Happy Canada Day!

No posts on July 1; Happy Canada Day!

Influential Albertans make for an interesting mix in Alberta Venture

Anti-censorship crusader (and ex-editor of the ex-Western Standard magazine) Ezra Levant, shares the honour of being named among the top 50 most influential people in Alberta with Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Rick George, CEO of Suncor Energy Inc. (cover subject, seen at right).The profiles of the 50 are published in the July issue of Alberta Venture magazine. Among the others selected by

Redwood takes home 25 medals, 3 of them gold, at custom publishing awards

Custom publishers Redwood Custom Communications of Toronto took home 25 medals at the 2009 Magnum Opus Awards, including 3 gold and a special recognition grand prize for Acura Style magazine. The Awards, founded in 2004, are sponsored by the Missouri School of Journalism and ContentWise (formerly Publications Management), a monthly newsletter covering custom media and communications. Redwood won

Vibe magazine, one of North America's biggest music titles, is folding

Vibe magazine, one of North America's biggest music magazines, is folding, according to a post in Gawker, the Manhattan media blog.Founded by producer Quincy Jones in 1992, Vibe has been described as the black version of Rolling Stone. A post in Daily Finance blog quotes chief financial officer Angela Zucconi saying: "We will be making a statement by the end of the day. That's all I can say

Mike Holmes fronting companion magazine to launch this fall

Mike Holmes, the muscular star of the eponymous TV fixit show Holmes on Homes, is launching a companion bi-monthly magazine called Holmes. According to a story in Media in Canada, the Dauphin Media Group (Canadian Architecture & Design magazine) and The Holmes Group are launching the title in November. It will include tips from building professionals, construction projects, products and

second issue - july 2009

Open publication - Free publishing - More photo

Transcontinental Media cuts 29 jobs in magazine division

Monday morning first thing, Transcontinental Media cut a reported 29 jobs in its newly merged business and consumer solution group, according to a report in Masthead. A staff meeting was told specifically eliminated were 13 jobs in Toronto, 10 in Montreal and 6 in Vancouver, totalling 22; it's not known where the seven other positions are. Pierre Marcoux, who recently was appointed head of the

"Completely unjustified" magazine mailing costs to increase 3% next January

Canada Post is going to raise Publications Mail rates 3% on January 1, 2010, a hike that Magazines Canada says is "completely unjustified". The magazine association has said in a bulletin to its members:While CPC expressed its sensitivity to the economic downturn and understands the need to attenuate rate increases while the economy recovers, a weighted rate increase of close to three per cent

Hello! Canada and Maclean's hurry out Michael Jackson tribute issues

[This post has been updated]In a bid to stay on top of the wave of interest in the late Michael Jackson, Rogers Publishing's Hello! Canada is out on the streets three days early with a "special tribute issue" containing 44 pages on the pop star's personal and professional life. It's on the newsstands in Southern Ontario today and rolling out across the rest of Canada by Thursday.This is the first

Is it time to re-think the rate card?

The traditional way of rewarding magazine advertising customers -- with discounts for frequency and size -- needs to be rethought, according to a column in Publishing Executive. Eric Shanfelt, executive vice president of eMedia for Virgo Publishing (he previously worked for Penton Media and Aspire Media) says that, with restless advertisers shifting from print-only to a mix of media, it's a

Maclean's columnist Wells: Don't fix up 24 Sussex, replace it

Maclean's columnist Paul Wells has launched an open call to Canada's architects to design a new home for Canada's prime ministers, so that 24 Sussex can be torn down. His thesis is that, far from being a heritage fixer-upper, the PM's residence is a case of throwing good money after bad.For the money it would take to fix the old house, about $12 million, I am certain we could build a far superior

Canadian Living and Canadian House & Home are top newsstand performers

As someone who has complained long and hard about the dearth of good, consistent Canadian magazine industry data, I want to acknowledge the good data that we do get. I would include in that the annual revenue rankings of Masthead and the annual tally of single copy sales that the distributor Coast to Coast publishes. It gives us an excellent opportunity to see where things stand and, sometimes,

The Savages Q&A

Senior Editor Jeff Goldsmith interviews writer-director Tamara Jenkins about The Savages

Copyright Unlikely Films, Inc. 2009. All Rights Reserved.

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New wine custom pub Vino to launch in Calgary

A new quarterly three-times-a-year wine magazine called Vino is planned for launch in Calgary; a partnership between Zyn.ca (a new wine store with a massive online shopping site) and custom publisher Poise Publications. Apparently the new magazine will "explore the latest trends in the international wine community, with a focus on the Calgary wine market."Its total circulation, starting in

Major British b2b publisher to charge for most of its content, starting this fall

A major British b2b publisher is going to charge users for access to "significant parts" of its websites, starting this fall. Emap Inform's CEO Simon Middleboe told the Press Gazette that the company would be moving back towards a pay-for-content model. There will still be some free access content, but much less."We are in the process of building all the bits of technology in Abacus [Emap's

Final butt out on magazine tobacco ads seen as inevitable

There seems to be a certain air of resignation on all sides about the impending ban on the limited advertising of tobacco in magazines. An amendment to the Tobacco Act awaits only Senate approval to end all print advertising by tobacco companies. (The right to place ads in publications with an adult readership of at least 85% came about in 2007 when a Supreme Court ruling clarified regulations

Video of talk about "embattled media" now available online

For those who were unable to attend (because it was sold out or because it was in Toronto), the recent MASS talk by Walrus co-publisher Shelley Ambrose and St. Joseph Media president Douglas Knight, a video has now been made available for online viewing or downloading.

