U.S. Armed Forces dump 891 newsstand magazines citing declining demand

AAFES store at Dyess Air Force Base
near Abilene. [Dallas Morning News] 

The Army and Air Force Exchange Service (what, at one time was called the PX) is permanently removing 891 magazine titles from its stock, about 33% of the total. According to a posting on the website of the U.S. Department of Defense, the shelf and floor space saved will be given over to other in-demand products and services, such as electronics. 

AAFES officials say there has been a sustained decrease in demand for single copies, with sales of all magazines at exchange facilities down 18.3% between from 2011 to 2012. 

“According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, digital magazines continue to expand their presence in the industry,” Army Lt. Col. Antwan C. Williams, AAFES public affairs chief, said in a statement. “Like their civilian counterparts, exchange shoppers' increased reliance on digital devices to access content virtually has resulted in a sustained decrease in demand for printed magazines.” 

Consistent with its mission to provide quality merchandise and services to its customers at competitively low prices and to generate earnings which provide a dividend to support morale, welfare and recreation programs, Williams said, AAFES is adjusting its stock assortment to align offerings with industry counterparts.

Read more »

U.S. magazine exec Carlos Lamadrid named to head TC Media consumer magazine brands; Pierre Marcoux to handle B2B

Lamadrid

[This post has been updated] TC Media has appointed a U.S. magazine executive, Carlos Lamadrid, as senior vice-president, consumer solutions. It means that he will be in charge of the entire TC stable of magazine brands, including such titles as Canadian Living, Coup de pouce, ELLE Canada, ELLE Québec, Style at Home, Décormag, Western Living and The Hockey News.

Lamadrid was until recently executive vice president at Penske Media, a leading digital media company that provided original web content for sites such as Deadline, OnCars, HollywoodLife and Variety.  He was previously senior vice president and chief brand officer of the Woman's Day Brand Group at Hachette Filipacchi Media, responsible for advertising, business development and editorial aspects of the 21 million-reader magazine, its special interest publications and its multiple platforms, including television. Previously, he was with Conde Nast as vice president and publisher of JANE from 2005 to 2007, and publisher of Men's Journal from 2003 to 2005. 

[Update] Connected with this appointment is the announcement today that Pierre Marcoux, who had been responsible on an interim basis for the consumer solutions group (though he had headed it since 2009), will now be devoting himself to being senior vice-president, business information solutions and education, a role he took on a few months ago. It means he will oversee development and execution of growth strategies for b2b media and information services as well as educational resources and book publishing. 

The brand portfolio under Pierre Marcoux’s responsibility includes Les Affaires, with its strategic Grandes conférences series and events division, A+, Premium, Investment Executive, Finance et Investissement, their companion websites, as well as the Aquizition.biz service site. Assets of the Constructo group are also under his leadership. In addition, Mr. Marcoux heads the education publishing and book publishing operations, which include Chenelière Éducation, Les Éditions Transcontinental, Les Éditions Caractère and Groupe Modulo. 

Finally, in this new role, Mr. Marcoux will continue to map out a clear path for the tablet strategy, for all of TC Media’s brands and content.

Award-winning magazine writer Carol Shaben wins $10,000 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction

 Carol Shaben

NT photo

An award-winning magazine freelancer Carol Shaben, has been awarded the $10,000 2013 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction for her book Into the Abyss: How a Deadly Plane Crash Changed the Lives of a Pilot, a Politician, a Criminal and a Cop (Random House Canada, 2012). The award is to be presented to her November 13.

Into the Abyss reconstructs a 1984 commuter plane crash in northern Alberta that killed six passengers and wounded four others—including Shaben’s father, a prominent cabinet minister.

“It’s a stylishly written, fast-paced tale of redemption that’s more gripping and engaging than you might expect,” said Ute Lischke, award juror and Laurier professor of English and Film Studies, in a Laurier release.

While the story is an expertly researched, detailed reconstruction of the crash and a call for better oversight of small, commuter airlines, its heart lies in the portraits Shaben draws of the crash’s survivors: her father, the pilot and an RCMP officer and the prisoner he was transporting. Through interviews and written documents, she paints a haunting portrait of the bond created among the survivors and how the crash affected their lives.

Shaben lives in Vancouver and left business for full-time freelancing in 2005. In 2009, she was nominated for three National Magazine Awards and won a gold for investigative reporting for her article "Fly at Your Own Risk" in The Walrus and a silver for the same article in the politics and public interest category. She also received an honourable mention as best new writer. The article grew out of her research into the plane crash that eventually resulted in the award-winning book.

The Edna Staebler award was established 22 years ago and endowed by writer and journalist Edna Staebler (herself an award-winner) and is administered by Wilfrid Laurier University. It encourages and recognizes Canadian writers for a first or second work of creative non-fiction that incluees a Canadian locale and/or significance. Previous winners were Linden MacIntyre, Wayson Choy and Elizabeth Hay.

