about them and the things that matter to them.Small Farm Canada has a cover feature on "community shared agriculture" -- you know, the services whereby you subscribe to a basket of miscellaneous produce throughout the growing season. One of the farmers featured was that of Jen (right) and

International head of Bauer Media named FIPP president and CEO

The International Federation of the Periodical Press (FIPP) has named Chris Llewellyn, international managing director of Bauer Media, to be president and CEO.A member of the FIPP management board since 1999, Bauer served as the chair between 2005 and 2007, and succeeds Donald Kummerfeld who has been FIPP CEO since April 2001. Llewwellyn has been the international managing director of Bauer Media

Scott Bullock resigns from CDS Global

Scott Bullock, well-known in the Canadian magazine field as a circulation marketing expert, has resigned from CDS Global, effective immediately. This, according to a press release from the company. The release says Bullock, who has been with the multinational fulfillment company since 2007, most recently as vice-president, sales and marketing, is returning to his private consultancy practice,

Shelley Youngblut to receive western mags lifetime achievement award

Shelley Youngblut, editor-in-chief of Swerve magazine (a supplement to the Calgary Herald) is to receive the lifetime achievement award at this year's Western Magazine Awards. The finalists have been announced for all other categories in the awards, which will be presented Friday, June 19 at the Renaissance Vancouver Hotel Harbourside.Magazine of the year finalists are (by province):Alberta/

Freelance agency out of the blocks with 50 client writers

We're pretty sure that when he announced plans for the Canadian Writers Group agency, Derek Finkle hadn't reckoned with a nose-diving recession. Still, it is a major accomplishment that today is the official launch and that he is representing 50 of Canada's best freelance writers.This is half of what he hoped for but it's nevertheless a major step forward for Canadian freelance magazine writers.

Major mags turn increasingly to the web for new paid subs

Some major magazine companies in the U.S. are finding the web increasingly attractive, not for selling content, but for finding new subscribers. A 2007 figure was that the industry derived 10 per cent of its new subs from websites; that figure has probably grown considerably in the past two years.According to a story in Mediaweek,Hearst Magazines found a quarter of its net paid subs (2.2 million)

Rudo Y Cursi Q&A

Senior Editor Jeff Goldsmith interviews actors Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna along with writer/director Carlos Cuarón about Rudo Y Cursi.

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Quote, unquote: getting what we pay for

Whatever shape journalism ultimately takes in America, make no mistake that in the end we will get what we pay for.-- Frank Rich, in the conclusion to his column for the Sunday New York Times, May 10, 2009

The Beaver named Manitoba magazine of the year

The Beaver: Canada's National History Magazine, was named magazine of the year at the "Maggies", the first annual awards program of the Manitoba Magazine Publishers Association.The province's oldest magazine (founded in 1920) The Beaver was chosen because it had an extraordinary year: publishing for the first time in French with its Quebec 400th Anniversary Special Issue; clinching a book deal

Panel says Canada Post shouldn't subsidize magazines

A preliminary scan of the final report of the strategic review panel looking into Canada Post reveals two recommendations that bear on Canadian magazines:With respect to the Publications Assistance Program (PAP), the Advisory Panel understands that the current obligation placed upon Canada Post to contribute to the PAP subsidy for publications mailings expires in March 2009 (Canada Post’s PAP

Plunge ahead into the "high fidelity" digital future, says creative director

Yesterday I attended Paper to Pixels in Toronto, a session co-sponsored by Masthead, Design Edge Canada and Adobe. It was something of an extended gee-whizz infomercial by Adobe, as expected (and there was much to gee-whiz about in its new CS4), but the keynote was a presentation by Campion Primm (great name, huh?) who is the creative director of Viv magazine, a wholly digital California-based

PWAC hails settlement of rights suit as "a great achievement"

The president of the Professional Writers Association of Canada, Tanya Gulliver, has published a statement from the organization, praising Heather Robertson and the successful $11 million settlement of her 13-year class action lawsuit against some of Canada's biggest publishers. The suit concerned fair payment for the use of freelancers' articles in electronic databases. The statement said in

Traditional controlled b2b publishing is dead, magazines congress told

The controlled circulation business magazine is dead. That was the blunt message conveyed to an audience at the World Magazines Congress in London this week, according to a story in Press Gazette. Tim Weller, the chief executive of the business information group Incisive Media said "In the years to come we will be charging in some way shape or form for all of our content. I don't think the

Amazon unveils magazine-sized Kindle DX

Amazon has unveiled a bigger Kindle reader that is about the size of a standard sheet of letter paper. Costing $495, the new device seems geared more to magazines and newspapers and may raise some hopes among publishers.According to a Wall Street Journal article, the Kindle DX device -- which, only being black-and-white, may suit newspapers quicker than most colour-rich magazines -- costs about

Geist contributing editor named Vancouver's poet laureate

Brad Cran, a contributing editor to Geist magazine, has been named Vancouver's poet laureate for a two-year term ending 2011. The honourary title was announced at a city hall ceremony this week, presided over by mayor Gregor Robinson. Cran succeeds the inaugural poet laureate, George McWhirter.According to a story in the Georgia Straight, Cran's duties will include creating “a unique artistic

Quebecor World sees things looking up next year

Quebecor World, the troubled, but still enormous printer, is expecting to emerge from bankruptcy protection and a $1.7 billion loss last year to next year seeing a modest $7 million profit. According to a story in the Globe and Mail, the company, which prints a large number of Canadian magazines, is expecting continued difficulties in volume because of the economic recession, but that cost

