Global Brief magazine finds new home, renewed hope

The reports of the death of Global Brief magazine were exaggerated, it seems. The world affairs magazine's very first issue was caught up in a welter of rumour when, right after it published, kabillionaire Jim Balsillie pulled the plug on it.

An article in the Globe and Mail suggested that the Canadian International Council, which Balsillie chairs, was startled by the cost of producing the lavish, perfect-bound magazine. But it seems more to have been a confrontation between Balsillie, as chair of the board, and Senator Hugh Segal who, as executive vice-chair, had been spearheading the project.

Balsillie, who's the pinup boy for digital matters, fronting Research in Motion, apparently hadn't been paying attention to the project and snapped "What do you think I am? A fucking ATM?" Statements made after the fact were that it was not the time to be launching a specialized print magazine in Canada. "It would be like opening a buggy whip operation after the car was invented,” one person close to the foundation said.

Segal abruptly resigned and there was some question about what would happen to the magazine next, or to editor Irvin Studin and well-known art director Louis Fishauf.

Well, Global Brief has found a new home and is about the publish its second, quarterly issue at the end of October, under the auspices of the Glendon School of Public & International Affairs at York University. A story in York's daily bulletin reported the partnership:

Building on an inaugural issue that opened to national and international critical praise, the partnership between Glendon’s School of Public & International Affairs and the publication will ensure the future of Global Brief as Canada’s sole top-tier magazine dedicated to global affairs and targeting a worldwide readership....

“It is most fitting that the Glendon School of Public & International Affairs should support a top-tier Canadian magazine that explores global issues for a global audience," says Kenneth McRoberts, principal of Glendon College. "The school is committed to teaching and research on public affairs that comprehends the interplay of international and domestic forces.

Irvin Studin (right) continues as editor and Louis Fishauf as art director. Studin, who is York's most recent Rhodes Scholar, said he was delighted to fetch up at York:

“The trajectory of the magazine is ambitious, and I think that Glendon is a natural partner to help us realize this vision. Of the half-dozen or so parties around the country that were interested in hosting Global Brief, Glendon was easily the most natural fit.”

The next issue, which will have a launch event on November 3, will include articles by Louise Arbour, president & CEO of the International Crisis Group and former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights; former French foreign minister Hubert Védrine; Fareed Zakaria, of CNN and Newsweek; bestselling writer Gwynne Dyer; former Canadian ambassador to Afghanistan Christopher Alexander; former Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) president James Orbinski; former Quebec premier Bernard Landry; former Canadian prime ministerial chief of staff Norman Spector; and John W. McArthur, CEO of Millennium Promise.