Notes On A Scandal Q&A

Senior Editor Jeff Goldsmith interviews novelist Zoe Heller and screenwriter Patrick Marber about Notes On A Scandal

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Inland Empire Q&A

Senior Editor Jeff Goldsmith interviews writer-director David Lynch about Inland Empire

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Venus Q&A

Senior Editor Jeff Goldsmith interviews screenwriter Hanif Kureishi about Venus

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The year in Canadian Magazines.

As we wind down the year (this will be the last post of 2006; best of the season and see you in January), it's time for our list of the good, the bad and the gnarly from the previous year, as posted on Canadian Magazines.Physician, heal thyself award to the Canadian Medical Association for first privatizing its prestigious Canadian Medical Association Journal, then firing the editors because they

Outdoor Photography Canada to launch this spring

A new photography magazine is planning to launch this spring. Outdoor Photography Canada will be a quarterly, dedicated to landscapes, wildlife, nature and sport and the views that wilderness has to offer, combining love of the outdoors and photography in one magazine. The magazine will be buying one-time rights to photos submitted by readers. It's to be published by Sunlight Media of Brampton,

Changes in business and professional group at Rogers

Further tightening at the Business and Professional Publishing division of Rogers, as Senior Vice-President John Milne consolidates his hold with the departure of four trade publishers: three out the door, one transferred over to the consumer division. This, according to a story in mastheadonline (sub req'd).Gone are:Richard Elliott, executive publisher Marketing Group/ Meetings and Travel Group;

Canadian mags among Utne independent nominees

The Utne Independent Press Awards are a big deal, announced in its January/February issue; there is usually a tease at the end of the previous year, as there is this year with a number of Canadian titles in the finalists list: The Walrus (General Excellence, Best Writing, Best New Publication), Geez (Best New Publication), Maisonneuve (Best Writing, Best Design), Spacing (Best Design), Shameless

Blink, whatever that means

We came across the premier issue of a new magazine called Blink, a quarterly out of Toronto that says it is chronicling the new Asian Canadian experience ("bicultural motion").The cover of the magazine plays to a sterotype of pouty, muscular young Asian males, draped over fast cars and glancing at an incongruously dressed young Asian woman (particularly in November). So, pretty standard stuff for

One-way flow of Maritimers continues west

According to the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council, nearly 13,000 Atlantic Canadians moved to Alberta for work between July 2005 and July 2006. That's not the end of it, according to a story in on CBC.ca.The think tank says the flow of skilled workers west will continue for some time and that's despite efforts like the magazine supplement published this week in several Alberta newspapers,

It's promotion, but is it news?

Am I alone in wondering why it's news that Time magazine's Canadian edition chose Prime Minister Stephen Harper as its newsmaker of the year? Canadian outlets have fallen over themselves (as they do every year) in breathlessly reporting this, a self-serving promotional gimmick that was tired a long time ago.

The Pursuit of Happyness Q&A

Senior Editor Jeff Goldsmith interviews screenwriter Steve Conrad about The Pursuit of Happyness

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Custom publishing now accounts for 25% of marketing budgets

Companies in the U.S. spend about 18 per cent more on custom publishing in 2006 than the year before, accordingto a new study released by the Custom Publishing Council and Publications Management magazine, reported in Folio:. The average amount that companies spent on custom publishing in 2006 grew to just under US$1.13 million. It now accounts for 24 percent of the total amount that companies

FHM's raunchy gambit fails, magazine to close

"What it tells us about the category is if you don't innovate, you die." That was the response of the editor of Stuff magazine to the news that FHM, one of the pack of "lads' magazines", is closing in March, according to a story in MediaDaily News. FHM had shown signs of trouble in recent months, including being forced to cover up increasingly raunchy covers on newsstands and wholesale firing of

Canada Post contribution to Publications Assistance Program to continue

PAP is safe, for now. The federal government has directed Canada Post to continue contributing its $15 million in support of the Publications Assistance Program. In a statement made today, Lawrence Cannon, the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, said he had instructed Canada Post to continue the contribution for at least two more years. His announcement was made in tandem with

Building on success

Now here's an idea, with the awards season coming up (deadlines looming for the National Magazine Awards and the Kenneth R. Wilson awards). In Malaysia, they had an advertising awards program (Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Malaysia -- the Kancil awards) where the prizes were shaped like Lego™ blocks, so you could stack 'em!