Indian publishing group chooses not to renew licenses for big titles

Indian publishing company The Outlook Group has chosen not to renew its licenses for three big franchised titles: Marie Claire (Groupe Marie Claire); People (Time Inc.) and Geo (Gruner + Jahr (G+J)). According to a post by Medi4Nama, the editorial chairman of The Outlook Group, Vinod Mehta, said the three magazines were losing money because of the huge licensing fees for these three "white elephants" being paid to foreign title holders. 

"The decision to keep licensed brands running are eventually only going to be driven by the ability to sell advertising," said the post, "because the groups that bring them in are not vested in building these brands, because they don’t own them: these associations are, at best, transient."

Outlook publishes a weekly newsmagazine called Outlook and other titles include Outlook Money, Outlook Traveller, Outlook Business as well as the three titles cited. 

U.S. city and regional titles continue to rely heavily on print revenue

City and regional magazines in the U.S. continue to depend primarily on print revenue, according to a survey by Folio: magazine. 

Print advertising is expected to account for 71% of revenue in 2013, compared with 76% for 2012, and with the remaining revenues largely coming from digital, events, custom publishing and paid subscriptions. 

Digital is up slightly to 5.2% and a mobile/tablet barely registers at 1.3%.

Respondents to the survey predominantly served smaller markets, with revenues of between $1 million and $2.9 milion projected for 2013. 

Canada Post announces service changes and price increases for next January

Canada Post has announced that next January it will introduce service and pricing changes, including a simplified preparation and pricing for Unaddressed Admail, new specs for machineable mail. For instance, letter carrier presort (LCP) national rates up to 200g are increasing by 4.3% to 49 cents. Prices will be going up for Addressed Admail, Unaddressed Admail, Publications Mail and Business Reply Mail / International Business Reply Mail.The corporation has already introduced customized indicia for publications mail. Here are the 2014 price sheets effective January 13, 2014:

• Publications Mail
• Addressed Admail 
• Business Reply Mail 
• Unaddressed Admail

Concurrently, the Conference Board of Canada has issued a report on the future of the postal service in Canada and projects financial losses of close to $1 billion a year by 2020 unless major changes are made. These include wage restraints, alternate-day delivery, elimination of door-to-door delivery and reduction in service standards. 

Magazines Canada has responded to the Conference Board report by saying that it has tried over many years to work with Canada Post to establish acceptable margins for Publications Mail, but that there is an increasing gap between the volume (Canadian magazines represent 70% of CPC's publications mail volume) and average rate increases. 

The average rate increases of  publications mail over the last decade have dramatically eclipsed all cost increases magazines have had to absorb from other suppliers, and have far outstripped any recognized inflationary measurements. In the same context, the challenges to Canada’s economy in the last few years have had less-than-positive revenue challenges for most businesses, including magazines. 

The magazine association says in a memo to members that changes to delivery schedules could have a serious impact on time-sensitive magazine delivery, particularly for some weekly and bi-weekly titles. If centralized points of delivery are the way CPC is to go (e.g. "super boxes") then MC says they would like to be consulted so that these better accommodate magazines.

People shares royal baby cover coup with Maclean's and Hello! Canada

Media maven Keith Kelly of the New York Post claims that only People magazine, among weekly titles, has the picture of the royal George on its cover, completely ignoring the fact that Hello! Canada (see earlier post) and Maclean's do (see right). Had he said only American title, of course, he'd have been correct.

People Managing Editor Larry Hackett gambled that his man on the street in London, Simon Perry, was correct in that the royal baby would be presented to the public on Tuesday — allowing him to hold up publication just long enough to include the photo on the cover. 

Rival celebrity weeklies, including Us Weekly, Star, In Touch and Life & Style, will acknowledge the baby’s birth with small “chips” of the happy couple on the cover, but no photo of the newborn prince.

“The timing was perfect,” said Hackett, who held up the magazine’s print run by a couple of hours to get the photos of daddy William, mom Kate and their 8 lb., 6 oz. bundle of joy on the cover. Inside are 19 pages of royal baby coverage.

Things are looking up according to U.S. B2B publishers

B2B publishers in the U.S. say they are increasingly confident in current and future business conditions, according to the CEO Confidence Index published by the Association for Business Media (ABM). 

"The percent of CEOs who see current economic conditions as positive increased from 58 percent to 66 percent. The portion who expect the coming year to be better than the year past rose from 61 percent to 75 percent."

The Confidence Index, which was launched in January, is updated twice annually.

Assoc publisher of Broken Pencil hired as executive director of IRMA

Tara Flint, the associate publisher of Toronto-based indy magazine Broken Pencil, has been hired as the new executive director of the International Regional Magazine Association (IRMA). She succeeds Andrew Jackson, who will be retiring this fall after six years as ED and more than 25 years in the regional magazine industry, including as publisher of Vermont Life (one of the two founders of IRMA, with  Down East.) 

