Waiting for the other Heritage shoe to drop.
Are cuts coming?
Hold onto your hats, and other parts. Looming imminently (probably early next week) is the public announcement of the outcome of a review by the Department of Canadian Heritage of its support programs for magazines.
A recent article in Mastheadonline reported (sub req'd) on one aspect of this, the review of the Publications Assistance Program (PAP), commonly known as the postal subsidy. Scott Shortliffe, the periodical publishing policy and programs director told Masthead that there will be a release of documents to be followed by "extensive consultations".
But it was the plural that caught our attention -- proposals. Because over the past 18 months, DCH has reviewed all of the programs it delivers. And there is concern that the outcome may dismay everyone in the industry, not just those who qualify for PAP (though that includes a large number of Canada's consumer magazines) .
Much of the review is driven by the February 2007 recommendations from the so-called "Blue Ribbon Panel" that outlined suggested strategies for grants and contributions improvement and greater accountability across all Heritage programs.
The proposals concerning magazines may include cuts or major eligibility changes to PAP but also the four major components of the Canada Magazine Fund. (Experience is that by the time we get to the proposal stage after such a review, rearguard actions can only do so much. Of course the news could be an injection of new money... but don't hold your breath.)
As Masthead put it, it seems unlikely that DCH will simply make up the $15-million that Canada Post is pulling out of PAP this spring. What the industry should be more concerned about is the $45-million that DCH now puts into PAP plus the additional $16 million that goes to small magazines, to literary and cultural magazines, to larger magazines to support Canadian editorial and to industry associations to support industry-wide development.
[Fair disclosure; as a consultant, I sometimes do work for magazines and industry associations which pay for the work through contributions from the Canada Magazine Fund.]
A recent article in Mastheadonline reported (sub req'd) on one aspect of this, the review of the Publications Assistance Program (PAP), commonly known as the postal subsidy. Scott Shortliffe, the periodical publishing policy and programs director told Masthead that there will be a release of documents to be followed by "extensive consultations".
But it was the plural that caught our attention -- proposals. Because over the past 18 months, DCH has reviewed all of the programs it delivers. And there is concern that the outcome may dismay everyone in the industry, not just those who qualify for PAP (though that includes a large number of Canada's consumer magazines) .
Much of the review is driven by the February 2007 recommendations from the so-called "Blue Ribbon Panel" that outlined suggested strategies for grants and contributions improvement and greater accountability across all Heritage programs.
The proposals concerning magazines may include cuts or major eligibility changes to PAP but also the four major components of the Canada Magazine Fund. (Experience is that by the time we get to the proposal stage after such a review, rearguard actions can only do so much. Of course the news could be an injection of new money... but don't hold your breath.)
As Masthead put it, it seems unlikely that DCH will simply make up the $15-million that Canada Post is pulling out of PAP this spring. What the industry should be more concerned about is the $45-million that DCH now puts into PAP plus the additional $16 million that goes to small magazines, to literary and cultural magazines, to larger magazines to support Canadian editorial and to industry associations to support industry-wide development.
[Fair disclosure; as a consultant, I sometimes do work for magazines and industry associations which pay for the work through contributions from the Canada Magazine Fund.]
Labels: Canada Magazine Fund, Canadian Heritage, postal subsidy
posted by D. B. Scott at
4:22 pm
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