The era of "news is free" is over: CSM editor

Christian Science Monitor editor John Yemma told a b2b industry conference yesterday that, the midst of the worst recession since the 1930s also marks the end of the Internet growth era, and the end of the notion that “news is free.”According to a story in Folio:, he told the Digital Velocity conference presented by American Business Media that CSM laid the groundwork early that allowed it to

Thanks for the funding, but about those small magazines...

Magazines Canada’s Executive Director of Public Affairs, Jim Everson, told the House of Commons heritage committee today that while the industry welcomed recent funding announcements, it has a couple of areas of concern.The January 27 budget announced $30 million over two years to replace the Canada Post contribution and a new Canada Periodical Fund is to replace both the Canada Magazine

Reader's Digest calls in restructuring specialists

Reports this afternoon from usually reliable Bloomberg News suggests that all is not well at Reader's Digest. The company is reported to have hired Kirkland & Ellis LLP to advise it on restructuring. Kirkland and Ellis are also well known for overseeing bankruptices.Founded in 1922, RDA was a public company from 1990 through 2007, when it was bought by investor group led by Ripplewood Holdings

Selecting the best of the best of...

It's seldom you get a chance to see behind the curtain when it comes to selecting a cover for a mainstream magazine.For the New York magazine annual "Best of New York" issue (March 9 - 16) it invited submissions from a number of designers and while it chose the cover on the right (from Brooklyn-based street artist KAWS, a.k.a. Brian Donnelly), they also provide readers with a slide show of the

Magazine world view

BBC Trust says Worldwide should be 'more contained' (Press Gazette)Radio Times prints 21 different covers (Guardian)Arena magazine to close after 22 years (Press Gazette)New Corp. shakeup could see James Murdoch take over in U.S.(Guardian)

Unintended consequences?

The agitation grows among small art and literary publishers in Canada about announced changes in funding at the Department of Canadian Heritage. The Facebook group started by John Barton from the Malahat Review and a group of other small mag editors has grown to more than 2,200 members and what they have to say should give the government pause.The decision to put a floor on any funding at 5,000

Big book publishers try to force Anderson News into bankruptcy

The mess that is the U.S. single copy magazine business just gets grimmer by the days. Four major U.S. book publishers went to U.S. bankruptcy court in Manhattan, trying to force Anderson News LLC into receivership. According to Reuters, Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Random House Inc and Simon & Schuster Inc. are trying to recover all or part of the US$37.5 million they say the