25 years on, ROB magazine celebrates

I quite like the cover of the 25th anniversary issue of Report on Business magazine, out today. It was done as part of a competition between graphic design firms and advertising agencies, with the design by Andrew Cloutier of the Toronto boutique firm Zig winning out. It has 1,000 maple leaves, colour-coded by industry included in the listings.Some of the very interesting runners-up, from the

Chatelaine still #1 among top 50 magazines

Chatelaine magazine remains number one in the ranking of top 50 by revenue, published annually by Masthead magazine. The data, released today, estimates that in 2008 Chatelaine had total revenues of $56.5 million (89% from advertising).(Masthead uses published ad page data by Leading National Advertisers (LNA) and published rate card info to calculate advertising revenue, discounting it by 30% to

Magazine world view

Elle tops Vogue in ads for first time (Forbes)Texas Monthly, Los Angeles dominate CRMAs (Folio:)Norman Lebrecht to leave London Evening Standard (Guardian)USPS looks to reduce the cost of ride-alongs (Folio:)Pink Paper ditches print to go online only (Guardian)

Ontario cabinet shuffle keeps culture minister, but brings inevitable delays

The good news, for Ontario magazines, is that at least the latest cabinet shuffle has left Aileen Carroll in place as culture minister. The less good news is that the other changes in responsibility will inevitably result in lags in dealing with critical issues to magazines like the impact of the harmonized sales tax, blue box levies and the unfair subsidized competition of Food & Drink magazine

The market is being "reset" says Microsoft CEO: get with the program

The chief executive of Microsoft, Steve Ballmer, says that the global advertising market is not in recession, it is in what he called "reset". Media companies should not plan for revenues to bounce back to pre-recession levels, he said (as reported by the Guardian), speaking at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival.He argued that traditional broadcast and print media would have to

A design perspective on adding value to magazines through attention to detail

A recent post in Creative Review's blog reported on a talk by Scott Dadich, the art director of Wired magazine. And some of the observations by Matt Willey are worth noting (the boldfaced emphasis is mine):It was nice to have confirmation of the importance of obsessive attention to detail inherent in successful magazines. There is an extraordinarily rigorous and exacting attention to detail that

Magazine world view

Trinity Mirror to cut jobs at national newspapers (Guardian)Scrollmotion develops iPhone app for People magazine; Esquire, Harvard Business Review and Bon Appetit to follow (Blog Magazine)David Beckham paid damages by Daily Star for 'Hungarian babe' story (Guardian)Meredith launches print extension of social network (Folio:) Two main news publishing associations move toward merger (Guardian)Time

Quebecor World to be chaired by former head of major printing rival

Brian Mulroney is no longer chairman of the board of Quebecor World, replaced by a veteran of the U.S. printing industry Mark Angelson, according to a story from Canadian Press. It seems ironic that Angelson was the head of R. R. Donnelley, a major printing rival, until 2007. Donnelley was recently unsuccessful in an unsolicited $1.55 billion bid to take over Quebecor World as it emerges from

Brüno cover apparently too racy for the windy city

The Sacha Baron Cohen cover of GQ magazine, featuring him nude as one of his characters “Brüno”, is apparently too racy for at least one Chicago newsstand, according to a story in the New York Times media and advertising Decoder blog. The newsstand has put the magazine (which is clearly a send-up of the January GQ cover featuring a nude Jennifer Anniston) behind a "blinder" panel normally

Has the U.S. magazine ad sales decline started to bottom out?

Data from U.S. magazines suggest that the decline in advertising page sales may be levelling off; July issues of monthlies are down 20% compared with July a year ago, says an article in MediaDaily News, but it is less of a decline than recent monthly figures. Top titles have experience major year-to-date declines:

Illustrator Jerzy Kolacz dies

Sorry to have word, via Mastheadonline, that illustrator and painter Jerzy Kolacz has died at the age of 70. I was on the staff of The City magazine, a short-lived weekly glossy supplement to the Toronto Sunday Star ( the magazine was published 1977 - 1980) when Kolacz arrived in Toronto in 1978 and brought his portfolio around looking for work.Almost immediately, The City -- and many other

Saskatoon may be dangerous, but it's artsie, says Maclean's

Maclean's giveth; and Maclean's taketh away. Not so long ago, Maclean's declared Saskatoon to be virtually tied with its sister city, Regina, as the most dangerous city in Canada, based on crime statistics. Naturally, the citizens complained. Now, it has declared that Saskatoon is Canada's third-smartest city, according to the June 8 edition of the magazine. Only Calgary and Victoria rank higher

Quote, unquote: sticking it to Toronto

Setting aside all the policy justifications and the mug’s game of tallying up the economic spin-offs, the story line here has always put Toronto in the tenuous position of dictating how Ottawa spends. And in the world beyond the 416, no self-respecting national politician – Tory, Liberal or other — can get away with letting Toronto help itself to the contents of the federal coffers. That kind of

AOL MediaGlow's strategy snags talent, content from beleagured mag businesses

Not bad for what had been considered a dinosaur. AOL, which was recently cut loose by parent Time Inc. and has been dismissed by many commentators as so yesterday (having been one of the original online service providers) has scored some major success with its new political news and blog site PoliticsDaily.com. According to a post by Techcrunch, the site -- which was only launched a month and a

Still profitable, but Economist warns of challenging year ahead

The Economist Group, publisher of the Economist, has posted pre-tax profits of £56m, after benefiting from a cost-cutting programme. However, according to a report in MediaWeek UK, the group warned of a challenging year ahead, with lower advertising and sponsorship.Pre-tax profits were up year on year from £47m to £56m, while revenue rose from £266m to £313m, in the year ending March 31, 2009.

Roger Corman, horror movie icon, to feature at Rue Morgue festival

Roger Corman, the godfather of horror films (The Masque of the Red Death, Bucket of Blood) is a featured guest at Toronto-based Rue Morgue magazine's Festival of Fear consumer show in August. Also appearing as guest of honour is cult film director Bruce Campbell (The Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, Army of Darkness) .The event takes place August 28 - 30 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Rue Morgue

Vancouver named mag of the year at Western Magazine Awards

Writer Chris Koentges has had quite a couple of weeks. He won a gold and a silver award at the National Magazine awards for a memoir of his mother Helen (those were two of the four medals he won that night); now, for the same article, he has won two awards at the Western Magazine Awards, which was published in Calgary's Swerve magazine (a supplement to the Calgary Herald)."What a gift for

American Business Media downsizes again, cuts recruiter

Recruiting new B2B members has proved so difficult in the current economic climate that American Business Media (ABM), the U.S. equivalent of Canadian Business Press, has let go the guy whose job was to do the recruiting, along with several others. According to a story in Folio:, American Business Media has now reduced its workforce by 40%.The most recent cuts include president and CEO Gordon