National Post is 'winner' of the year for its correction

The National Post has tied for winner of the year for The Crunks 06, the compilation from the site Regret The Error of corrections and apologies from newspapes and magazines. It won for its correction following the May 19 front page splash of a story from an Iranian freelancer that said non-Muslims would have to wear special badges. (It used up almost as much space explaining how it came to

Billable hours in a freelancer's life

On the the blog Precedent: The New Rules of Law and Style, there is an interesting item showing the likely impact of "billable hours" on the lifestyles of young lawyers.We thought it would be interesting to do a variant of this for magazine freelancers. We have assumed a 5- day work week, 8 hours sleep a night and two weeks vacation.Waking hours per day 16Waking hours per work week (5 days)

Making sure that what you see is what's there

Separating truth from fiction, particularly in pictures, has become a vexing question for publishers and news organizations like Reuters. You'll recall that a while back Reuters fired a news photographer who 'enhanced' some pictures digitally by adding extra plumes of smoke or trails of rocket fire to make his pictures more compelling.Tom Glocer, the chief executive officer of Reuters, made a

Rodale integrates print and online sales

Rodale Magazines, the publishers of Prevention, Men's Health, Best Life and Runner's World, have combined their print and online forces for advertising sales and given its top editors an increase in responsibility for developing brand extensions in a variety of media, according to a story in MediaDaily News. It's a sign not only of the increasing integration of print and online but also of online

Dinsdale departs as Walrus ad sales manager

Rolf Dinsdale, the associate publisher of The Walrus (responsible for advertising sales) has resigned. He says it is amicable and mutual, the result of "a fundamental disagreement about publishing philosophy".His departure comes mere weeks after the appointment of Shelley Ambrose as the new publisher of the magazine. However, he says the idea has been gestating for some time.

Seasonal lures for the long term

Broken Pencil, the magazine about zine and indie culture, has come up with a couple of nifty package deals to push longer-term subs this holiday season.One package at $30 gets a 2-year sub (8 issues), a copy of Hal Niedzvecki's book Hello I'm Special: How Individuality became the New Conformity and a set of 5 BP pins. The other, at $28 has a 2-year sub, one copy each of earlier Niedzviecki books

New, free, media directory being launched by MediaPost

A free all-media directory MediaPost Rates & Data is being rolled out in the U.S. with more than 37,000 listings of major electronic and print media providers, with detailed information on contacts, addresses, rate cards, coverage reps, networks and many of the basic building blocks of a media buy. The free directory is being published by MediaPost, the publisher of MediaDaily News. (If there is

A real circulation drive

In an interesting piece of cross promotion, the Canadian Autombile Association (CAA) is offering subscriptions to the monthly kids' magazine The Magazine for a discounted rate of $24.95 (normally $29.95), with the stated benefit of turning 25% of the revenues over to help support school safety patrol programs. It was promoted in the December e-letter circulated to CAA members in south central

The Queen Q&A

Senior Editor Jeff Goldsmith interviews screenwriter Peter Morgan about The Queen

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PWAC urges freelancers to shun deal with London Free Press

In what may be a significant marker along the road to asserting freelancer's rights, the Professional Writers Association of Canada and the fledgling Canadian Freelancer's Union are urging freelancers in London, Ont. not to sign contracts with Sun Media/Quebecor's London Free Press. The new contracts, with a deadline of December 11, apparently make any further work with the paper contingent on

Mags Canada asks Ontario for tax credit, end to unfair competition and blue box equity

Magazines Canada wants a tax credit for its members in Ontario, a jurisidiction that is home to half of Canadian magazines and where every other cultural industry has such tax relief. The requuest was part of a pre-budget submission made this week to Greg Sorbara, the Ontario treasurer. It's not the first time a tax credit has been talked about.The magazine association said a tax credit would

Senator Campbell to Ezra Levant: "Nutz!"

Senator Larry Campbell, former Vancouver coroner, model for Da Vinci's Inquest and so on, takes off today after Western Standard editor publisher Ezra Levant for his criticism of the dual (Canadian, French) citizenship of new Liberal leader Stephane Dion.Is it a coincidence that there was a full moon at the same time as MP Pat Martin and Western Standard Editor Ezra Levant decided that Stéphane

Feathertale Review, still online, now on paper

The quirky, sometimes hilarious virtual magazine Feathertale Review has taken corporeal form as the premier issue of its print annual is now on sale. The 68-page annual is a collection of original humour from Graham Roumieu (Me Write Book), Robert Munsch (Love You Forever) and two-dozen writers, poets, and illustrators. The magazine specializes in short fiction, cartoons and poetry.Feathertale

Making the most of 2,000 words

Andrew Clark on the Toronto Freelance Editors and Writers (TFEW) e-list gives his formula for writing a "comprehensive" magazine piece within a limit of 2,000 words:Lead - 26 lines (set place, character etc)Billboard - outlines the major topics (say 7)Spin it out - each graph hits the major topicCloser - back to lead settingout shower, shave and time for a drink

Quote, unquote

"The dominant image of today's bride is that she is white, blond, blue-eyed and thin."-- Cynthia Frisby, associate professor of advertising at University of Missouri's School of Journalism, quoted in an article about a new study that shows significant racial bias in U.S. bridal magazines. Frisby and Erika Engstrom, professor at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, conducted the study by doing

New freedom for new editor-in-chief of Canadian Medical Association Journal

The Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) has a new editor-in-chief, the outcome of months of dispute and disagreement over editorial independence.Apparently, the new editor, Paul Hébert of Ottawa, a critical care physician, will be enjoying not only greater freedom from interference by the association, but also an enhanced budget to improve the quality and quantity of the research that

