Saltscapes publishers' letter shares postal challenge with readers

Most magazine publishers in this country don't air their problems with their readers and perhaps that's as it should be. It smacks a bit of "inside baseball". But sometimes it seems worth sharing the challenges of magazine publishing with the readers; that, apparently is what Linda and Jim Gourlay, co-publishers of Saltscapes magazine from Halifax thought.

Their publishers' letter in the May-June issue, just landing in Canadian homes, explains in some detail that Canadian magazines don't get the respect they deserve.

They start off by accentuating the positive -- growing readership and subscriptions, good delivery by Canada Post, good newsstand service.

There are some wrinkles on the horizon, though. Canada Post (the corporation, not the workers) has signaled its intent to cease supporting Canadian magazines through the Publications Assistance Program while continuing to raise Canadian magazine delivery costs at a rate far in excess of inflation (while providing lower delivery costs to American magazines than it did 12 years ago—go figure).

The Government of Canada has supported the magazine industry in delivering its product to Canadians since before Confederation.

There’s a reason for this. About 50 US magazines each individually make more revenue in a year than the largest Canadian publisher—and each of four individual US publishers is bigger than the entire Canadian magazine industry. Approximately 95 per cent of the magazine rack space in Canada is dominated (purchased) by these huge American publishers to the great detriment of domestic magazines.

And those huge American publishers enjoy massive cost efficiencies that present them with a clear advantage in dumping product into Canada. Just to print each copy of Saltscapes costs more than one dollar. Oprah can ship her magazines to Canada for pennies a copy.

But through their magazine subscription purchases, Canadians have given a very clear message that they want Canadian content. Consumption of Canadian magazines by Canadians has doubled from 20 to 40 per cent in the past 30 years. When Canada Post’s support for Canadian magazines is withdrawn, that rare advantage for Canadian magazines will be lost.

What Saltscapes readers will make of this intelligence is anyone's guess. But perhaps there shouldn't be so much reticence to discuss issues like this in front of the readers. They might just be on side.