Scott Shortliffe leaves as Heritage director of magazines policy and programs

Scott Shortliffe, a fair-minded friend to Canadian magazines inside Canadian Heritage, is leaving his post as director of periodical publishing and programs to accept a promotion dealing with broadcasting and digital media in the same ministry. He will be deputy director general, broadcasting and digital communication, effective March 21. He has been working on the magazines files since June 2006

Canadian Heritage announces $52.7 million in Canada Periodical Fund grants

[This post has been updated] The  Aid to Publishers' grant data for the Canada Periodical Fund for the 2010-11 year have been released and are available online. A total of 484 titles received $52,669,029 in grants ranging from the largest, at $1,500,000 to the smallest, at $386. The CPF replaces the postal subsidy (Publications Assistance Program) and the Canada Magazine Fund (CMF).

(As reported

Small- and mid-sized mags have until Sept. 17 to apply for CPF Business Innovation funding

Small and mid-sized print and digital magazine publishers have until September 17 to put in their applications to be eligible for the current round (2010-11) of the Business Innovation component of the Canada Periodical Fund from the department of Canadian Heritage. Applications received later will not be considered until the 2011-12 round. The business innovation program offers support for

Small cultural mags were cut adrift because they're not businesses

It was an interesting presentation this week at the MagNet conference in Toronto by Scott Shortliffe, the director of periodical publishing and programs from the Department of Canadian Heritage. He probably gladdened the hearts of publishers large and small by saying that they were only a couple of weeks away from receiving cheques under the new Canada Periodical Fund (CPF). Almost 1,000 titles

Canada Periodical Fund abandons small literaries, cuts maximum funding for all but farm pubs

[This post has been updated]
[Update: Magazines Canada has issued a statement about the new Canada Periodical Fund. President and CEO Mark Jamison said:
Magazines Canada welcomes the new Canada Periodical Fund (CPF). The CPF is an important cultural program designed to help Canadian content reach Canadians. It replaces both the Publications Assistance Program (PAP) and the Canada Magazine Fund (

Is consistency the hobgoblin of the heritage ministry?*

The minister of Canadian Heritage, and by extension his department, can at least be given points for their consistency. Recently, as a result of a review process, Heritage has decided to terminate a program that supported independent performers and small scale independent music-making in favour of support for enterprises that are considered more commercially marketable.If this sounds familiar, it

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

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

PAP topped up as part of federal budget

It appears that lobbying by the magazine industry has resulted in $15 million being injected into the Publications Assistance Program (PAP), replacing the contribution that was being withdrawn this spring by Canada Post. The funding is part of a substantial $335 million in new funding flowing to Heritage as part of the "stimulus" budget.Representatives from the industry have been vigorously

Canada Magazine Fund SBDMP Applicant Survey

Hi, Jon Spencer here -- with a quick+easy favour to ask of all (fairly recent) applicants to the Canada Magazine Fund's "Support for Business Development for Magazine Publishers" program:I would be interested to hear whether your applications to this program in the current fiscal year (from April 2008 to March 2009) have been handled as they have been in previous years, or if you have encountered

Industry CMF support program cut by 20%; what else is in play? Who knows?

[This post has been updated] Like buses and streetcars, budget cuts seem to come in clusters and that was certainly the case in the last couple of weeks where the minister of Canadian Heritage has confirmed total cuts to arts funding of more than $40 million. Included in that amount were: Trade Routes ($9 million); Culture.ca ($3.8 million); Culture Online ($5.6 million); book publishing ($1

Michael Geist slams Heritage, says its funding priorities are all wrong

An opinion piece in the Toronto Star by Michael Geist says that Canadian Heritage should shift its priorities. More funding should go into new media and emerging creator groups, he says, presumably at the expense of established programs. Geist is a well-known critic and commentator on copyright, digital and online issues. He is Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law at the