Quill & Quire magazine turns 75

Quill & Quire magazine, which has covered the book and library trade for 75 years, is celebrating its diamond jubilee. The publication, owned by St. Joseph Media, is using its anniversary issue to examine how Indigo is making its bold move into the global e-book wars with Kobo, and publishing insiders talk about what the industry can do to remain vital in the future.

Folio: magazine mostly swallows sister publication Audience Development

Although both titles will maintain their own websites and e-mail newsletters, Folio: magazine and its sister publication Audience Development (nee Circulation Management) are being merged by their publisher, Red 7 Media. Audience Development, had recently been cut back and polybagged quarterly along with Folio:.This, according to a posting on the website DM News.

There is also now a section within Folio devoted to Audience Development content, which has been expanded in the eight issues that don't contain the freestanding supplement, said Jeff Hartford, director of Red 7 Media. Folio: itself continues as a regular periodical serving magazine management in the U.S. and Canada.

About 5,000 of Audience Development's 8,000 subscribers will be added to Folio:'s circulation list. Before the merge, Folio: had around 9,000 subscribers, [said Jeff] Hartford of Red 7.

“We sent out an e-mail blast and explained on the [Audience Development] site what the merge was all about,” Hartford said. “We didn't do a specific offer for those whose names we didn't merge, but we plan on doing that in the near future.”

Quote, unquote: On different strokes

“It’s O.K., I guess. But magazines will never die because there is a visceral feeling of having that thing in your hands and turning the pages. It’s so different on the screen. It’s the difference between looking at a woman and having sex with her.”

-- Legendary art director George Lois, quoted in the March 22 New York Observer when asked what he thought about reading a magazine on an iPad.

CRTC approves takeover of Vision TV by Zoomer magazine publisher

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today approved the $29 million takeover of the multifaith television channel Vision TV by Moses Znaimer's ZoomerMedia Limited, which owns Zoomer magazine.  

The decision means that in a series of steps, ownership will be transferred for the specialty television service VisionTV, the Category 1 specialty television service ONE: The Body, Mind and Spirit Channel and the television stations CHNU-TV Fraser Valley and CIIT-TV Winnipeg.  ZoomerMedia receives a new broadcasting licence to continue the operation of VisionTV.

In a separate, but related decision, ZoomerMedia was approved to acquire all the shares of MZ Media, wholly owned  by Moses Znaimer and which owns the unlaunched Category 2 specialty programming undertaking to be known as Classical Digital and holds licenses for CFZM, CFMZ-FM, CFMZ-DR-1 Toronto and CFMX-FM Cobourg, Ontario.

Once the dust has settled,  ZoomerMedia will continue to be effectively controlled by Znaimer,  directly and indirectly, through his holding corporation Olympus Management Limited, with a total of 66.28% voting interest. 

As part of its undertakings to the commission, ZoomerMedia Limited has promised to provide about $2,232,000 in tangible benefits to various broadband, television and documentary projects over the next 7 years. It is required to submit a plan for spending the money within 30 days.

Print Measurement Bureau topline results, spring 2010

[This post has been updated]The spring Print Measurement Bureau data has been published. Here are the top 10 Canadian magazines by total readership and by readers-per-copy (RPC):

Top 10 English magazines by readership ('000s)
Reader's Digest			6,360
Canadian Living			3,979
Chatelaine			3,562
People			3,542
what's cooking			3,541
Canadian Geographic			3,412
CAA Magazine			2,386
Maclean's			2,370
Canadian House & Home			2,363
Food & Drink			2,205
Canadian Health & Lifestyle			2,176
Top 10 English magazines by RPC
Canadian Health			33.7
The Hockey News Magazine			23.2
People			21.1
Outdoor Canada			16.3
Canadian Geographic			16.2
Canadian Business			12.8
FASHION Magazine			12.5
Canadian Gardening			12.4
Elle Canada			11.9
British Columbia Magazine			11.6
Top 10 French magazines by readership
qu'est-ce qui mijote			1,372
Coup de pouce			1,229
Touring (Fre & Eng)			1,113
Sélection du Reader's Digest			1,013
Châtelaine (Fr)			951
7 Jours			916
L'actualité			831
Elle Québec			764
Les Idées de ma maison			682
Clin d'oeil			660
Top 10 French magazines by RPC
Dernière Heure			16.6
Le Lundi			16.2
Rénovation Bricolage			15.5
Star Inc.			11.6
Star Système			10.9
Summum			10.4
7 Jours			9.7
Les Idées de ma maison			9.6
Tout Simplement Clodine			9.3
Clin d'oeil			8.9

[Update] "I think it is a good news report," PMB president Steve Ferley told Marketing magazine. "The readership data are stable and you can't run away from that."

The readers-per-copy average of 4.82 compares with 4.8 in the fall, while average time a respondent spent reading a magazine was 42.1 minutes, compared with 41.3 minutes in the fall of 2009 and 40 minutes in 2006.

"Readers per copy is flat and time spent reading might even be ticking upward slightly," said Ferley of the relative stability for magazine publishers. "In a world where everybody is concerned about fragmentation [of media] this is what is happening."