Scientific publisher snookered by fake journal paid for by drug company

It sounds fairly dry, academic and dependable -- The Australasian Journal of Bone and Joint Medicine -- but it turns out that its publisher, Elsevier, the world’s leading scientific publisher allowed itself to be hoodwinked by Merck, the US pharmaceutical group.According to a story in the Financial Times, the journal was presented as being independent, with an honorary editorial board of

Magazines on the web -- new websites at House & Home and This Magazine

House & Home Media has relaunched its Canadian House & Home website with a number of new features about home design and food, a passel of new blogs including a "Finds and Trends" done by various staffers and a number of new photo galleries. The new site at once seems to give more information and a less cluttered impression and has been unveiled coincident with the release of the magazine's June

ACE awards deadline extended to May 11

The deadline for the Circulation Management Association of Canada (CMC) Ace awards has been extended to May 11. So there is still time to nominate the circulator of your choice.

Magazine world view

Readers Digest Association Shutters U.S. Edition of Selecciones (Folio:)Google: Drop the AP first (Buzz Machine)Atlanta Paper's New Pitch To Readers: Take A Break From Digital And Try Print(paidContent.org)Murdoch's folly (The Great Recession -- David Olive (Toronto Star)Could Apple Buy Twitter?(Gawker)

Cannabis Culture (print) magazine is discontinued

The print edition of Cannabis Culture magazine is being discontinued by notorious publisher Marc Emery, the leader of the Marijuana Party. Mastheadonline reported a message to readers from Emery in which he laid out the economic difficulties of the magazine, which has a U.S. as well as Canadian circulation.Essentially, Emery's retail and mail order business, selling hemp products, marijuana seeds

B2B's diminished share is apparently moving more and more online

A report by an international research consultancy seems to confirm what is widely believed in the industry -- that there is a rapid change happening in business-to-business (trade) media, with a shrinking share of advertising dollars also shifting online.According to the research, by Outsell Inc., as reported in a story in MediaDaily News, not only has the b2b share of print revenue declined in

Long-running freelance suit against publishers settled for $11 million

A class action lawsuit led by freelance writer Heather Robertson against the several of Canada's largest media publishers is over -- at last. It has been reported that the Globe's parent company, CTVglobemedia Inc., Thomson Reuters Canada Inc. and The Gale Group Inc. have agreed to pay $11 million to settle the matter, without admission of wrongdoing.The outcome is that thousands of freelancers

How to fix misleading magazine industry measurement

It is not the first time that someone has called into question the doubtful metrics of the magazine industry in the U.S. But in a column for Folio: Henry Donahue, the CEO of Discover Media LLC, the publisher of DISCOVER magazine and discovermagazine.com makes a refreshing stab at both diagnosis and cure.He reiterates the oft-related complaint that the Publishers Information Bureau data on ad

Magazines need to build greater reliance on value of content to subscribers

The euthanizing of Portfolio magazine may have had a salutary effect if it makes publishers confront, at last, issues of pricing and value. A good deal of commentary in the wake of the magazine's announced closing last week, concerns the ludicrously low pricing of the title -- albeit consistent with the way most mainstream magazines have been, and are, priced. An article in Newsweek quotes Samir

Quote, unquote: Leanne Shapton on things paying off

"I've taken a lot of risks. Cold calls. Expecting to be rejected a lot... I can be quite reckless, but weirdly these things have paid off."-- former Saturday Night and National Post art director Leanne Shapton (now art director for the New York Times' op-ed page) quoted in a glowing profile in the Toronto Sunday Star. (In it, she talks about her recently published book that was optioned for film

Legion magazine looks for first time to the newsstand

For the first time, Legion magazine will now be made available to the public on newsstands. The May-June issue will be the first in which the veterans' magazine will be sold as single copies. Previously, the magazine was only sent as a benefit to the approximately 275,000 members of the Royal Canadian Legion.The first newsstand issue will feature a special pull-out, birds-eye view map of Juno

British magazine association to unveil carbon footprint tool

Britain's Periodical Publishers Association (the equivalent of Magazines Canada) is to unveil a new tool that allows magazines to calculate the "carbon footprint" of their titles.The carbon calculator will be unveiled at the International Federation of the Periodical Press (FIPP) world magazine congress opening in London this week, according to a story in Press Gazette.The tool, which has taken

Magazine winners at Atlantic Journalism Awards

Eleanor Beaton won the gold award for the best magazine article at the Atlantic Journalism Awards when they were presented Saturday night at the Delta Beauséjour Hotel in Moncton. Her article "Giving Away the Farm" was published in Saltscapes . Awards were presented in 26 print, television and radio categories*.Gold award winners and the other finalists of the magazine-related categories were as

Relocating!

Hello, all. LIT is now blogging over at http://litmagazine.wordpress.com, so please update your bookmarks!

(News on LIT 15/16, photos from AWP '09 and more to come, so check us out!)

—The Management

I wouldn't have done anything differently, Portfolio editor says

The only thing that Joanne Lipman would do differently would be to launch Portfolio magazine in a better economy. The editor of the business title which Condé Nast shut down on Monday told Newsweek (as part of a longer interview) that, despite the shutdown, she was optimistic about the future of the magazine business:There is a real demand for information. And there's a need for people to

American magazine awards had some surprises

For the first time, Field & Stream magazine and Reader's Digest won awards for general editorial excellence at the U.S. national magazine awards last night (the "Ellies"*). The awards are presented by the American Society of Magazine Edtiors.Reader's Digest won in the circulation-ranked general excellence in the >2 million category, on a night when it did much better than usual; Field & Stream