Flint begins her duties August 19 and will work with Jackson through the annual IRMA convention in Baltimore Sept. 27 - Oct. 1 when he will retire. The convention is being held in Baltimore despite the recently announced closure of Maryland Life, which was to have been the host. 

Flint will be the first Canadian to take the post in  the organization's 53-year history. She is a dual citizen and lives in Toronto. IRMA's membership of 37 magazines draws from both the United States and Canada and among the Canadian members are Cottage Life, Saltscapes, British Columbia, Prairies North and Yukon, North of Ordinary. 

Wall-to-wall baby pictures and stories in special from Hello! Canada

Hello! Canada magazine will have its special royal baby issue out on newsstands on Friday. The "special souvenir edition" contains a 44-page section detailing apparently everything to do with this event, even an exclusive article by Princess Diana's biographer, Andrew Morton, speculating about what kind of parents William and Kate will make. 

Mag world view: Ladybug en espanol; Beano & Beckham; royal baby boost; deleting content

• The Cricket Magazine Group announces release of Ladybug en espanol magazine 
• Joseph A. Ripp Named Chief Executive Officer of Time Inc.
• Seven Lessons for Publishers from the Boston Bomber Cover Controversy (Dead Tree Edition)
• Beano 75th anniversary issue to feature David Beckham and Sir Alex Ferguson (Guardian)
• Direct Business Media launches new print  title (Folio:)
• Source Interlink Media folds Home Theatre into Sound & Vision (Folio:)
• Penwell acquires oil and gas event (Audience Development)
• Royal baby: news of birth gives boost to newspaper websites (Guardian)
• The readers' editor on...changing or deleting content in the digital archive (Guardian)

Design Edge Canada magazine now owned and operated by C.J. Oyster Publishing

Design Edge Canada magazine has been sold to the C.J. Group of Companies  and its  C.J. Oyster Publishing Inc. division in Toronto. 

The magazine was started in 2006 by North Island Publishing Limited of Mississauga, which also publishes the online magazine Masthead. According to a post on the magazine's website, the takeover brings with it the revival of the Canadian Regional Design Awards, which North Island had started but which were in hiatus.

"The paperwork was completed in May and the transition has been gradual, but as of last week The C.J. Group of Companies in Toronto is proud to announce we have completed taking over of the Design Edge Canada media brand, including Design Edge Canada magazine, designedgecanada.com as well as the Canadian Regional Design Awards (a.k.a. “the Redgees").... 

"We are very excited about taking on this publication and its affiliated properties,” says Jay Mandarino, founder and CEO of The C.J. Group of Companies. “It’s important to us that this publication flourishes and continues its mandate to inform and inspire graphic designers, art directors, creative directors and all other professionals associated with design in its many forms across Canada.”

Leslie Smith will be the publisher, replacing Doug Bennet, the founding publisher. She said that the redesigned magazine will be unveiled in September and the  hope was to revive the Design Awards in early 2014.

Quote, unquote: Magazines are positioned to thrive

"It might be trendy to argue that digital is the final nail in the magazine industry’s coffin, but it’s also dead wrong. If any medium is well positioned to thrive across platforms, devices and formats, it’s this one. Core to our DNA are brands that are both trusted and enduring. Magazines, unlike other media, have brand equity that is built from a unique convergence of content and community around the specific interests and passions of consumers." 

-- Mary Berner, president and CEO of the Association of Magazine Media (MPA) writing in MediaDailyNews. 

Flipboard magazine app is launching a desktop version that will work with any browser

[Click to see flip]

Flipboard, which sent more than a few shivers down the spines of mainstream magazine publishers with its magazine app for mobile devices, has now launched a desktop version. Prepare for more hand-wringing by publishers, whether or not it's justified.

The appetite for creating your own magazine-style compilations has led to more than two million being made. Now, the custom UI experience in HTML5 will be available to read, and to share, on desktop computers as well as handheld devices. The app’s trademark paginated, card-flipping experience is reproduced in the browser and resizes depending on the monitor.  

The company cautions that the full experience with search, table of contents and so on is not expected to be available until later this year. 

"Downloading the app on a mobile device is still the only way to get the full Flipboard experience," said a release, "including personalizing the social magazine, connecting social media accounts, accessing the Content Guide and creating a Flipboard account."

CEO Mike McCue told The Verge about the backstory of bringing Flipboard to the web. 

“When we started,” he says, “we thought we were going to build a website.” Hearing rumors about Apple’s iPad, they bet on a tablet app, and now, three years after launch, they’re moving back to the desktop. Though McCue agrees that the recent demise of Google Reader played into the decision to build for the web, the team wanted to open up its users’ magazines to a bigger audience, instead of keeping them stuck behind an app wall."