Apple puts roadblock in way of selling digital magazines on iTunes

Wired magazine is reporting that Apple has amended the conditions of its terms of service for iTunes software that, in effect, would make it impossible for users to buy digital or "in-app" subscriptions to magazines. 

Apple prohibits the gifting of “in-app purchases, in-app subscriptions, [and] upgrades” which means you can’t buy someone virtual goods within an iPhone or iPad app. So you won’t be able to buy a friend an in-app subscription to Wired magazine for the iPad, for example, like how you can with the print edition.

That news should be a little disappointing for publishers hailing the iPad as the future of magazines, because gift subscriptions have been an effective method to lure in new print subscribers.

Quote, unquote: Is the iPad today's CD-Rom?

"I can’t wait to play around with this. But I don’t see myself rushing to pay for repurposed paper magazines and newspapers sprinkled with a few audio-visual doodads. That didn’t fly with CD-ROMs and it won’t fly on the iPad."

-- Blogger Scott Rosenberg (one of the original founders of Salon) considering a comparison between the (largely unfulfilled) promise of CD-ROM in 1994 and the unknown impact of the iPad today. 

Men's Fashion launches spring edition

The men's fashion line extension that Fashion magazine launched last fall has apparently shown good enough results that a second edition of Men's Fashion is being published this spring. Men represent some 21% of Fashion's total readership and 150,000 copies of the targetted edition (featuring James Franco on the cover)  is being distributed through major newspapers starting April 9. In addition, 11,000 copies are being polybagged with the May copy of Fashion on newsstands in selected Shopper's Drug Marts across Canada.

Starweek magazine requires subscribers to pay 50 cents a week

Changing times are evident in the redesign and re-launch of television magazine Starweek in the Toronto Star. Henceforth, subscribers have to opt in for the TV guide and agree to be billed 50 cents a week for it (about $26 a year), in addition to the normal subscription cost of the paper. 

Newspaper box and other single copies (which already cost more than home delivery) will continue to include the guide. 

As part of sweetening the offer to subscribers as it  moves to request, separate paid circulation, Starweek has been beefed up with expanded listings and features. It has had a measured circulation of 610,000 and readership of 859,000 (1.4 readers per copy) according to fall 2009 data from the Print Measurement Bureau.  It is not known how many readers will opt to receive it.

Overhauled, rebranded Canada's History magazine offers readers digital "try before you buy"

As a promotion of its redesign, rebranding (from The Beaver) and overhaul of its website, Canada's History magazine is making a "try before you buy" offer, making available a free digital sample issue to potential subscribers, for a limited time.  The offer is made possible  since the magazine has become part of Digital Newsstand, a joint venture between Magazines Canada and the digital services provider Zinio.

The new website and rebranded magazine was unveiled last night at a reception in Toronto.

Magazines on iPad likely to charge at, or close, to newsstand price; or maybe not

Word on the street is that the Wall Street Journal is going to charge $17.99 a month to access its content on an iPad. But of more interest to readers of this blog is that it is widely expected that subscribers who want to read magazines on the tablet will be offered weekly, or monthly terms that closely relate to what a single copy buyer pays on the newsstand, according to a story on the blog Endgadget.

Sources told the WSJ that the April issue of Hearst's Esquire magazine (no stranger to new media) will arrive in downloadable format without advertisements for $2.99, $2 less than the newsstand price, and will include five music videos (each containing the phrase "somewhere in Mississippi," oddly enough) to take advantage of the device's multimedia capabilities. On the other hand, a full iPad issue of Men's Health with match the glossy's $4.99 price. Of course, as we heard earlier, publishers will be experimenting with advertising and pricing models to see what works so expect things to be fluid for quite some time after the April 3rd launch.

Magazine world view: Worldcolor on a roll; Garden & Gun back from brink; Telegraph prospers on land sales

• Worldcolor signs a multi-year agreement to print Cosmopolitan and other Hearst books
• Garden & Gun: back from the brink and in the hunt for an Ellie (Folio:)
• USPS moves a step closer to five-day delivery (Folio:)
• Skiff (Hearst) partners with Samsung for e-reading services (Folio:)
• Telegraph Media Group profits by land sales and print deals (Guardian)
• Guardian dominates Orwell prize shortlist (Guardian)

New team at Chatelaine reminiscent of the late Wish

After a raft of dismissals across the editorial team, Chatelaine's editor Jane Francisco has gathered some familiar faces around her, including several senior people from the editorial team at the late Wish magazine (St. Joseph Media). Francisco was the editor of Wish when it was folded and moved to Style at Home last June, then jumped to Chatelaine in November.  

Laurie Jennings, who was Wish's managing editor and later senior features editor at Canadian House & Home,  has been appointed Chatelaine's health editor and managing services editor; Catherine Franklin, who was style director at Wish and later beauty and fashion editor at Elle Canada, is now Chatelaine's beauty and fashion editor. In February, Sandy Kim, who was art director at Wish, was named to the same position at Chatelaine. Claire Tansey, who was food editor at Canadian House & Home is now Chatelaine's food editor.

