Tar-sands advertorial in Alternatives Journal: Is it dialogue? or is it blurring the lines?

Recent issues of Alternatives Journal, the Waterloo-based environmental magazine, have contained the unusual and, frankly, unexpected: two-page spread advertorials for Suncor Energy.Readers and contributors have apparently been weighing in on the appropriateness of this and it is commented upon in the September/October issue in both the editor's letter and in a feature by Stephen Bocking, a

More time at the office the price of premium salaries for U.S. editorial managers

One of the most unsurprising things in the just-released online 2011 editorial salary survey from Folio: shows that  those magazine managers at U.S. consumer and b2b titles who work more than 50 hours a week get paid the most. For the most senior (editorial directors/editors-in-chief)...Those who clocked out with an average work week of 40 hours earned $69,900; editors spending 41-49 hours per

Didn't your mother tell you not to play with your vegetables?

Musicworks, the magazine that brings some amazing contemporary music to its readers (every issue comes with a CD) in its upcoming summer issue will be showing readers how to make instruments out of vegetables, such as a carrot made into an ocarina, using only some kitchen tools and a drill. The magazine was inspired by the Vegetable Orchestra of Vienna which creates, composes for and performs on

The Atlantic opens its editing room to its readers

Readers of The Atlantic Wire, the very successful online arm of The Atlantic magazine, are being invited to pitch stories and influence the editing process in an open comments thread, according to a story on Mashable, which quotes editor Gabriel Snyder
“As with many web news operations, The Atlantic Wire is mostly edited via terse messages in a group chat room. Editors and writers spend the day

All Kennedys, all the time; The New Republic parses Vanity Fair's obsession

The New Republic rather acidly reports in the current issue that Vanity Fair  magazine is so obsessed with the Kennedys that about one-third of the issues since 2003 have had at least one article about a Kennedy, written by a Kennedy or mentioning a Kennedy at least seven times.Eliza Gray, a reporter-researcher with TNR points out that Vanity Fair did an April Fool's satire of its preoccupation

MoneySense ranking of his city dismissed as "nonsense" by Port Alberni mayor

While many cities (like Victoria) bask in the glory of being near the top of the list in the annual rankings of Canadian cities by MoneySense magazine, one small city mayor on Vancouver Island is steamed. Port Alberni ranks 172 out of 180 cities, slightly better than its 175 last year, according to a report in bclocalnews.com The Best Places to Live rankings are done based on 24 criteria,

Not FOB; magazine series has Asian students tell about how they see themselves

In a sense, Maclean's magazine and its "Too Asian?" article of months past (see this post, too) may have done Asian students a favour by bringing attention to the issue of how immigrants fit into Canadian life.Vancouver Observer and Schema magazine have launched a series of articles in which they ask 35 Vancouver teenagers in 12 high schools how they see and define themselves. While names have

An educated editorial staff could, and should, share in revenue, b2b publishers says

Editors traditionally are believed not to "do" the finance thing or involve themselves much in the business side, though the editorial silo was always more porous on the trade publishing side. But would editors do a better job if they understood the business models of their magazines or if they shared in the revenue?Maurice Bakley, chief operating officer of FierceMarkets, a b2b e-media company

A compressed and amusing view of how a magazine is made

Here, (thanks to the magCulture blog), is a happily frenetic video portrayal of how an issue of the British magazine Little White Lies is made."We wanted to make a short film that captured some of the love, care and hand-crafted passion that goes into the making of an issue of LWLies. We produce six issues each year, and for the two month period that we're working on a particular issue, we

Harper's magazine unionized staff try online fundraising to head off layoffs

The recently founded union at Harper's magazine (see previous post) has put out a broad fundraising appeal with the apparent intention of holding publisher Rick MacArthur's feet to the fire. The union notes that the magazine lost five editors last year and, with parlous finances cited, is being asked to lose two more now, including Ben Metcalfe, who was pivotal in the union drive.We have shown

Now, back to our usual lifestyle stories...article on goverment is a major departure for Saltscapes

It's highly unusual for a lifestyles magazine to delve into public affairs, but in its January/February issue the east coast magazine Saltscapes takes the plunge with a tub-thumping article about the unsustainable cost of governent in the three Maritime provinces.The publishers, Linda and Jim Gourlay, acknowledge the disconnect, but make a case for the departure, saying in part:"We know. We know!