Canada's "fearful capitulation" on litmag funding decried by Granta editor

The editor of the respected international journal, Granta, has written about the funding crisis affecting Canada's small literary and cultural titles. Joh Freeman says:Bad things happen up north in the winter, when no one is looking. Like last February, when Canada’s heritage minister James Moore gave a speech which poorly disguised the fact that his office was effectively preparing to clear-cut

Department of 'You can't make this stuff up'

According to a post on tne Manhattan media blog Gawker, freelancer Jeff Koyen got an email from a representative of "Mabuhay, Philippine Airlines' inflight magazine," asking permission to reprint an article he'd written. For 15 cents per word. Oh, but: Dear Mr. Koyen,My sincerest apologies, but I failed to mention that the words "a", "and", and "the" are not included in the rate. Would you still

OMDC magazine fund deadline is July 6

A reminder to Ontario magazine publishers: The deadline for the Ontario Media Development Corporation magazine fund is July 6. Application forms are on the website. Further information, guidelines and application forms are available here.

Will gay retirees want to fill some marketer's niche?

It may be a classic case of Groucho Marx's line about not wanting to belong to a club that would have him as a member. A story in the Globe and Mail today talks about the gay retirees as a market niche, with CARP, the national association for the 45-plus (closely associated with Zoomer magazine) launching a chapter to represent older gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered members.For a $20

One National Geographic magazine emits carbon equivalent of driving 2 miles

Few magazines have the resources, or perhaps even the interest, to determine the impact on the planet of their printing and production. However, National Geographic has collaborated with paper company Verso Paper Co., Quad/Graphics (the magazine's printer) and Harmony Environmental, an environmental consulting firm, to calculate just what its "carbon footprint" is. The results were unveiled today

U.S. Readers's Digest slashes guaranteed circ 31% and cuts frequency from monthly to 10x

[This post has been updated] Reader's Digest has announced a major retrenchment, slashing its U.S. circulation rate base by more than 30% of 5.5 million and cutting its frequency from monthly to 10 times a year.According to a story in MediaDaily News, RD is going to expand in future, but digitally, with a suite of new products it calls "Reader's Digest Versions". Total global print circulation

The Proposal Q&A

Senior Editor Jeff Goldsmith interviews screenwriter Pete Chiarelli about The Proposal

Copyright Unlikely Films, Inc. 2009. All Rights Reserved.

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"We needn't destroy other cultures..." -- Arthur Erickson

The design magazine Azure has a brief tribute by Adele Weder to the late architect Arthur Erickson in its July/August issue:In the dusk of life, the Erickson persona shifted from entrepreneur terrible to elder statesman. His essays and speeches on art, rationalism and cultural erosion remain strikingly pertinent. “I have come to plead for conservation, not of the environment, but of human culture

Want success in web editing? Be the web

Print and web editing are different. That's one of the things that came out loud and clear at an Ed2010 panel discussion in Toronto last night, with four web editors participating: Bryan Borzykowski from CanadianBusiness.com, Jen O'Brien from Chatelaine.com, Jennifer Villamere of CanadianLiving.com, and Sharon Donaldson from CottageLife.com and Explore-mag.com.Here, thanks to Corinna van Gerwen's

British agency to try and license web links

Britain's Newspaper Licensing Agency has announced it is to begin regulating its customers' use of hyperlinks to newspaper articles on the web, according to a story in Press Gazette. The agency, which controls reproduction of newspaper clippings by news monitoring services and public relations agencies, will introduce an extension to its licences later this year.It's a controversial move, since

Corporate Knights magazine? Who they? says Whyte

[This post has been updated] "I had no real knowledge of these guys until June 12 when I received a nasty letter from their lawyer threatening to sue us for trademark violation over our cover line Best 50 Corporate Citizens. They demanded we pull all copies from newsstand, destroy them, print a retraction in Maclean’s, and pay them $4 million dollars. They further threatened to open a public

Magazine world view

British Library project puts 200 years of UK newspapers online (Brand Republic)Online Ad Spending Gains—But Then Loses—Momentum In Q2 (paidContent.org) Email marketing set to 'balloon' over next five years (Brand Republic)Google To Bing: We Have Cool Features Too (paidContent.org) Kate Moss sues IPC Media (Now magazine) and says she is "not a public figure" (Press Gazette)Closer magazine rapped

Stuart Woods promoted to editor of Quill & Quire

Stuart Woods, a staffer of Quill & Quire magazine, has been promoted to be the editor. He assumes the chair left vacant when Derek Weiler died suddenly in April.Woods started with Q&Q as an intern in fall 2007 and became a staff writer in August 2008. He began his career in book publishing as an editor at Price-Patterson Ltd. in Montreal. Alison Jones, the magazine's publisher said in a posting

Media couple talk about "embattled" media model in Canada

Shelley Ambrose, co-publisher of The Walrus magazine, and her husband, Doug Knight, president of St Joseph Media (Toronto Life, Fashion, Quill & Quire)are this month's featured presenters at MASS talk in Toronto.They'll be discussing the current crisis in Canadian publishing and its implications for the political and cultural life of the country.It's at 6 p.m. on Tuesday 23rd at Jamie Kennedy's

Corporate Knights magazine challenges Maclean's over "best corporate citizen" issue

[This post has been updated]The respected magazine Corporate Knights is accusing Maclean's magazine of poaching one of its signature ideas -- an annual directory of Canada's best corporate citizens. With his tongue only partly in his cheek, editor Toby Heaps of Corporate Knights has challenged Maclean's publisher and editor-in-chief Ken Whyte to a public debate.In a release, Heaps said that the

Finding a way to put the genie back in the bottle

Ann Moore, the CEO of Time Inc. has asked one of her senior executives to "put the genie back in the bottle". A memorandum to employees, published by Folio: says that John Squires, the executive vice-president, has been given a summer job to find the right digital business model for the future.While print magazines are not going away, and while we have built vibrant websites with over 26 million