Quote, unquote: On watching (baseball) like a girl

"To the media at large, baseball fans of the female persuasion tend to be seen as vapid, bored, and distracted, either dragged along by boyfriends or there to party and pick up, all the while wearing their Victoria’s Secret Jays tees and drooling over Brett Lawrie. Women are there for a ladies night or a bachelorette party—certainly not for any “real love” of the game, yet they do come in handy as the occasional pretty face for Sportsnet to zoom in on. 

"I certainly don’t deny that these kinds of fans exist—but I cannot agree that they’re a problem. The actual problem lies in consistently putting this very limited depiction of women’s relationship to sports into the world. It does real exclusionary damage in terms of attracting new fans, a project that both makes good economic sense and goes far in improving the overall experience for everyone."

-- Stacey May Fowles, novelist and circulation and marketing director for The Walrus magazine, in an essay sparked by a Globe and Mail article purporting to explain the growth in women's attendance at baseball games at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

Linda Lewis, former editor-in-chief of MORE dies

[This post has been updated] Linda Lewis, who was the founding editor of the Canadian edition of MORE magazine, a former editor of Today's Parent and a good friend of many in the Canadian magazine industry, has died at the age of 52 as the result of a rare form of leukemia. Among many other things she was notable for a her frankness in writing about the disease on her Twitter feed, @LindaOnLeukemia. The last tweet was June 28:

"This brutal disease may be taking its toll, but I still appreciate all the warm messages. Thanks for the continued support."

There was an excellent profile by Judith Timson published in The Star last November, both about the disease and Linda's way of dealing with it.  

[Update] Details of the funeral: Tuesday, July 23, 12:30 p.m., Benjamin's Park Memorial Chapel, 2401 Steeles Ave. W, Toronto. Interment Pardes Shalom Cemetery, Beth Torah Synagogue section. Benjamins.ca 

[More later.]

Zap! No more royal baby news

The Guardian newspaper allows online readers to screen out the apparently endless "royal baby" coverage. The front page of the website gives the readers an opportunity to click on a "Republican?" button  which replaces the obsessive coverage of the Duchess of Cambridge and her labour with non-royal news. (The paper did a similar thing last year with the royal wedding and the Queen's diamond jubilee.)

Canadian Living refreshes its look, logo and content

New look

Canadian Living magazine will be unveiling a new look -- what it calls as "refresh" -- with its September issue, which will be on newsstands August 5. The magazine will have a new logo, extensive content updates and will be polybagged with a special 32-page supplement aimed at mothers called Canadian Living Moms (which has the earmarks of a test run for a line extension or spinoff). 

The September issue will also have four sequential covers each emphasizing the main editorial pillars of the magazine -- food, style, health and home. The new look will be carried through all the platforms that Transcontinental Media offers, including the website, mobile and social media. The relaunch issue will be selling at a special price of $2.99 on newsstands. 

Old look

“Over the last several months, we reached out to thousands of Canadians, both current readers and non-readers to find out what they wanted more of, less of and what topics were on their minds,” said vice president and group publisher, consumer solutions, Toronto and Vancouver, Caroline Andrews. “Their feedback inspired us to bring a fresh new perspective to every aspect of the brand. I am confident our long-standing readers will continue to find everything they've always loved about Canadian Living, and new readers will be impressed with the evolution of this beloved Canadian brand."

Read more »

OMDC Magazine Fund deadline is Thursday, Aug 1

The deadline looms for Ontario publishers to apply for the Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC) Magazine Fund. Applications for the program, which provides funding of up to $75,000 to Canadian-owned, Ontario-based companies to assist in growth and marketing initiatives, are due Thursday, August 1 by 5 p.m.

The Fund now accepts a limited number of applications from publishers of digital-only magazines as well as print and digital publishers and further information about the process can be found at http://www.omdc.on.ca/magazine/Funding.htm

Chatelaine magazine launches weekly radio program

Chatelaine magazine, which has already plunged into TV, now will have its own two-hour weekly radio program, starting this Sunday. It is one of the many benefits of being part of a multi-media, multi-platform company like Rogers Communications that its flagship publication can team up with Rogers's network of radio stations to kick off a two-hour radio program starting this Sunday.

The Chatelaine Radio show will air every Sunday on 98.1 CHFI at 7 p.m. ET, Lite 95.9 at 8 a.m. MT, and on CHYM 96.7 and Country 106.7 at 6 p.m. ET, according to a story in Broadcaster magazine. (Rogers owns 55 radio stations across Canada, in 29 markets.)

“One year ago, we expanded to television with the Chatelaine Edition on City’s Cityline. The success of that endeavour gives us confidence that our audience and advertisers will also embrace the Chatelaine experience on radio,” said Chatelaine Publisher Tara Tucker. “Chatelaine is committed to helping our audience ‘make the everyday extraordinary’ no matter their favoured platform, and speaking with them through our Rogers radio stations gives us another opportunity to reach our audiences and deliver our content.”