Interactive marketing salary survey

The Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada (IABC) has published the results of its first salary survey of agencies and publishers working in the interactive marketing industry. The results suggest that web-related work pays somewhat better than traditional work associated with magazines. For example, here are the quoted salary ranges for editorial people with 5-7 years of experience:

• Editor in chief  $70,000 - $90,000
• Art director  $70,000 - $90,000
• Senior online editor $65,000-$75,000
• Web producer $55,000 - $65,000

The Excel-based spreadsheet gives definitions for these and other job positions in online marketing, both in agencies and in publishing.  The data is for base salaries and does not include bonuses or commissions. There is little information on the methodology for the somewhat general and broad-brush data or on how reliable the data is considered to be.

U.S. publishers wonder if their magazines will stand up to the "droop test"

Magazine publishers in the U.S. -- particularly those whose recession-hit magazines are a bit thin for lack of advertising -- are concerned about whether or not they will pass the U.S. Postal Service's "droop test", also called "deflection standards". According to a story in Audience Development, American Business Media (which represents b2b publishers) says the penalties will be severe, starting next fall.

According to a recent post by anonymous blogger Dead Tree Edition, publications that are unusually tall and/or wide are equally at risk of failing the droop test. “Oversized magazines may still be inserted into newspapers, sold on newsstands, handed out at trade shows, and distributed via alternate delivery,” the post reads. “But unless the Postal Service changes the regulations and/or the proposed penalties, the sight of a mailbox containing an oversized magazine or catalog could become extremely
rare.”

The "droop test" determines whether a flat mailed piece will be too flexible and will fall off the automatic postal sorting machines that handle them. For instance, if a magazine 10" or longer bends more than 3 inches when extended 5 inches into space from a flat surface, the post office will charge a penalty; a higher rate. This affects catalogues and other pieces of direct mail, but can also apply to magazines, especially larger, floppier ones.

VP public affairs at Quebecor Media moved to new, unspecified, position

The vice president public affairs for Quebecor Media, Isabelle Dessureault, is being replaced and her duties are being added to those of Serge Sasseville, the company's vice president, corporate and institutional Affairs, effective the end of May. Dessureault will be moving to unspecified "new challenges" with the company, according to a company release. She has been with the organization since 2005.

Quebecor Media is the subsidiary of Quebecor Inc. that encompasses, among many other media-related businesses, magazine publisher TVA Publishing Inc., the largest magazine publisher in Quebec.

CNN anchor John Roberts to give keynote at Atlantic Journalism Awards

The Atlantic Journalism Awards (AJA) are getting both media glamour (and great teeth) with their guest speaker at this year's awards: John Roberts of CNN's flagship morning program American Morning. 

The 29th Atlantic Journalism Awards gala will be presented at the Halifax Marriott Harbourfront Hotel, on Saturday, May 8, 2010. 

Based in New York,  Roberts was a well-known Canadian broadcaster and award-winning journalist,who spent the first 10 years of his career as an anchor for several broadcasts of City TV in Toronto (when he was known as J. D. Roberts). He also co-anchored CTV's Canada AM. 

The AJAs this year have added three new magazine categories -- best magazine article, profile article and best magazine cover -- to its awards lineup.

AMPA Showcase awards made to Western Living, techlife and Where Calgary

Alberta Magazine Publishers Association (AMPA) honoured its own on the weekend with its Showcase awards presented at the 14th annual conference. Sponsored by Transcontinental, the awards were selected from nearly 100 submissions from AMPA members. The judging was by a panel that included the conference's keynote speaker, Ina Salz, former art director of Time, Worth and Golf magazines.

• Western Living was awarded Best Editorial Short for “The Peaks of Despair” December 2009; writer by Neal McLennan. Honourable mentions went to Westworld Alberta for "Brack Country", by Jack Gailus.
• techlife magazine won for Best Feature Layout for "A Promise to a Tree" in V. 2.2, 2009; designer was Andrea Yury, photographer Amy Bizovie and writer Lisa Ricciotti. Honourable mention to Canadian Scrapbooker for "Colour Corner -- Violet" in Spring 2010; designer was Jennifer Steinhauer.
• Where Calgary  won for Best Cover with “Refresh!” May/June 2009; art director was Veronica Cowan. Honourable Mention went to Okotoks Living magazine for Winter 2009 issue; designer was Jean Faye Rodriguez, photographer was Don Molyneaux. 

Winning entries can be viewed at www.albertamagazines.com

Quote, unquote: Ad sales looking up for the big books

"We're seeing a moving recovery in the ad market. Advertisers are spending more on print, especially in beauty and packaged goods."

-- Michael Cllinton, Hearst Magazine's chief marketing officer, commenting in Forbes on the 17% jump in ad sales in May for 13 of Hearst's main titles such as Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, Oprah and House Beautiful.