Paperless Sunday for La Presse readers

Montreal's La Presse announced Monday it is ceasing publication of its Sunday edition at the end of the month after 25 years. The company said it will save $3 million annually. Faced with a deficit of $215 million by 2013, the French-language daily is seeking to cut costs by $26 million annually and is asking its 600 unionized employees to make $65 million in concessions over the next five

The Globe and Mail: good news; bad news

First, the good news:The Globe and Mail is the first major North American daily national newspaper to develop an Ancient Forest Friendly paper procurement policy. A release today, from the Globe and the environmental publishing advocates Canopy (formerly Markets Initiative) announced that the paper has committed to practices to use paper from high conservation value forests. Now, the bad news:The

Co-founder of Broken Pencil gets the Oprah seal of approval

Oprah has given her influential seal of approval to Toronto writer Hal Niedzviecki in her magazine's summer reading list, according to a post on CBC.ca. His most recent book, The Peep Diaries, is on her list of "25 books you can't put down" in the July issue of O magazine.If past experience is anything to go by, such an endorsement by the popular television host and eponymous editor of one of

Cost of mailing a magazine up 38% in 6 years

The cost of mailing the average magazine in Canada has increased 38% in six years, according to the annual analysis and report for the year 2008, prepared for Rogers Publishing by Michael J. Fox, the senior vice-president, circulation and development. Fox, who is acknowledged to be one of Canada's leading experts on postal matters, prepares his analysis every year after Canada Post Corporation

Global advertising to be depressed through 2013, PWC report says

The annual entertainment and media sector forecasts from Pricewaterhousecoopers is due out today and the the outlook is pretty grim worldwide, according to a story in paidContent.org. Asia is looking much brighter than North America and Europe. According to its Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2009-2013:The global entertainment & media market as a whole, including both consumer and

New magazine ad campaign tracker to give accountability advertisers want

//Syntax: var uniquevar=new animatedcollapse("DIV_id", animatetime_milisec, enablepersist(true/fase), [initialstate] ) var collapsea=new animatedcollapse("coola", 500, false) The steady march towards greater and greater accountability for magazine advertising took another pace with the announcement by Mediamark Research & Intelligence (MRI) that it will begin to measure the

Hello! Canada crests 1 million readers a week

The Canadian edition of Hello! magazine has reached a million readers, according to a story in Marketing magazine. The celebrity weekly, launched by Rogers Publishing in 2006 under license from its Spanish parent, has seen its circulation grow until it now averages 100,000 newsstand and subscription copies a week. Readership research recently conducted by Roper Reports Canada (using the same

The Republic of East Vancouver may never be published again

It's a newspaper, sure, but we tend to think of it as an honourary magazine, if only because its editor and publisher, Kevin Potvin, was one of the best friends a newsstand magazine ever had. Now, apparently, after almost 10 years of serving the east side of Vancouver, The Republic of East Vancouver is going on hiatus...and the paper may never be published again.Regular readers of this blog will

Blame Gisele!? Or blame the distributors?!

The New York Observer reports that Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen's recent cover shots in both Vanity Fair (May) and Harper's Bazaar (April) drew the lowest single copy sales in recent times.What the story downplayed was the fact that they both appeared during a time of a major blowup in the distribution business when one key player (Anderson News, representing 25% of the business) closed

Canadian Business Journal first digital title signed with CCAB interactive membership

The Canadian Business Journal has become the first digital-only magazine in Canada to apply for CCAB/BPA Worldwide interactive membership. It is published by George Media Inc., headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario. The new BPA digital auditing tool, utilizing Nielsen Online's tagging technology, will measure page impressions, unique browsers, user sessions, unique browser frequency, user

Naked Eye publisher arrested in major drug bust

The owner of Naked Eye magazine, a pop-culture title, was arrested last week after a two year investigation of his involvement with drugs, contraband tobacco and the Hell's Angels, according to a story in Masthead.Burton Rice was one of 46 people arrested in the sweep. He was arrested at his family's heavily fortified warehouse operation on the Kahnawake Mohawk reserve outside of Montreal. Police

British Vogue retouches photos to make models look bigger normal

British Vogue magazine has begun retouching photos to make models appear larger, according to a story in Press Gazette.In a letter to fashion houses, leaked to the Times, Alexandra Shulman accused designers of making magazines hire super-skinny models for photo shoots by supplying them with sample clothes that were too small.She said readers felt uncomfortable seeing photos in the magazine of

Fuse magazine hosts panel to demystify the "creative city" movement

Fuse magazine is launching its next issue and co-hosting a panel that will attempt to demystify the Creative City movement. Springing from the much quoted work of Richard Florida the movement has been adopted by many municipalities interested in attracting business by being home to the so-called "creative class" of urban professionals and cultural workers.Co-hosted by Fuse and Creative Class

Court challenge of ban on DTC drug ads is postponed

A court challenge of the federal direct-to-consumer drug advertising ban, led by Canwest Global Communications, due to be heard next week, has been delayed until the fall, according to a story in Marketing.The case is of interest particularly to consumer magazine publishers who are now forbidden from carrying such advertising though their competitors coming over the border from the U.S. simply

Magazine world view

Beleaguered newspaper magazine files for bankruptcy ( (Folio:)BA takes action against use of Highlife magazine name (Press Gazette)Emine Saner on whether female columnists sometimes go too far (Guardian)BusinessWeek Readies Another Site Redesign, With E-Paper Paid Version(paidContent.org)TNT launches monthly magazine for South Africans in UK (Press Gazette)

Zoomer magazine and media empire grows with takeover of Vision TV

The empire of Moses Znaimer, publisher of Zoomer Magazine and proprietor of Zoomer Media, just got bigger with the announced aquisition of Vision TV, its digital specialty channel ONE: Mind & Spirit and two JoyTV specialty channels in Winnipeg.Zoomer has agreed to pay $25 million for the television enterprise, including all the shares of Christian Channel Inc. and of Vision TV Digital Inc. The

Cirque du Soleil lawyers demand apology and retraction from Maclean's

Lawyers for Cirque du Soleil are demanding an apology and retraction from Maclean's magazine for its June 15 cover story Sex, Drugs & Acrobats.According to an article published in Le Soleil, the problem is not the article so much as the way the cover associates the circus, its employees and its artists with the personal life and habits of the founder Guy Laliberté as detailed in a book by Ian