The program will have two hours of music and lifestyle content and will feature the magazine's team of experts including health editor Laurie Jennings, food editor Claire Tansey, assistant fashion editor Tyler French, and other guest contributors such as Chatelaine editor-in-chief Jane Francisco.

“Chatelaine’s fresh, respected and trusted lifestyle content is a perfect fit for these radio stations,” said Julie Adam, vice president, programming, Rogers Radio. “We look forward to connecting with our audiences in a new way by bringing the pages of Chatelaine to life each week during the show.”

Mag world view: Maryland Life shuts; 3/4 of online pubs offer native ads; Apple ebook loss; Content marketing secrets; long read app

• Regional mag Maryland Life closes down (Audience Development)
• HIMSS Media launches news site in connection with event (Folio:)
• Meredith's Allrecipes launches print magazine (Audience Development)
• OPA Study: three-quarters of online publishers offer native ad solutions (Folio:)
• Guardian publisher cuts annual losses as digital revenues grow by nearly 30% (Guardian)
• Why the Apple Ebook Ruling is a Loss for Publishers, Authors, and Readers (The Scholarly Kitchen)
• UN Security Council to debate journalists' safety (Jon Slattery)
• Byliner’s new iPad app aims to find your next long read  (paidContent)
• How did journalists respond to the critique of Season 5 of ‘The Wire’?  (Nieman Journalism Lab)
• Secrets of a content marketing editor (WordCount)

When they were unpaid interns...

Interesting post on the 6th floor blog at the New York Times Magazine, with anonymous staffers recalling their unpaid internships. One of them was someone who did one at an (unnamed) Toronto magazine. What distinguishes most of the anecdotes is a) they mostly had fun or unusual duties, b) attributed their subsequent jobs to the experience and c) acknowledged they couldn't have done it without living off Mom and Dad or holding down another part-time job. 

One said an internship at a nonprofit quarterly about urban issues in Philadelphia required her make a trek every week from New York.

"It was an edifying and rewarding experience, which is apparently more than you can say for most magazine internships. And at the end, probably because they felt bad for me, they offered me my first paid writing job."

The Toronto example said, in part

"The internship was invaluable, and the only reason I could afford to do it was because a) I was also working a part-time job in a bookstore at night and on weekends, about an additional 20 hours a week, and b) this being Canada, the government of Ontario had a program that paid you minimum wage ($7 an hour at the time) to do an internship in a creative field. This program was, naturally, one of the first things cut when a new, cost-cutting, conservative government swept to power."

Cult MTL experiments with print version

The July 4 issue

The doughty band of laid-off staff and contributors to the Montreal alt-weekly Mirror have now reached the one year mark since they started to build, from the ground up (and without investors) a new publication called Cult MTL. It started as a website after Quebecor Media closed the Mirror, but has evolved to where the website has as its companion a twice-monthly print version. It's an experiment through this month, August and September, according to a story in the Montreal Gazette.

“Conventional wisdom is that young people aren’t into print, but we found that wasn’t the case,” says editor-in-chief Lorraine Carpenter. “That was surprising.” 

Carpenter [who's also the music editor] hauls half the 10,000-copy load to drop-off points around the city every month. It takes days to distribute, and still the paper is hard to find sometimes, but handling distribution in-house makes it more responsive to complaints and suggestions, Carpenter said.

“Ever since we launched our first print issue, I think the response was so encouraging that it’s hard not to be increasingly optimistic, says managing editor Lucas Wisenthal.”

The publication is celebrating its first anniversary with a BBQ on Saturday 20th at 2 p.m. at Le Labo Culinaire Foodlab at Société des arts technologiques [SAT], 1201, Boul. Saint-Laurent, Montreal.

Try before buy: Time Inc. to encourage digital-only subscribers with free previews

Time Inc. is allowing readers to preview several articles in Entertainment Weekly on their iPads before committing to purchase. And Time says that, by the end of this year, all 21 of its titles offered on the Apple Newsstand will allow such previews. The initiative is intended to grow the number of digital-only subscribers, says a posting on All Things Digital.

While Time Inc. has been trailing rival Hearst, which hit one million digital subscriptions earlier this year, Time says it has been adding 10,000 paid digital subscribes a week this  year. 

More than half of those subscribers are new customers, [said George Linardos, head of digital marketing and business development for Time Inc.] And he thinks he can boost that number by giving browsers more to see: “We know we have hundreds of thousands of people downloading the app, opening it, and walking away,” he said. “We want to give them a reason to stay.”