Controversy over Maclean's's "Too Asian?" article kept on boil

Maclean's magazine's so-called "Too Asian?" controversy simply will not die down. A group called The Chinese Canadian National Council (CCNC) has rejected a letter from Rogers Publishing offering them a full-page ad in the magazine to "directly express to Maclean's audience your concerns" about the article in November. “We believe that Maclean’s has not adequately addressed our concerns and we

Demolishing the "God complex" in ad industry is strategy of new Marketing editor

The new editor of Marketing magazine, Tom Gierasimczuk, has put out a heckuva bow wake with his interview with the Globe and Mail's Simon Houpt this morning. He was brought into the traditional publication covering the advertising and media industries to shake things up. And this apparently includes getting himself, and the magazine, talked about in fairly graphic terms. When he interviewed for

Golden opportunity with C magazine launch of its "Money" issue

C Magazine launches its “Money” issue on Wednesday in Toronto with an issue containing an artist project by Abbas Akhavan called what is above is as that which is below…. He  has hand-inserted a sheet of imitation gold leaf in the centrefold of each of 2,200 copies of the magazine and there are 25 special limited edition magazines with real gold leaf, signed and numbered by the artist. They sell

Reader's Digest believes it has the recipe for a bigger position in food editorial

Reader's Digest, in collaboration with its food and recipe website Allrecipes.ca has launched a regular new editorial section of RD called Open Kitchen. While Reader's Digest has always had a share of the lucrative packaged goods and food-related advertising, this editorial cross-pollination makes it a somewhat bigger player in the market. At the same time as launching Open Kitchen in its

Rider-themed issue put out by Saskatchewan History magazine in time for Grey Cup

Timed to come out on the team's 100th anniversary and serendipitously on the eve of the team's appearance in the Grey Cup in Edmonton this Sunday, Saskatchewan History magazine has published an all-Saskatchewan Roughriders-themed issue.
According to a story in the Regina Leader-Post, the magazine  put 2,000 copies on sale at a price of $10 about two weeks ago, featuring photographs from the

Remote and neglected Cree community spotlighted by Canadian Geographic team

Writer Linda Goyette, photographer Liam Sharp and Toronto-based filmmaker Peter Dreimanis have been combined to create a powerful cross-platform magazine package in the December issue of Canadian Geographic magazine. It's about something that would otherwise be out of sight and out of mind -- the fight for a decent elementary school in Attawapiskat, Ont., a remote Cree settlement on the western

Briarpatch publishes exchange between brothers separated by immigration status

The human and complex face of immigration, and particularly illegal immigration, is illustrated by an article published in Briarpatch magazine. It's an e-mail exchange between two Pakistani brothers separated by the Canada and U.S. border. The family emigrated illegally to the United States 15 years ago, but one brother was deported and came to Canada on a student visa, and now working towards

The case for editors and editing, in case one needs to be made

I've just come across an article, written originally for the blog Writing for Digital and reprinted by Digital Book World, in which James Mathewson, editor in chief of ibm.com shows pretty conclusively the value of good editors, in this case working on online marketing materials.Matthewson says that editors are sometimes seen as an extra, and unnecessary, step getting in the way of publishing on

Freelancer Mary Rogan reflects on her Aqsa Parvez story and the outcomes

Last week, with the conviction of Aqsa Parvez's father and brother for her murder, we asked whether views had changed on the December 2008 cover story in Toronto Life by Mary Rogan. Not much was heard from her at the time. But Rogan clearly has her own views looking back. In a Q & A with the magazines's Informer blog, she says she was particularly disturbed by the number of people, particularly