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 annual circulation in the new Canada Periodical Fund starting in April 2010 is proof of the law of unintended consequences. Informed observers are speculating that Heritage may not have anticipated the impact of the decision, or the response.

The argument that Heritage is now making (in a response to Masthead magazine, for instance), is that it costs more to administer small amounts to small-circulation titles and is therefore not cost-effective. This ignores the fact that it is not their small magazine clients, but their own Byzantine ways that make this complicated and expensive.

The Canada Magazine Fund application process was an exercise in drawn-out frustration for all publishers, but particularly small magazines with few staff resources. The Publications Assistance Program (PAP) paperwork, on the other hand, was quite straightforward. And the soon-to-be-abandoned SALM (Support for Arts and Literary Magazines) got relatively few complaints about its complexity.

One of the ways that Heritage could modify its plans would simply be to continue the SALM. Though this seems unlikely now, here was a program (like PAP) that actually achieved its objectives without fuss. Another way Heritage might modify the program is simply to lower the floor to a level that encompasses most of the art and literary titles -- to a more realistic 2,500 or 3,000 (if a floor is necessary at all). No doubt Magazines Canada will be pressing several such points when it meets for consultation with the ministry over the next few weeks.

Small a & l publishers cannot, like magic, increase their paid circulations in the space of a year. It is unreasonable to assume that they haven't been doing everything they can (within their means) to build subscribers and sell single copies, (as unreasonable as it would be to have any better success in the face of a global recession.)

There are a couple of incontrovertible points:

• Most literary and cultural publications do not have press runs, let alone paid circulation, in excess of 5,000 copies annually;
• All literary and cultural publications rely on government funding to assist in their audience development and marketing.

Most of the Facebook group comments make a "cultural" argument rather than the business case that the government seems to want. Nevertheless, their perspective is something with which Heritage can hardly disagree:

The announced changes to CMF and SALM (specifically requiring a circulation of 5000+ for funding eligibility) are devastating for us - adding another hurdle to producing and publishing an independent magazine.

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The goal, it seems to me, is not to cut the infrastructure so necessary to the life of art and literature in this country, but to increase it--to minister to it, love it, and nurse it when necessary so that it can continue to flourish, and do its important work.

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For poets, the literary journals are crucial not only for first appearances, so that a publisher may consider us, but as a continued forum as our voices keep evolving.

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Lit mags are crucial stepping stones and confidence boosters for emerging writers in this country. It's that simple. Cut their legs out from under them, and watch our literary culture suffer.

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Having worked at a bilingual classical-music magazine, I know that small Canadian magazines unite people across our wide country by connecting them through their shared passion for the arts. They are an important force for national unity, and we cut their funding at our peril.

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Journals are the most accessible avenue for the public to find great Canadian writing, from both emerging and seasoned writers. Secure funding for these periodicals is critical for the cultural identity of Canada both at home and abroad.

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I implore any person with any power to influence opinion and change lives--YOU, the reader--- to look at the roots of where Literacy and Arts magazine begin, and the seeds they scatter... seeds, unlike dried up oil wells, will help our people to build together a strong, communal Canadian cultural identity.

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By all accounts this community asks for very little and makes the most of it. I wonder if the industries the Harper government intends to support can boast a similar efficiency with a dollar...?

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It is getting harder and harder to hear our own Canadian voice when all around us, decision-makers with no more soul than a factory-produced egg keep looking at that bottom line as if it is the most important thing in the world. It's not.