Shelly Glover named new Canadian Heritage minister in Harper cabinet shuffle

Shelly Glover, an MP from Manitoba who had been parliamentary secretary to the minister of finance, is the new Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages as a result of the shuttle of the cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the elevation of eight new ministers, four of them women. Glover replaces James Moore, who has been promoted to Industry, one of the government's senior keystones.

As Heritage Minister, Glover will be responsible for the shepherding of the Canada Periodical Fund and other policies that directly impact the Canadian magazine industry.

Glover is the MP for Saint Boniface in Winnipeg and was first elected in 2008.

New 'soft' approach lets readers pay for access with attention to advertiser's videos

A new approach to paywalls is a "soft" approach whereby publishers give access providing the a story on AdAge, the system is called Content Unlock, from Genesis Media and is being tried out by such titles as Maxim, Guitar World and USA Today. Essentially, instead of giving their credit card number, readers pay with their attention to an advertiser's video. 

The idea is also to squeeze more revenue from readers without actually asking them to pay. "We act as a soft pay wall, which allows users to pay for content and services in a smart way -- with their attention to targeted brand experiences and videos vs. their credit card," said Mark Yackanich, CEO at Genesis Media, a New York-based startup founded in late 2011. "In effect, the brands become sponsors for a readers content consumption, in a very direct and memorable way."

It is also a way to get around readers' "banner blindness" and allows the publisher to decide what to give the reader in exchange for his or her time.

If a person watches a 15 second video, for example, he or she might have access to five free articles or get 24 hours access to a site (as in the illustrated example).

"Right now we're working in conjunction with the publishers to make this determination," said Mr. Yackanich, a former NBC executive. "But as we continue to systematize the platform, this sort of value exchange is something that we're investing and defining at the programmatic level based on an individual and their value."

Ontario magazine for school principals wins Tabbie award

The magazine for Ontario's public school principals and vice-principals, The OPC Register, has won a goldTabbie award from Trade, Association and Business Publications International. It won a gold award for the profile of gay rights activist Dan Savage of the It Gets Better Campaign (Spring 2012 Vol. 14 No.1). The judging panel said of the article

"A compelling piece that conveys a big message to school executives about what they need to consider doing to help students of all sexual orientations. Thought-provoking, thorough coverage of a sensitive and timely topic. It seems to be an article that will be very useful to and well-received by the audience. The photos provide an added interest to the piece."

In addition, The Register won two honourable mentions for "Surviving Home Assignment Pending Investigation" in the opening page or spread category (Spring 2012 Vol. 14 No.1) and "Mental Health Guide for Schools" in the front cover, digital imagery category (Winter 2012 Vol. 14 No. 4).

The Register is published three times a year by the Ontario Principals' Council. The Tabbies are an annual international editorial and design competition.

In an earlier post, we reported that Professionally Speaking,  the publication of the Ontario College of Teachers, won one  gold, two silvers and three  honourable mentions in the 2013 Tabbie Awards.

 

The title "publisher" is so yesterday, says British publishing firm

The British publishing company Future is doing away with the title "publisher" as being outmoded, not reflecting what such product leaders are expected to do now. 

“Our business leaders have a far broader remit to drive audience and revenue growth across a full range of platforms and touch points – including events, video, ecommerce and mobile," says CEO Mark Wood [in a story in Press Gazette.] “Future’s business model has changed at speed – and will continue to do so. We are recognised as an international leader in tablet publishing, we’ve delivered 46 per cent growth year-on-year in global unique users and digital advertising now represents more than 57 per cent of total advertising revenue."

The bosses in the new management structure are called "head" (e.g. head of games). Future publishes both print and digital special interest magazines, such as Total Film, Classic Rock, Official Nintendo magazine, PhotoPlus, Windows 8: The Official Magazine,  T3, Fast Bikes, Guitarist, Cross Stitcher, Cycling Plus and Guitarist. 

Quote, unquote: The smaller guarantee at RDA

"A business model that treats consumers as fodder for advertising bases isn't one that gets your customers as engaged as any of us would like. To really be relevant in this age we want to have a much more direct relationship with customers. By truly declaring what our business model is going to be, we have a lot of confidence that we can begin to grow our customers. It's not about constant retreat."

-- Robert Guth, president of Reader's Digest Association, speaking (in Ad Age) about the decision to slash the guaranteed rate base of the magazine to 3 million from 5.5 million. (As recently as 2007, RD had a rate base of 10 million. RDA just recently emerged from bankruptcy and has forecast a return to profitability by 2014.

Antoine Shiu named VP sales and creative services for TC Media

Antoine Shiu

The sales teams for all of TC Media's businesses in Toronto are now under the direction of Antoine Shiu, appointed vice-president of sales and creative services. Starting July 22, he will oversee Digital Solutions, Consumer Solutions and Creative Services and the development of strategic sales orientations for all products in these business groups and act as a leadership presence for TC Media in the Toronto marketplace.