Widely published poet and novelist is named Poet Laureate

A poet who has been widely published in Canadian magazines throughout his career has been named Canada's poet laureate. John Steffler, who has published in the Malahat Review, The New Quarterly, Fiddlehead, Event, The Antigonish Review, Poetry in Canada, Queen's Quarterly, Descant and Canadian Literature. The post of poet laureate at least in theory means that he will have the responsibility for

Turning tables, the Atlantic Provinces try to lure their own back

It's tit for tat when it comes to recruiting skilled workers. In September, we wrote about a newspaper supplement called Move West that had scandalized Atlantic Canada by trying to lure its skilled workforce to move to Fort McMurray and places like that in the booming west.Now, according to a story on cbc.ca, playing to the homesickness of Maritimers who may have found that Alberta is not all

Department of familiarity

The current issue of Canadian Art (Fall, 2006) is a full-bleed reproduction of a painting by painter Karin Davie and it's quite handsome and eye-catching.However, it seemed familiar to one of our correspondents, who referred us to the Fall 2005 issue of The Link, the magazine of Bishop Strachan School in Toronto.The Link is published 3 times annually and goes to the students, family and friends

Transcon gives us 30 million chances to subscribe to More magazine

[NOTE: This post has been updated and corrected.]The power of being a multi-product, multi-media company and a printer to boot is nowhere better illustrated than in the $1.8 million launch* of the Canadian edition of More magazine, which Transcontinental Media is publishing in collaboration with the U.S. giant Meredith Corp. Out of the box, according to what publisher Francine Tremblay and

Maclean's's modest improvement

The Globe and Mail's fascination with Maclean's continues, today with an article based on the latest circulation data. James Adams has talked to some people in the industry (including me) and concludes that things are looking up for the weekly. Adams cites selling an average of 7,800 single copies per week as one positive, up 51% since the last measurement. But for a magazine that bottomed out

Magazines Canada advertising the power of magazine advertising

Magazines Canada is launching an advertising campaign promoting magazines as an advertising medium. Four versions of the full page ads have been produced, in French and English. The theme is "Make the Connection with Magazines" and is intended to promote the selling power of magazines; it emphasizes the engagement with readers by showing people reading a magazine in typical settings (on a patio,

Torstar acquires The Canadian Immigrant; to launch Toronto edition

Torstar's Star Media Group has acquired the B.C-based monthly The Canadian Immigrant and is planning to launch a Toronto version of the magazine next year. The announcement was made yesterday by Naeem “Nick” Noorani, Publisher, President and CEO of The Canadian Immigrant.The Canadian Immigrant magazine is an important resource tool for those in their first years in Canada.Our mission is to

SkinnyFish to launch western design title

SkinnyFish Media of Calgary (the merger of SkinnyFish Design and the former Calgary Media Group, is launching controlled circulation title called Elemente, according to a story in mastheadonline (sub req'd). Some 20,000 copies of the bimonthly design/architecture publication will drop out of the Globe and Mail and be distributed regionally through Chapters/Indigo. “Influenced by some of the world

What's what in the Heather Robertson case

For those who are still scratching their heads about what, precisely, was the outcome of the decision in the copyright case Heather Roberston et al vs. Thomson Corporation, we should be grateful that the Professional Writers Association of Canada has received permission to reproduce a paper by Warren Sheffer of the firm of Hebb and Sheffer that provides some clarity. Go to the PWAC site and

Canadian Business tallies 100 richest Canadians

Canadian Business has published its seventh edition of the Rich 100 and there are now apparently 46 billionaires in Canada, up 6 from last year. Their total worth -- calculated from a number of sources -- is about $153 billion. Ted Rogers, who owns Canadian Business, has moved up from 7th to 4th position and is worth $4.5 billion.

U.S. magazines are slow to seize web opportunities, study says

Magazines in the U.S. are lagging in terms of seizing online opportunities, at least when compared with newspapers, according to a study reported in MediaDaily News. The study, by a Washington-based public relations company The Bivings Group, studied 50 of the top circulating magazines to assess the degree to which they are using the internet. It says that newspapers are way ahead of major U.S.

Conservative magazines have always had a struggle

There is an almost wistful note to a posting on the blog enterstageright about the failure of Canada to spawn a successful conservative magazine as influential in this country as the National Review was in the United States.Much of the apparent fragility of conservatism in Canada arises from the lack of an intellectual infrastructure outside of various party structures -- and especially of a

The Illusionist 2nd Q&A

Senior Editor Jeff Goldsmith interviews writer-director Neil Burger about The Illusionist

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PWAC backs Finkle in opposing demand for Baltovich research

The Professional Writers Association of Canada (PWAC) is supporting Toro editor Derek Finkle in his fight against a court order that he turn over the notes from his book on the Robert Baltovich murder case. Baltovich was convicted of the 1990 murder of his 22-year-old girlfriend, U of T student Elizabeth Bain. The case is being retried after a conviction was overturned by the Ontario Court of