Kontent Group (Inside E, FQ, Sir) suspends pubs and is up for sale

[This post has been updated] Publishing company The Kontent Group, co-founded by Michael King and Geoffrey Dawe in 2002, has been put up for sale and meanwhile has suspended operations and, with them, publication of Inside E, FQ, Sir and International Architecture and Design magazines.[CLARIFICATION: Eithne McCredie of International Architecture and Design magazine says: "Kontent does not own

Freelancer Margaret Webb gets research grant to investigate our food system

Congratulations to perennial freelance writer, teacher and author Margaret Webb who has been granted a four-month Atkinson Charitable Foundation investigative fellowshipresearch grant to explore Canada's food system - the results of her research will be published as an 8-part series in the Toronto Star in October. She's the first ever recipient of this award.Webb, who teaches magazine writing at

Freelancers dismayed by Transcon's new "take it or leave it" freelance contract

When Transcontinental Media, Canada's largest producer of consumer magazines, rolls out a revised freeelance contract, it is news. Freelancers pay attention: those who already work for one of Transcon's large magazines like Canadian Living, More, Homemakers, Outdoor Canada and Hockey News; and those who hope to. [Copy of the contract form dowloadable here]That's why there is so much, justifiable

It's subtle, but Popular Science sells its cover

It's called "augmented reality". The July issue of Popular Science has a cover sponsored by General Electric which is so subtle that the only way the G.E.-branded affilliation is known to the reader is if they hold the cover up to a webcam.According to a story in the New York Times, showing it the cover signals the computer to display a sponsored site with Flash-based 3-D images of the windmills

Brian Helgeland - The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 Q&A

Senior Editor Jeff Goldsmith interviews screenwriter Brian Helgeland about The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3

Copyright Unlikely Films, Inc. 2009. All Rights Reserved.

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Pierre Marcoux steps up to head Transcon's consumer magazine publishing

Pierre Marcoux, son of the chair of Transcontinental Inc., is assuming responsibility for the Transcontinental Media division's consumer magazine publishing. He had been director of business development. Marcoux replaces senior vice-president and general manager, consumer publishing John Clinton who is moving over to head up digital operations (no title yet). The announcement was made to staff

American version of OK! on way to being most expensive launch ever

The American edition of OK! magazine is well on its way to being the most expensive magazine launch in history, according to a story in the New York Post.Columnist Keith Kelly says that the celebrity title is losing half a million dollars a week -- a total of $23.4 million last year and it's estimated the losses will reach close to $130 million by its fourth anniversary in August.In this dubious

New Internationalist partners with 8-year-old to publish book

The New Internationalist magazine is partnering with an eight-year-old girl from Guelph in marketing a new book called Braids written by acclaimed children’s author Robert Munsch. The proceeds are going to Children of Bukati, a charity that supports more than 650 HIV/AIDS orphans at Bukati Primary School in Butula, Kenya, by providing pencils, school uniforms and a lunch program.The book goes on

Reeling from huge Q2 loss, Transcon cuts another 250 jobs

Quickly in the wake of a major second quarter loss announced at start of business Thursday, Transcontinental Inc. announced that it was cutting an additional 250 jobs across the company, according to a story by Canadian Press. This is on top of some 1,500 job cuts announced earlier this year and will mean that Transcon will have cut 13% of its workforce, thereby saving $100 million annually."

Renew Canada and Alberta Oil co- produce energy infrastructure list

Two Canadian magazines -- ReNew Canada and Alberta Oil -- have teamed up to publish an editorial feature that lists Canada's top 25 energy infrastructure projects. The national perspective of ReNew, published out of Toronto is complemented by the perspective on the energy sector of Alberta Oil, published out of Calgary.The editorial list represents over $15 billion in active energy projects

Still time to take advantage of Magazines West

There's still time for those of you on or near the left coast to register for the seminars being offered at the 7th annual Magazines West in Vancouver June 18 and 19. (See earlier post for details).The seminars are a collaborative offering of the BC Association of Magazine Publishers (BCAMP) and the Western Magazine Awards Foundation (WMAF), which also presents its gala awards dinner starting at

New Canadian Business Press board elected

The Canadian Business Press elected its new board last week at Magazines University. Masthead reports that the new chair is John Kerr, CEO of Toronto-based Kerrwil Publications Ltd. He succeeds Alex Papanou, vice-president of the Business Information Group, who remains on the board as past chair.New members of the board are:Meredith Birchall–Spencer, editor, Human Resources Professionals

Magazine world view

Disney rebrands FamilyFun (Folio:)Guardian News & Media to cut 80 commercial roles, with 32 redundancies (Guardian)Innovation in Print: John Harrington on the future of single copy sales (Mr. Magazine)Prime minister calls on Tim Berners-Lee to make information accessible on the web (Brand Republic)Royal Mail launches online data tool Clear Prospects (Brand Republic)

Donnelly gives up in bid to take over Quebecor World

If Quebecor World hoped to get R. R. Donnelly to further sweeten its takeover offer beyond the $1.825 billion already bid, it was a vain hope. Folio: magazine reports that Donnelly said they were giving up the chase.“We believe that our proposal was undoubtedly in the best interests of creditors based on a comparison of the distributions under our proposal with the distributions under the

Transcon posts Q2 loss of $144.3 million

Transcontinental Inc., Canada's largest publisher of consumer magazines as well as being a major newspaper publisher and commercial printer, announced today that it posted a major Q2 loss of $144.3 million. Largely because of restructuring and other charges, that's a total swing of more than $180 million when compared with a profit of $36.9 million in the same period a year ago.The quarterly loss

Manitoba magazine publishers demand fair blue box treatment

Since 2007, the Manitoba Magazine Publishers Association (MMPA) has been on record as opposing the draft proposal for an 80% blue box levy for magazines. (See earlier post for details.) This week, it reminded Stewardship Manitoba, the government agency considering the new levy, of four key points in the position paper it submitted:Magazines which use eco-certified paper which is 25% or more