Before joining TC Media, vice-president sales and customer service in Toronto for LexisNexis Canada, and at Bell Canada and BCE in Québec, Ontario and in Mexico, including being general manager of enterprise sales at Bell Mobility first for Québec and then for Ontario.

After three decades, PCWorld to be digital-only

PCWorld, in a decision that has several convoluted layers of irony, is discontinuing its print edition and will, after the August issue, be only available in digital form. It has 339,000 print subscribers, but nevertheless after three decades in print, its publisher IDG decided the future was digital. No staff impacts are expected.

"Both technology users and marketers have led the way in the shift from print to online and our decision to end 30 years of PCWorld print publications reflects their preferences," said Bob Carrigan, CEO, IDG Communications in a prepared statement. "PCWorld colleagues in the U.S. will now focus on innovative digital-first editions featuring interactive multimedia presented in high resolution."

Deadline looms for Canadian Online Publishing Awards

Only 9 days left to enter the Canadian Online Publishing Awards  (July 19).  There are 15 categories in each of three divisions, including cover design, writing, and packaging, in different digital formats including websites, tablet editions, digital replicas and apps. It's for work published between June 1, 2012 and May 31, 2013:

• Red Division: Digital journalism from consumer, custom, religious, and public association publishers.
• Blue Division: Digital journalism from business-to-business, professional association, farm, and scholarly publishers.
• Plus Green Division: Digital journalism from daily and community newspapers, radio and television. Ethnic media entries are welcome.

Winners will be announced and awards presented in November in Toronto. COPA is produced by Masthead magazine. 

San Francisco countercultural posters featured in Massachusetts gallery

Martha and the Vandellas, 1967,
 by Bonnie MacLean

Tangential, at best, to the subject of magazines, nevertheless it's interesting (courtesy of a Facebook post by Rona Maynard, the former editor of Chatelaine) to see that the psychedelic posters of the '60s are making a gallery appearance.

Summer of Love is at Smith College Museum of Art in Northampton, Mass. (about as far as one might get from the home of the artform, San Francisco). 

The psychedelic aesthetic, which features bright, often clashing colors, freely drawn lettering styles, and dream-like imagery, was meant to mimic and capture the visual experience of mind-altering drugs. 

During the 1960s poster art underwent a radical transformation, emerging as an important means of communication. The time period saw a crucial shift from the mass-produced poster as an advertising vehicle to an art form whose goal was to spark social and political change. 

Psychedelic posters served as a kind of visual social media of their time, attracting and linking their main audience: young people in San Francisco. At the same time—with their provocative imagery and messages, inventive typography, and distinctive palette—the posters gained attention far beyond San Francisco where they were first posted or distributed.

This kind of wild and crazy artwork found its way into many magazines in the '60s and had a profound impact on art directors and designers of the time. 

The exhibition guide (pdf).  

Magazine world view: Lowballed Maxim; mag tag-team; cost of content; cynic watch; media + fitness

• Maxim entertains lowball bids (Bloomberg)
• Judge at NY civil trial: Apple conspired with publishers to raise e-book prices in 2010 (Maclean's)
• Fitness Magazine and Men's Journal tag-team ad sales (Audience Development)
• Metered paid content platform Press+ expands internationally (Audience Development)
• What happens when the marginal cost of content is no longer zero? (Scholarly Kitchen)
• [UK] Press industry goes it alone on regulation (Jon Slattery)
• The real villain in the ebooks case isn't Apple or Amazon -- it's publishers' addiction to DRM (PaidContent)
• In praise of cynicism (Guardian)
• Post-Chapter 11, RDA looks for a turnaround (Folio:)
• Hunt to find fittest person in media hots up (Media Week)
• Radio Times considers smart TV programme guide (Media Week)

Rogers tops 1 million replica app downloads for its 22 magazine titles

Rogers Media magazine titles crested a digital landmark recently when it topped 1 million tablet replica app downloads for its titles. (This does not include downloads of Rogers Publishing standalone apps for tablets and smartphones.) 

The company said in a release that it is the more tablet apps than any other Canadian publisher and was the first major magazine publisher to have every one of its consumer publications on iPad, Android and Blackberry -- including well-known brands such as Chatelaine, Maclean's, Sportsnet, FLARE and HELLO! Canada and several of its business to business titles.

"The last few years have seen revolutionary change, innovation and digital growth within the publishing industry. From the start of this digital evolution, we have worked to deliver our premium branded content to our audiences on their preferred platform. Our successes—on the tablet, as indicated by the million downloads, and on other platforms—demonstrate that we are ahead of the curve in giving our audiences what they want," said Ryan Trotman, digital publisher, Rogers Digital Media.

Maclean's was the first major consumer magazine in Canada to create a tablet edition, in December 2010 and now it has 22 publications on tablet, reaching 1.3 million unduplicated, unique visitors each month.