The Walrus magazine readers get to choose a cover for summer reading issue

The Walrus magazine has partnered with RBC to let readers choose the cover for the magazine's annual July/August summer reading issue. One of Canada's most celebrated illustrators and cartoonists, Seth, has created two covers and, until May 6, anyone can go to www.walrusmagazine.com/readerschoice to vote on which one they prefer. Seth has donated the illustrations to The Walrus Foundation, which is making 24 signed and limited editions of each available for sale.

Seth is a cartoonist and book designer who lives in Guelph, Ontario and writes and draws the comic book Palookaville. His recent work includes The Collected Doug Wright and George Sprott (1894–1975) for which he has been nominated for a  Reuben Award for "Best Graphic Novel" and for the 2010 Doug Wright Awards, which will be announced in Toronto on May 8, 2010 at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival.

British ABC says digital editions must replicate print and can't be double-counted

The decision by the Audit Bureau of Circulations in the U.S. to accommodate its reporting rules to new digital platforms like iPod, iPhone and iPad is being contradicted in Britain. In the U.S., so long as the digital edition contains all the content of the print edition, despite different formatting, it can be included in circulation figures. British ABC, according to a story on journalism.co.uk, a digital edition must be a replica (in layout) and must be reported separately. Plus, readers getting both print and digital are counted only as one.

Quote, unquote: Moving from the "tangential side"

"It is tougher and a more narrow path. There are now enough people who have digital experience that digital clients can hire them. They don't have to worry about hiring from a tangential side of the business, i.e., print. But I think the other part of this, which is equally important, is that some digital clients wonder, if a print person hasn't touched digital yet, what is that saying about them?" 

--  J.D. Rehm, managing partner at Mercury Group, a media and marketing recruiting firm, quoted in an AdAge story about the increasingly difficult transition from print to digital

Five Canadian magazines nominated for Utne independent press awards

Several Canadian titles have been nominated for the prestigious Utne Independent Press Awards for 2010:

• Best Writing -- Geist
• International Coverage -- The Walrus
• Environmental coverage -- Alternatives Journal
• Spiritual coverage -- Geez; Shambala Sun

The winners will be announced during the Magazine Publishers of America (MPA) independent magazine group conference April 25-26 in Washington. They will be published in the Utne Reader July-August 2010 issue.

Fly Fusion magazine to carry Trout Unlimited Canada newsletter

Fly Fusion magazine has struck an arrangement to carry Currents, the quarterly newsletter of Trout Unlimited Canada in all Canadian copies. TUC was founded in 1972 to restore freshwater rivers, lakes and streams in Canada for the enhancement of fishing. Fly Fusion is published by the Bird Marketing Group of Calgary.

Ontario interior designers honour magazine editor Sheri Craig

The Association of Registered Interior Designers of Ontario (ARIDO) recently announced the appointment  of Sheri Craig, the former publisher of Canadian Interiors and Building magazines, as an honourary member. 

Craig was  a strong supporter of the interior design industry when she took over both magazines in 1993, during a recession in the interior design and architecture industries. 

During her tenure at the helm, these magazines flourished [says an article in Canadian Interiors]. In 1997, she introduced the Best of Canada Design competition for Canadian Interiors and in 2001 the Outside the Box competition for Building. Craig sold both magazines to Business Information Group in 2007.

Early in her career, Craig worked as a reporter for the Toronto Telegram before moving with her husband and daughter to Ghana with the UN. Upon her return to Canada, she worked for Marketing Magazine at Maclean Hunter as a broadcast columnist. She later worked in communications and public relations for Maclean Hunter Cable, the Ontario government and Ontario Hydro. She then returned to Maclean Hunter as editor of Canadian Jeweller until 1993.

This magazine literary competition gets graphic

Now in its 14th year, This magazine's Great Canadian Literary Hunt has added a category --short, graphic narratives; like graphic novels, but shorter stories, illustrated. As in the other categories -- poetry and short fiction -- the three, winning entries get a $750 prize and publication in the magazine. For further information (entry fees and details). [Disclosure: the editor is my son]

RD recipes sites dominate

There is an apparently ravenous appetite for recipes, according to online data from Reader's Digest's Allrecipes.ca and its French counterpart Allrecipes.qc.ca. February data shows that the sites dominated with over 1.7 million unique visitors, about 30% of whom are women 18-49. Each visitor spends an average of 8.4 minutes on the site and views 13 pages, according to a company release. The site is exclusively sponsored by Kraft Canada.

Magazine world view: Sandow buys 8 from RBI; New York digital; private dollars; Nest building

• Sandow Media buys eight magazines from RBI (Folio:) 
• The Big Issue to publish free magazine for Scottish teenagers (Guardian)
• New York wins ASME’s General Excellence Digital Ellie Award (Folio:)
• Private equity returns to magazine buying (Folio:)  
• Guardian launches 2010 student media awards (Press Gazette) 
• How magazines use social media to boost pass-along, build voice (MediaShift)
• The Knot Inc. Brings The Nest to newsstands (Audience Development)

Quote, unquote: Keeping copyright law simple and understandable

A serious flaw with Bill C-61 was its undue complexity. Parliament should avoid over-drafting technical rules with labyrinth exceptions and complex conditions and counter-exceptions. The law should be broadly understandable. As the roles of users and creators converge, Canadians will want to consistently engage in fair copyright practices. But respect for the law is eroded by the long cryptic passages that dwell on technical details and contain rules, exceptions, conditions and counter exceptions as in Bill C-61. It is encouraged by adopting understandable principles that can be applied in practice.