Quote, unquote: On why a tagline should means something

"I’ll let you in on a little secret: no one actually knows what eclectic curiosity means. It’s a redundancy wrapped in an enigma wrapped in bacon. A cute, finger-food phrase—something perky-sounding that may or may not contain real substance, all held together by a wooden toothpick. In my defense, I love bacon, which may explain why we’ve kept it around this long.But curiosity is, by definition,

Rogers shakeup: Whyte and Mitchell now each multi-title uber-publishers

[This post has been updated] Rogers Consumer Publishing announced it has consolidated many of its magazines under two people today.Ken Whyte, the editor and publisher of Maclean's magazine, becomes a vice-president, responsible as publisher for Maclean's, Canadian Business, Profit and MoneySense magazines.Kerry Mitchell, the publisher of Chatelaine (and, until recently, Châtelaine), also becomes

Manitoba to impose 80% blue box levy on magazines

Manitoba is following Ontario's lead in blue box recycling levies for magazines, and one-upping it. According to a story in Masthead, Manitoba publishers will begin paying beginning April 1, 2010 if the new legislation goes through, as seems likely. Publishers would receive an invoice on May 1, based on 2009 data.Stewardship Ontario now requires publishers to pay 50% of the net imputed costs of

Should magazines be vending for themselves?

Reading a recent post on the This Magazine blog by David Hayes, about the number and variety of vending machines in Japan, led me to think about vending single copies of magazines.Given that we're hearing of a dwindling number of cigar and convenience stores and depanneurs and a consolidation of newsstands, I wonder why we don't sell magazines this way?If the Japanese can sell socks and bras and

Print media still takes 37% of world advertising revenues

The much-talked-about demise of printed newspapers worldwide is not only exaggerated, but may be plain wrong. According to the World Association of Newspapers, newspaper circulation grew 1.3% worldwide in 2008, albeit influenced by growth in the developing world.A presentation by Gavin O'Reilly, president of the World Association of Newspapers and CEO of Independent News and Media, contradicts

Jennifer Walker of Best Health named PWAC editor of the year

Catching up with one of the honours given out last week: The Professional Writers of Canada (PWAC) has named Jennifer Walker, senior content editor of Best Health magazine, its Editor of the Year.“It is a pleasure to be able to honour and acknowledge the special relationship that exist between the best editors and writers,” said PWAC Executive Director David Johnston in a release. “Without the

New internship program may suit Ontario not-for-profit magazines

Not-for-profit magazines in Ontario may be interested in a new internship program available through the Cultural Careers Council of Ontario (CCCO). It is funded in part by Service Canada’s Career Focus, Youth Employment Strategy Program: The Fundraising and Marketing Internship Program. It is a half-year program for emerging arts administrators and concentrates on marketing and fundraising skill

Quote, unquote: magazines tell people's stories

“I think magazines will always exist. Because people are eager to write and tell their stories. And if they can’t get it published in a mainstream way, they make up their own way.”-- John Freeman, the new acting editor of the British international magazine Granta, quoted in an article in the National Post. Freeman was in Toronto as part of a North American tour, shortly after he took over the

Alberta Views hustles subs in wake of magazine-of-the-year win

Not missing a trick, Alberta Views magazine is celebrating its win as magazine of the year at the National Magazine Awards last Friday by having a one-week-only sale (June 10 to 17) of subscriptions at 20% off the regular price. (The celebration price is 10 issues for just $25. Go to the subscription page and enter the promo code: Huzzah!)

Quebecor World board rejects sweetened Donnelly offer

A sweetened $1.825 billion offer from printer R. R. Donnelly for printer Quebecor World has been rejected, according to a story posted by Folio:.According to a document filed yesterday with the U.S. bankruptcy court in the southern district of New York, Quebecor’s board of directors, after reviewing Donnelley’s latest offer, determined that its $1.5 billion plan of reorganization offers “superior

Online publishing awards entry deadline just a week away

The deadline for entry in Masthead's first (annual) online publishing awards is June 15. For eligibility, rules, and entry form visit: www.canadianonlinepublishingawards.com

Time is ticking away for solution to small literary and cultural mag funding

Last week at MagNet and the Magawards, there was considerable corridor talk about if and whether the federal Department of Heritage was softening its stance on eligibility rules for the soon-to-be-launched Canada Periodical Fund, which is replacing lonstanding supports such as the Publications Assistance Program (postal subsidy) and the Canada Magazine Fund.Early drafts said that publications

Misery loves company in Q1 ad sales

Everybody in the U.S. has been a loser in ad spending in the first quarter of 2009, according to data by the tracking firm Nielsen.According to a post by paidContent.org some sellers, whether in traditional media or online, are being punished more than others.(The Nielsen report only tracks internet display advertising, but that figure is nevertheless in line with other recent findings on the

Quote, unquote: Is the European idea empty?

Europe has lately come to seem like a well-furnished, slightly faded café; where the service isn’t so bad and from which, weather permitting, one can admire the passing flow. From time to time, Europeans complain about some minor, anomalous alteration to the decor, but generally we’re contented, even as we voice under our collective breath the words of Napoleon’s mother: “Pourvu que ça dure” (“

Magazine world view

Long-Running Kids' Magazines and Music Industry Magazines Shuttered (Blog Magazine)Time Cover: Thinly-Veiled Twitter Ad? (Folio:)How Much is a Magazine’s Content Worth? Part Three (Folio:)Eye tracking research could make Bing an advertiser's sweetheart (Brand Republic)Innovation in Print: David Benaym and Movmnt magazine (Mr. Magazine)Gotta love the link (Buzz Machine)Newsweek Turns Over Magazine

Annals of internship

New Brunswick has for many years been an exemplar of the evils of media monopoly and we have, courtesy of a posting on the Montreal blog Fagstein, another example to add to a long litany. In this case, an intern for the St. John Telegraph-Journal, Matt McCann, was fired for writing a story about a controversy surrounding the University of New Brunswick giving an honourary degree to the premier,

Words from the dear leader

Globe and Mail blogger Douglas Bell* had some fun with the maladroit official message from Heritage minister James Moore to last Friday's National Magazine Awards:“On behalf of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the Government of Canada, I congratulate the winners of the 32nd National Magazine Awards, and I commend your dedication to conveying accurate, pertinent, and interesting information to

