CMPA bares its teeth

The Canadian Magazine Publishers Association (CMPA) has always been known as an efficient member-service organization, meeting the needs of its large membership, made up mostly of small- to medium-sized magazines. It was also an effective, but behind-the-scenes, lobbying organization on important matters such issues as postal, trade and goverment funding.

What it has not been known for is acting the way it did this week when it took off after Food & Drink, the glossy controlled magazine published by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO).

The CMPA says in a submission to the LCBO brass that F & D has unfair leverage with beverage alcohol suppliers and also hoovers up millions in lifestyle consumer advertising; both of which might have gone to other, legitimate commercial publishers (let alone magazines with a wine and spirits emphasis).

Essentially F & D spends more than $6 million to get slightly more than $3 million in advertising and the LCBO subsidizes the remainder, rationalizing the subsidy by claiming that the magazine is responsible for a $10 million bump in sales at LCBO stores. Trouble is, says the CMPA, there is no evidence that this is true and, even if it were, it's not right for the government to use its monopoly and divert revenues from sales into competing with existing magazines.

It's good to see the CMPA standing up for its members and for the principle that government should get out of the publishing business (or, rather, leave the publishing business to the publishers). There can be no argument there. CMPA always stood up for its members, but always made nice. Perhaps it took an example of such egregious behaviour to get it to bare its fangs. But good for it.