-- Sam Trosow, a professor of law and information and media studies at the University of Western Ontario, writing on his blog about Canada's proposed copyright and fair dealing law.  (Reported in Digital and Scholarly blog)

Xtra! gets a brand new look

The Ottawa version of Xtra!, the gay and lesbian publication, has undergone a dramatic redesign. A digital version is available. And the new design regime -- the first since 1998 -- will be rolled out in Toronto and Vancouver the week of March 25th.

The current issue of the Ottawa edition has a cover story on how increasingly conservative neighbourhood associations in the national capitol are collaborating with the police to impose ever-more invasive measures to the detriment of the poor, homeless , the gay and lesbian community and many other manifestations of street culture.

The paper, published by Pink Triangle Press, which also publishes Fab magazine, was called "Capital Xtra" in Ottawa and Xtra! West in Vancouver, but no more; Managing editorpublisher Brandon Matheson says "We have dropped the "Capital" and "West" monikers, to highlight what has been the consistent indentity/brand."

The redesign process was led by editorial director Matt Mills. The new look has larger and more lavish photo and illustration, yet without clashing with the logo, says the magazine. There's a new front of the book section called Roundup and greater integration between the print edition content and online (Xtra.ca). A new body font, Chronicle Text, uses space more efficiently and readably; display copy is Prelo and Prelo Slab.New navigation symbols direct readers to further information online, chat, and media (video etc.)

Among the redesigned sections are the news section Upfront and Out in the City, covering arts, culture and entertainment.

Impact of e-readers will be low this year, say those who should know

According to a story in paidContentUK the Association of Online Publishers in Britain seem to be muting expectations and are demonstrating a surprising lack of certainty now about the immediate future of e-readers. Mail Online managing director says most people won't have their hands on them in 2010. Conde Nast UK director says they will be a "novelty" this year.

U.S. magazine publishers' association unveils directory of magazine apps

The Magazine Publishers of America (MPA) has produced a directory of magazine apps for smart phones and other electronic devices and for a variety of operating systems. Most are from the biggies -- Hearst, Rodale, Conde Nast -- and range from free to $2.99 apiece. Each has a download link. It will be updated continuously as new apps are created.

Your official guide to mobile applications produced by magazine/media companies. From news, sports, entertainment and gaming to finance, fashion, beauty and health, magazines are developing apps that extend the influence of their trusted brands and complement consumers’ on-the-go, digital lifestyles. This directory includes apps on a variety of mobile devices and platforms [iPhone/iPod Touch (iPad coming soon), Blackberry, Android] with links to download the apps.

A look at The Gentlewoman

For those who were curious about The Gentlewoman fashion mag (see previous post), the Magculture blog has published some views of various spreads of the launch issue, which we haven't seen here in Canada, yet. (Not sure the gutter down the middle of the pix quite works.)

Quote, unquote: Give us the content, not the demos. Then we'll decide

No matter how cool the iPad and iPad wannabee devices may be, it's not entirely clear why many people would choose to pay for electronic magazines rather than visit magazine Web sites which are deeper, faster-paced, more community-oriented and free.  

-- Technologizer blogger Harry McCracken, writing in Folio: concerning his bout of "irrational exuberance" over magazine tablet prototypes.

Transcontinental has improved first quarter results

Transcontinental Inc. confirms that it received $100 million by selling its U.S. direct mail business, as it reports positive news for its first quarter ended January 31, according to a story in Canadian Press. The Montreal-based printer and magazine publisher earned $27.9 million in profit for Q1, compared with a $6.4 million loss in the same period a year ago. Net earnings were 32 cents a chare (versus an 8-cent loss a year ago). This was despite revenues being down 11 per cent to $559 million. 

"I attribute our strong performance to four main factors: continued customer confidence in our products and services, the reorganization and sale of some of our operations, the rationalization plan that we quickly implemented last year, and the concerted efforts by our employees to develop greater efficiency [said president and CEO Francois Olivier]"

The company's announcement cautioned that some segments of their business were "sensitive to market conditions" -- specifically magazine, book and catalogue printing, which was likely to experience lower page and copy counts, with less demand for specialty products.

Through its Transcontinental Media division, the company is Canada's leading publisher of consumer magazines.

Rogers Publishing combines three financial sites into a one-stop portal

Rogers Publishing has announced that it has relaunched Conseiller.ca, as a one-stop French language web portal for financial professionals. 

It will combine information from three publications: Conseiller (for financial counsellors), Avantages (for the group pension and benefits sector) and and Assurance (for property and casualty insurance professionals).

