Well, maybe just one more termination...

It can't be entirely a coincidence that, a few days after Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Ken Whyte assured the Maclean's staff that there would be no more terminations, Deputy Art Director Gary Hall was shown the door. Staffers who remain at the magazine will doubtlessly draw their own conclusions about the value of any future assurances that their Publisher makes.It also can't be entirely a

Coming to final arguments

The case of Robertson versus Thomson, the 10-year marathon legal fight fronted by Heather Robertson against the Globe and Mail concerning digital rights to freelance work, comes before the Supreme Court on December 6.Robertson has sent a letter of information and thanks (for their ongoing support) to the Periodical Writers of Canada (PWAC) inviting Ottawa-area writers to attend as spectators.

It hurts more when it's true

Jon Stewart's recent demolition of a panel of magazine industry stuffed shirts in New York was probably deserved. It was reported by Simon Houpt on Monday in the Globe and Mail (regrettably, subscription required).If you have enjoyed the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, like me your recurring question is why anyone would agree to sit down with him or his team given what invariably happens. Didn't it

Shameless plug III

If you are overcome with the desire to start a magazine, start here or click on the link at the right. This is a reminder about a new course called So You Want to Start a Magazine? It's two days at Ryerson University in Toronto heavy on practical tips, tricks and tools to get that new magazine idea started right. Next session is Friday, November 11 and Saturday, November 12 from 9 to 5 each day.

Are you smart and competitive enough?

Another new quarterly lifestyle mag rides out of the west (Calgary) called Zi, due to be launched later this month. It's the creation of a woman from Calgary called Zinat H. Damji. The publisher says she is a Tanzanian-born entrepreneur who was "the first female in Canada to found a non-depository trust company". The magazine's web page is here. The magazine says it is designed to appeal to

Sell my stuff or I'll kill this magazine

At the egghead end of the magazine and advertising business, it is the done thing to talk in every conversation about "accountability", ROI (return on investment) and ROO (return on objective).Most magazine people are too busy putting out good publications and searching out new readership, but there is an intensifying pressure from agencyland for the medium to prove its claims of effectiveness

A miscellany

Things you can learn from reading of the classified ads: Somebody is planning a new, apparently controlled circ, guidebook for theatre-going in Toronto called Evening Out. It says it is going to be distributed in 370 locations across the Greater Toronto area.Vogel Publishing of Edmonton, which has been struggling to diversify away from its successful but doomed Satellite Guide and similar books