Aboriginal youth magazine publisher to produce mainstream newspaper blog

Sometimes the mainstream media just wants to capture that magazine magic; that certainly seems to be the case at the Regina Leader-Post, which has hired a young aboriginal publisher to blog for them.

Chris Ross, now 28, started a little newsletter called Generation X when he was still in high school in Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan (the publication grew out of an English class project) and eventually morphed it into national aboriginal arts and entertainment magazine called ResX. (Read his first blog post for a warts-and-all history of his successes and stumbles) After a few fits and starts, he now produces the magazine and a MySpace blog even while pursuing a degree in the Indian Communication Art program at the First Nations University of Canada.

Ross says his magazine provides a voice for young aboriginal people.

"We use the arts and entertainment angle only to attract readers, to attract people to our magazine," said Ross. "Once they are involved and continue reading it we bring on the social issues, -- the urban issues, the issues that matter -- like residential schools but all from a youth perspective."

Now he will be blogging for the newspaper, under the heading RezXtra and expects that there will be a certain amount of cross-promotion with his other ventures.

[Photo by Don Healy, Leader-Post]