Geist magazine provides readers with a way to invest $20 in new writing and art

Vancouver-based Geist magazine has marked its 20th anniversary with the launching of the Geist Writers and Artists Fund, dedicated to commissioning even more work from Canadian writers, photographers and artists. It's an attempt by the magazine to continue the work that has been made possible the past three years by a couple of special grants related to the Olympics.

By providing [writers and artists] with respectable fees and the editorial support to undertake in-depth projects, we can enrich their creative work and our readers’ appreciation of Canadian culture and ideas.

The goal in 2010 is to raise $10,000, to commission three works, by asking readers to donate $20 each; the magazine helpfully provides 20 reasons to do so.

Canadian basketball superstar breaks models' hold on Harry

The twice-a-year promotional magazine Harry, which normally features models on its covers, this time will feature a true superstar -- Phoenix Suns point guard and NBA All-Star Steve Nash of Vancouver. (Nash will also appear in a Harry Rosen Inc. menswear ad in newspapers the week of March 30, wearing a Hugo Boss suit.)

Harry magazine has only once before used a non-model on its cover, since it was founded in 1997 -- the proprietor, Harry Rosen.

Harry is mailed to a Harry Rosen client list and is sold on Canadian newsstands.

Toronto Life magazine starts two new blogs (including politics) & renames two others

[This post has been updated]Although it hasn't said why or what has changed [see below], Toronto Life magazine has launched a new political blog called The Informer. In July 2008 it abruptly discontinued Philip Preville's City State blog after less than three months, saying it wasn't drawing enough audience to justify its costs. (At about the same time, James Chatto's food blog Chatto's Digest, a wine blog by James Lawrason and the Toronto Movie Index were also ended.)

The magazine has announced that has launched two new blogs: The Informer is described as The discerning mediavore’s take on the news of the day, from city hall to Power Ball and The Hype, a blog about TV, movies, theatre and music. And it has renamed two existing blogs: The Dish (formerly the Daily Dish) about restaurants, and The Goods (fomerly Style) about fashion.

One of the reasons why the magazine may have gone back into blogs in a big way is that its overall online audience has expanded, with the magazine's recent announcement that it was drawing 300,000 unique visitors and more than 2 million monthly page views.

[UPDATE: Toronto Life has told us that, since the announcement cited above, traffic is now 370,00 unique visitors a month.

Matthew Fox, the editor of Torontolife.com, elaborates on the differences between the earlier political blog and the current one:

“It’s been almost two years since the days of CityState, and we have a completely different mandate and team at Torontolife.com. Early last year, we launched two very successful blogs — Daily Dish and Toronto Life Style. In your post, you mention that CityState wasn't drawing enough audience to justify its costs. As a reflection on how far we’ve come, CityState’s entire five-week run attracted barely as much traffic as Daily Dish receives in just a few weekday hours. 2010 is our chance to take the model we developed last year and use it to apply our voice to a far broader range of topics. The Dish, The Hype, The Informer and The Goods are vibrant editorial projects that work fantastically on the Web. Plus, we have a new homepage that makes the site easier than ever to navigate. There are more improvements to come before the end of the year, so stay tuned.”]

Alberta Venture taps Edmonton Journal writer as new editor

Alberta Venture magazine, the business monthly, has appointed Paul Marck as its editor effective with the magazine's April 2010 issue. Marck had spent two decades at the Edmonton Journal, half of that time as a business writer before accepting the position. He succeeds Michael McCullough, who is returning to his hometown of Vancouver.

"To me, Alberta is an exciting, vibrant province with many stories of success, struggle and triumph yet to be told," says Marck in a release. "Canada's energy independence, a great and growing  portion of the country's agriculture and agri-food supply, and  opportunities in forestry, manufacturing and higher education depend on Alberta."

Radical and indy magazines fight for newsstand survival in Britain

Access to conventional newsstands in Great Britain are increasingly being put beyond the reach of independent, radical and progressive magazines, according to an article in the Guardian. Magazines and papers distributed by the Independent News Collective (Ink) are being crowded out by more mainstream titles who can afford to pay premiums for space.

"Newsagents take what Smiths [News] tells them is selling well," says Peter McCaig, of Ink, which distributes radical titles such as New Internationalist, Permaculture and Red Pepper. "Which is fair enough. But the result is that money talks. You get porn titles in more easily than any magazine with a political view."

The collective was created in the 1990s, whereby indy titles collaborated and, within a short time were distributing some 22 titles in 300 shops, many of which were health food outlets and other non-traditional outlets. (This is very much like the Canadian Periodical Publishers Association (CPPA) did in Canada for indy titles at about the same time; Magazines Canada's direct-to-retail distribution system carries on that work for more than 150 Canadian magazines who cannot afford services, or don't fit the specs, of mainstream distributors.)

But with most supermarkets now offering organic products, health food shops are struggling against the competition [says the Guardian story] and the bigger ones – Fresh & Wild and Planet Organic – have dropped magazines in favour of higher-margin products, such as aromatherapy oils. Borders, which used to stock radical magazines, has closed. Last year one of the biggest-selling titles in the collective, the Ecologist, quit to go online.