Sorting out the standards for eco-certified paper and wood products

Magazine publishers who want to be on the side of the angels are confronted by a variety of certifications being bandied about for paper from eco-certified wood pulp. So called "green" terms are tossed about like logs in a stream, but consumers and publishers alike could be forgiven for being baffled by the gab.Christopher Pollan, a contributing editor for The Tyee in Vancouver has written the

Quebecor World said to have rejected Donnelly takeover offer

Based on information it considers reliable from sister publication PrintCan, Masthead has reported that Quebecor World has turned down an unsolicited $1.3 billion bid from a larger U.S. rival, R. R. Donnelly. This may mean that the company is confident enough, as it emerges from bankruptcy protection, to go it alone under a new brand, buttressed by a new agreement with its creditors. (See

U.S. freelancers given a Canadian view of Canadian freelance rates

Veteran freelance magazine writer David Hayes has written a guest posting for Michelle Rafter's WordCount blog, briefing a U.S. audience about the issue of freelance rates in Canada. He acknowledges that many excellent reporters and writers are less-than-brilliant business people and talks about why he is encouraged by the genesis of Derek Finkle's Canadian Writers Group agency.Some argued that

Dean of Canadian cartoonists laid off by Vancouver Sun

I just learned that the Vancouver Sun has discontinued use of the dean of Canadian editorial cartoonists, Roy Petersen, as a cost-cutting measure and to add insult to injury, killed his last cartoon.This, according to a posting on the blog Cagle.com, which described him accurately as "one of the world's best". Peterson wasn't fired -- he was a contract freelancer -- but the distinction after so

We're selling digital magazine circulation; are advertisers buying it?

As digital editions expand in importance at many different kinds of magazines -- ranging from b2b to the largest consumer lifestyle titles -- one of the key, so far unaddressed, issues is whether the advertising buyers accept replica editions as legitimate paid circulation.The question is addressed in an article in Mediaweek, which points out by the end of 2008, 110 U.S. titles reported nearly 1

Quote, unquote: Why we celebrate

I’ve been coming to this shindig for nearly 30 years, missing very few, and I’ve always been amused by the uneasy mixture of cynicism that magaziners fall prey to and pride in our accomplishments – the mixture of competitiveness and camaraderie -- that the Mag Awards typically mark. Today we are undergoing profound change intertwined with economic struggle, and what our industry will look like in

ABC Canada board expanded to tackle Canadian-specific audit rules

The Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) Canada board has been expanded to twelve members with three senior publishing people and three senior media buying executives joining, according to a story in Media in Canada.Globe and Mail CEO Phillip Crawley, GTC Transcontinental Media SVP and general manager of magazines John Clinton and Rogers Publishing Limited SVP business and professional publishing

Novink might be the new brand for Quebecor World?

At least judging by its trademark applications, the giant magazine printer Quebecor World may be rebranding as Novink, according to a story in Masthead.Having more or less been ordered to divest itself of its parent Quebecor Inc.'s name and having gone through bankruptcy protection, the company may emerge as either a standalone entity (hence Novink) or merged into printing giant R. R. Donnelly.As

Alberta Views wins magazine of the year at National Magazine Awards

The win by Alberta Views magazine as magazine of the year at the National Magazine Awards gala Friday night is well-deserved and though based on its merits, also sends a gratifying message when a small, independent, western magazine comes out on top.Winning is not some fluke, mind: in 2008, the magazine was named best magazine in Alberta at the Western Magazine Awards and in 2007 it won an Utne

An Indigo e-reader by year's end?

Indigo may launch its own e-reader by year's end, according to a post by Quill & Quire. It says that Canada AM tech reporter Kris Abel was casually chatting with Indigo CEO Heather Reisman and she dropped the fact that they're in the final talks with a number of e-book manufacturers to launch under Indigo's brand.

Quote, unquote: Mags like specialty TV

"Mass media is dead...Fragmentation is our strength as a medium. [Magazines] look like specialty television and specialty television looks like us."-- Doug Knight, president, St. Joseph Media, speaking during a "Future of Publishing"panel at the MagNet conference.For a detailed summary of the views of magazine heavyweights, including Knight, Larry Thomas of Reader's Digest, Brian Segal of Rogers

Magazine world view

Thirteen jobs at risk as Economist shuts CFO Europe magazine (Guardian)Men's magazine Palladium outsources all editorial work (Press Gazette)Menzies closes digital mags arm: What next for e-editions? (Journalism.co.uk)Guardian technology supplement faces axe or merger (Press Gazette) One Philly Paper Folds; Others May Start Charging For Online Content This Year (paidContent.org)New Science

Pot publisher Emery gives up fight, expects U.S. jail time

Marc Emery, the self-styled "Prince of Pot" expects to spend the next 5 to 8 years in a US federal prison, as he gives up his fight against extradition for selling marijuana seeds through the mails.Emery, the erstwhile publisher of Cannabis Culture magazine, had been resisting extradition, but says he has now concluded that he would lose and decided not to fight it, according to a story in The

SNAP changes its name to reflect new media

The U.S.-based Society of National Association Publications has announced that, within 12 months, it will be rebranded as Association Media and Publishing, according to a story in Folio:. “Our association’s core focus will continue to be to serve association professionals who edit, manage or contribute to member or industry-focused media, ranging from traditional print publications to Web sites

Esquire cover features nude dressed only in a short story

The first 48 words of Stephen King's new short story is being published on the cover of Esquire magazine's July issue; or rather, the words are painted on the nude body of Sports Illustrated's 2009 swimsuit covergirl Bar Rafaeli, according to a post from Blog Magazine.com.This may be considered yet another of the buzz-making gimmicks that Esquire has attempted in recent months, including a window

CMC establishes scholarship to honour Terri DeRose

Good news that a $1,000 scholarship has been established in the name of Terri DeRose for a student at Ryerson's school of continuing education. This was announced on Wednesday at the annual ACE awards luncheon of the Circulation Magazine Association of Canada (CMC) in Toronto. It was part of MagNet, the annual magazine conference.DeRose (right), was one of CMC's founders and was the much loved

Silverman wins Arthur Ellis crime writing award for co-authoring Mafiaboy

Prolific freelancer and Regret the Error blogger Craig Silverman and hacker Michael Calce last night won the best non-fiction award for co-writing Mafiaboy: How I Cracked the Internet and Why It's Still Broken at the annual Arthur Ellis awards from the Crime Writers of Canada.Calce is the Montreal high school student known as Mafiaboy, who launched a series of denial-of-service attacks on the

30 Days of Night Q&A

Senior Editor Jeff Goldsmith interviews co-writers Steve Niles, Stuart Beattie and Brian Nelson about 30 Days of Night

Copyright Unlikely Films, Inc. 2009. All Rights Reserved.