Taken together, those lost sales hit Ink hard: "It's just about viable for me to continue doing this – part-time, single-handedly," says McCaig. "But I'm only treading water."

Magazine world view: Good intentions; blogpaper; plunging trades; nine RDUK bidders

• Publishers make, save money through partnerships (Folio:) 
• Lies, damned lies, and journalists: For citizens or pros, intentions matter (DailyFinance) 
• Blogpaper combines print and internet (Jon Slattery)
• Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel celebrates 100th issue (MediaPost)  
• Hearst preps Country Living for ad recovery (MediaWeek) 
• Trade magazine ad pages fell nearly 30 percent last year (Folio:) 
• Despite brutal 2009, home magazines are fastest growing category (Folio:) 
• Are digital editions killing printed newspapers, too fast? (Guardian) 
• Nine bidders emerge for Reader’s Digest (Press Gazette)

Digital mags must contain all of a mag's content, but not in an identical layout, says ABC

In light of technological developments like the iPhone and iPad, the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) has modified its definition of a digital magazine.

The new standards state that a replica digital edition must include a print edition’s full editorial content and advertising, but it no longer needs to be presented in a layout identical to the print version. Replica digital editions will continue to be included in a magazine’s circulation guarantee, or rate base.

The first magazine to seek certification of an iPad  application was Wired. GQ magazine has offered an iPhone and iPod Touch replica application since December.

t.o.night freesheet launches weekly weekend supplement

t.o. night, the daily freesheet given out at subway entrances every weekday afternoon in downtown Toronto, is launching a weekly magazine supplement called Your Weekend, which is included in the Friday edition of the paper. It was reported in the blog Newspaper Innovation.

The paper, which was launched last September by the t.o.night Newspaper Group, distributes about 100,000 copies at about 80 locations in the core, including designated boxes and racks.

"As our city’s only 100% Toronto owned free daily newspaper, we’re proud to enlighten Torontonians about our great city, and the amazing neighbourhoods, people and events that define it." said John Cameron, the publisher, in a release.

Azure celebrates anniversary with whimsical stop-motion video

Azure, the design magazine, is celebrating 25 years of publication with its March/April issue and, in honour of the occasion has posted a whimsical YouTube video called "25 ways to read Azure". The stop-motion video was shot by emerging photographers Alex vs Alex in Toronto's historic Burroughes Building.

The anniversary issue features 25 front-runners the magazine considers are creating the future of design.

"Since we founded the magazine in 1985," says editor Nelda Rodger in a release, "we've seen the awareness of design and architecture grow from almost insignificant to fundamental. This independent magazine - which we have often considered a lab, a place to experiment - has become something of an institution. Azure has launched careers, marked milestones, created buzz and brought awareness to the issues of the times."

Virtual newsstand lets you swipe a magazine off a coffee table

I will concede that the intention is good (ease for the customer), but there is something weird and off-putting about this concept for a new form of virtual newsstand -- a table top from which you can drag participating titles onto the e-reader of your choice. The video is from eMedia Vitals and the demonstration was at the SXSW Music and Media Conference.

Oh, yeah? We were meaningless first...

It's surprisingly rare that a magazine even acknowledges its publishing rivals in a particular market, let alone disses them in print. But Toronto Life's Informer blog has plunged in by ridiculing NOW magazine for running a cover story on the differences between Toronto east and west of Yonge Street.

The latest issue of Now does its best to capitalize on the long-standing but meaningless debate by laying out the arguments for both sides: the east has better ice cream (Ed’s Real Scoop), but the west has the best burger (The Queen and Beaver); the west gets too much attention, whereas the east benefits from “divine neglect.” In the end, they confirm the debate’s irrelevance by not choosing sides.

And, paradoxically, the item makes the argument that NOW's idea is not only stupid, but it is late to the party...

Of course, we’re not recusing ourselves from the situation. Indeed, we’re experts: we had this discussion almost 10 years ago with similarly ambiguous results.

"Magazine is change": Canadian Living rebranded

Canadian Living magazine has been rebranded in ways large and small  for its 35th anniversary, all with the intention of changing the perception of it as a print magazine with affiliated online properties to a cross-platform media brand, according to a story in Marketing. The agency GWP Brand Engineering was selected by Transcontinental Media and the magazine's management to carry out the changes (GWP was the company that helped the CBC present itself as a cross-platform rather than a television brand).  

“We felt that Canadian Living in the media industry is probably undervalued for its strength as a brand,” said Lynn Chambers, group publisher. “Everybody thinks of us as just the [print] magazine. We’ve had great successes with our core magazine audience, a history of loyal readers. We’ve been successful in expanding onto new platforms, but we don’t tell our full brand story enough.”

Content is now grouped under one of five “pillars,” including beauty, health, lifestyle, home and food. However, in keeping with its more “optimistic” brand personality, these sections bear the headings “Beauty is everywhere,” “Health is happiness,” “Life is for living,” “Home is pride,” and “Food is love.”

“It’s not really a change for us, but we’re being more personable about how we express [ourselves],” Chambers said.