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Magazine world view

Stephen Colbert to guest-edit Newsweek (Blog Magazine)Why Most Magazine Industry Metrics are Bogus, Take Two (Folio:)Silvio Berlusconi: The Times attacks me because I taxed Rupert Murdoch's channels (Guardian)PubMatic Offers Online Watch Dog Service for Larger Publishers ( (Folio:))Founder to Relaunch Electronic Gaming Monthly (Folio:)Household names in magazines and newspaper sectors face '

Caroline Connell of Today's Parent named CSME editor of the year

Spacing, Vancouver, Today’s Parent, and Design Edge Canada were named magazines of the year in the small-, medium-, and large-circulation, and trade magazine, respectively.at this year's Canadian Society of Editors (CSME) Editor's Choice Awards. The awards were announced Wednesday night at a Toronto gala dinner, held as part of the annual MagNet conference. Other awards made: * Editor Caroline

Terry Sellwood elected chair of Magazines Canada

Terry Sellwood has been elected board chair of Magazines Canada for the next two years at its annual general meeting, held during MagNet, Canada’s Magazine Conference and the largest gathering of the writing and publishing media in the country.Sellwood, general manager of Quarto Communications, the publishers of Cottage Life and explore, has been deeply involved in the industry, as a past chair

Mags U coverage

Magazines University, run by Canadian Business Press, was on Monday and Tuesday, and Masthead has provided excellent reports out of it; we're glad to provide a few links:Nine steps towards a better publication websiteNew media doesn't kill old media, it just changes itWhy one publisher refused advertising from PepsiA worthwhile $25,000 investment for publishers with events?

Don't apologize for your content's value, Economist boss says

The MagNet publishing conference was kicked off Tuesday night with an upbeat presentation at Hart House inToronto by Paul Rossi, executive vice-president and managing director of the Economist Group. He gave a summary of the thinking and principles that have been and are driving the Economist worldwide, resulting in a growing circulation, now over 1.2 million.The Economist believes in the growth,

Does strategic review mean budget cuts?

The federal government insists that its strategic review process is just prudent, good management and that looking for the 5% least efficient programs doesn't necessarily mean loss of the money, just reallocation to other, higher priority areas. A piece in the Globe and Mail by Brian Laghi quotes the Prime Minister's press secretary, Kory Teneycke“It's not automatic in Strategic Review when a

Collection pays tribute to magazine cartoonist Doug Wright

There's a very nice tribute and review by Montreal cartoonist Terry Aislin in the Montreal Gazette of a book about one of Canada's best and increasingly little known magazine cartoonists, Doug Wright.One of the reasons for the declining awareness of Wright and other cartoonists is that magazines rarely if ever use satirical cartoons or strips anymore. But at one time they did, and with good

Five years on, The Face's owners are considering reviving it online

The Face, an iconic pop culture magazine from Britain which closed in 2004 because nobody was interested in buying it, may be revived. According to a story in Brand Republic, Bauer Media has enlisted former FHM editor Anthony Noguera to oversee the proposals, including relaunching it as a digital-only proposition, a free magazine or a subscription-only title.Bauer Media, owns the trademark

Magazine world view

Bonnier acquires five Hachette titles (Folio:)St. Ives sees FY below market view, shares sink (Reuters)Playboy names new CEO (Folio:)Freedom of expression must be protected says Council of Europe (Guardian)Hearst to sell stake in E Ink reader (Folio:)Research firm sees openings for Kindle's competitors (paidContent.org)Newspapers' Worst Quarter: Q1 Online Revs Plunged 13.4 Percent—NAA (

American biz writer association eyes Canada

The Society of American Business Editors and Writers (www.sabew.org), is hoping to reach out to Canadian financial journalists and possibly launch a sister organization or a new chapter in Canada and perhaps offer some of their courses and training programs here. This according to a posting on the Toronto Freelance Editors and Writers list by Bryan Borzykowski who has agreed to put together an

They like us, they really like us...

It's gonna cost you, but it's so worth it. At $5.95 an issue in the US, Canadian House & Home is a bit pricier than most magazines (not quite as pricey as my other international favorite, living,etc. though). I've written about how awesome they are before, but the issue I picked up yesterday made me 100% confident is declaring this the official Domino replacement. Now, it does suck that some of

CA Magazine tops KRW awards for B2B magazine excellence

IT World's Rafael Ruffolo won the gold award for best how to or series at the 55th annual KRW awards, presented Monday night in Toronto by the Canadian Business Press. It was among 18 awards for trade magazine excellence in writing, design, photography and the use of the internet that were made in honour of Kenneth R. Wilson, who once edited the Financial Post. The awards were founded by CBP in

Journalism school honours HuffPo founder though she doesn't pay journalists

Simon Dumenco of Advertising Age writes a scorching column about the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University giving a lifetime achievement award to Arriana Huffington, founder of the Huffington Post. Really, the school -- which exists to train journalists -- should know better than to honor a woman who thinks journalists should work for free!It is well known that

MagNet attendance soars 60% over 2008

Attendance at MagNet the magazine industry conference, which starts tomorrow, is up 60% from last year, according to a release from Magazines Canada -- 1,200 attendees and 4,200 sessions sold.

Former Wish editor named editor of Style at Home

Jane Francisco, the former editor-in-chief of Wish magazine, which was closed by St. Joseph Media in November, has been appointed editor-in-chief of Transcontinental Media's Style at Home magazine. She succeeds the founding editor of Style at Home magazine, Gail Johnston Habs, who retired at the end of May.

ISSUE NR 1 online

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