Among the changes in the current (April) issue is the tag line, previously "Smart solutions for everday living" to "Inspiring ideas for everyday living". And the price, marking the 35th anniversary of the magazine, is $1.99.

Is iPad one step forward, two steps back? Maybe

There's an interesting commentary on the blog Made by Many about the current ferment in the industry concerning how the iPad is going to somehow "save the industry". William Owen refers to this as "the loud hum of optimistic speculation".

[Publishers] believe you can pour a magazine (and its business model) straight and unadulterated into a new medium that works in an entirely different way. The threats and opportunities magazine publishing faces are more profound than this approach addresses and the response must be equally profound, more innovative.

He illustrates with several examples of forward-looking editorial innnovation.

Redwood morphs into Totem

Redwood Custom Communications, that was, is now officially Totem and has marked the occasion with the launch of a new website  and affixing its new name above the door of its Front Street offices in Toronto.The company will continue to produce custom publications like Aeroplan Arrival, and CAA magazine, but its three-month rebranding and new online communications now emphasize its increasing role in digital and web applications for its clients' brands.

Canadian Lawyer wins ABM award for best single article

A feature article about lawyers on opposite sides of a free speech battle has won Canadian Lawyer magazine the best single article category award (for publications with revenue up to $3,000,000), at the American Business Media’s 56th annual Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Awards ceremony in New York yesterday.

War of the Words, byLisa Gregoire, appeared in the March 2009 issue of Canadian Lawyer. The article was handled by editorial director Gail Cohen and designed by art director Bill Hunter.The story was about the rivalry between lawyers Richard Warman (left) and Doug Christie.

Canadian Lawyer, published by CLB Media Inc., was also a finalist in the Best Integrated Package category for the October 2009 Report on Diversity, an integrated series of print, video and exclusive web articles.

The Jesse H. Neal Awards recognized excellence in b-to-b publishing; the awards this year included new categories recognizing journalistic enterprise regardless of medium – from publications and websites to social media, video, online tools and mobile applications.

“Being a finalist in the best integrated package category shows that CLB Media is indeed on the right track in adapting our brands to the fast-changing world of b-to-b media,” says CLB Media VP, Niel Hiscox, in a company release. “And of course, I’m thrilled with our win in the Best Single Article category – it certainly recognizes that Gail and her team have been publishing content at the highest levels in b-to-b media for a long time.”

CLB Media publishes more than 20 business-to-business publications, Web sites and provides a range of services including custom publishing, business lists, research, web development and industry events.  It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Canada Law Book Inc.

Magazine world view: Sony e-bulks up; digital mag ads outperform; Cathie Black on AND; Lady bids for RD

• Big pubs added to Sony reader
•  Rupert Murdoch doesn't get the web. So why's he talking about it? (DailyFinance) 
• Media experts agree: Not much hope for legacy news companies (DailyFinance) 
• New study: Digital magazines outperform other electronic media with ads, readers (Folio:)
•  The Lady owner lining up bid for Reader's Digest UK (Guardian) 
• PCC needs to look beyond 'quango kings and queens' (Press Gazette) 
• Cathie Black: the magazine world today is an AND world and not Either Or (Mr. Magazine) 
• What makes a nonprofit news org legit? Three other questions to separate journalism from advocacy (Nieman Journalism Lab)

Quote, unquote: The shame and the pity of giving content away free

"Analogue media has to find a new model ... content has value and that's something for which I have a strong point of view. I think media giving away their content is not a good service to themselves. It's a shame, a pity. This content has a lot of value and it has to be valued reasonably."

--  Maurice Levy of the Publicis Group, telling the Abu Dhabi Media Summit that media companies need to find a mix between free and paid-for online content to survive in the digital era.

Former editor of Dose magazine to open Toronto ad shop for Rethink

Peman Hegen, the former editor of the defunct daily magazine Dose and the co-founder of GigPark, a social media site, is to open a Toronto office of the ad agency Rethink next month, according to a Q & A in the Montreal Gazette. Hagen says that nearly half of the Vancouver-based Rethink's business is with Toronto-based national clients such as Sobey's and Bell Canada.

[photo: Brett Gundlock, National Post]

Tom Gierasimczuk of up! magazine named Alberta Editor of the Year

The editor of the up! magazine, Tom Gierasimczuk was named Alberta Editor of the Year last night at the association's annual conference. up! is the inflight magazine of WestJet Airlines and is published under contract by RedPoint Media Group. Gierasimczk was the founding editor of the magazine starting in 2005 and is RedPoint's editorial director. Prior to up! he had been editor of Calgary Inc., the now discontinued business magazine, and co-founded CityBites, a Toronto food magazine.

"Being named Alberta Editor of the Year is just further validation that the stories we tell WestJet guests resonate with them, crafted as they are by some of the country's most talented storytellers,"he said in a release.

RedPoint also publishes Avenue magazine in both Calgary and Edmonton, Wine Access magazine and is the official magazine publisher for the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Alberta Ballet, and Calgary Opera.

up! is published 12 times a year and has a circulation of 25,000 copies a month on a controlled basis, in the seat pockets of all WestJet flights.