Among Rogers standalone publishing apps, the Chatelaine 10-Minute Fitness app has reached #1 in 31 countries (including Canada and many European and Asian nations) in the highly competitive fitness and health app category. On iTunes in Canada, it also reached #14 overall (competing against all apps). Launched in May 2013, it was downloaded 50,000 times in its first month.

Only Canadian National Geographic photographer to give talk in Toronto in November

Paul Nicklen, the only Canadian photographer for National Geographic magazine, is to present a talk in Toronto this year on November 11 and 12 at Roy Thomson Hall. Nicklen,44, a former biologist whose home is Nanaimo, BC, says that climate change is at the heart of every project he proposes and each lecture he gives; he therefore find his constant travel ironic.

“I like to be quiet in nature,” he [said in an interview with the Toronto Star], on a rare two-week visit home. “When I’m on assignment in a remote area, I’m happy — not just on airplanes increasing my carbon footprint and trying to get my message out about climate change. 

“It’s what I’m constantly trying to remind people through my visual storytelling,” he says. “Nothing really matters if we lose the ice on those polar systems.”

Ontario OUT OF DOORS magazine reloads website

www.oodmag.com

Ontario OUT OF DOORS magazine, published by the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH) has relaunched its website, the first upgrade since the magazine was purchased from Rogers Publishing in December 2008. The revitalization of the magazine's web presence has been a prime focus since editor-in-chief Lezlie Goodwin joined in October 2012, according to a release. The team that managed the largely in-house relaunch included web editor April Scott-Clarke and art director Tamas Pal.

“Our revitalized website is part of Ontario OUT OF DOORS commitment to digital content,” said [managing editor Ray] Blades. “The redesign incorporates a user-friendly experience that offers quick and easy access to content from our province’s best outdoor writers. It’s also now compatible with mobile devices.”    

“Ontario OUT OF DOORS magazine has long been the go-to publication for the province’s anglers and hunters. Now, our website offers that same level of top-notch content and stunning photography,” said Goodwin. “Visitors to the website and the community forum [www.oodmag.com/community] will experience greater ease of use and many new features. I’m sure you’ll enjoy what we come up with over the next several months to continue to make the site bigger and better.”

OFAH is the oldest and largest non-profit, non-government fish and wildlife organization in Canada, representing more than 100,000 members. (It acually started OOD in 1969, sold it in 1985 to Maclean Hunter and bought it back from MH's successor, Rogers Publishing, in 2008.)

Glacier buys Whistler newsmagazine Pique

Pique, the free weekly newsmagazine in Whistler, BC has been bought by Glacier Media Group from Bob Barnett, who owned Pique Publishing. Barnett and his late wife Kathy started the publication in 1994. Glacier owns the major competitor called the Whistler Question, which is part of the sprawling network of more than 100 community papers it owns across Canada. It's not known if the two papers will be merged.

"The media world is not getting any easier for independents," Barnett told Business in Vancouver (a Glacier publication). "I'm still interested in the job, but it's not what it used to be. Glacier has resources that they can bring to the table while everyone works to figure out how to survive in today's media market. 

"It took some time to get my head around the sale. There is a lot of pride in building this from scratch. I took pride in being independent. But it was time."

Halifax magazine editor builds a fitter self

Before

When Halifax magazine editor Trevor Adams wanted a gimmick for his January health and wellness issue, he started a project called Building a Better Editor, with the goal of trimming down 40 of his 215 pounds by Canada Day. According to his blog, when the deadline came, he had taken off 41 pounds of fat, reduced his waist size from 38 to 32 and added 7 pounds of muscle. 

"Those are delightful numbers, but even without the numbers, I know this a success. Like I said...I feel so much better. I’m at a weight I haven’t seen since Grade 10, and I’m physically fitter than I imagined possible."

After

His get-fit regime was done in collaboration with GoodLife Fitness Park Lane in Halifax and trainer Jon Ells. Adams  says he's so happy with his new self that he hopes to lose 10 more pounds by Thanksgiving and has taken up running, and even planning to do the Bluenose Marathon. A video chronicles the transformation.

Quote, unquote: many vendors, many metrics, no standards

"If there is no agreed-upon methodology for how consumer engagement with media is counted, then there certainly aren’t any shared definitions for the metrics buyers use to evaluate a publisher’s mobile app or site or a successful mobile ad campaign. Without clear metrics and an established currency, the ability for an efficient marketplace for mobile media to grow will continue to be stymied."

-- Eric John, vice-president, digital services for Alliance for Audited Media, writing on his blog about the bewildering variety of vendors, measurement methods and lack of standards.

Essay revisits unpaid internship issue and its growing visibility

A year ago, Alexandra Kimball wrote an essay in the then-brand-new online magazine Hazlitt (published by Random House Canada) examining the questions surrounding unpaid internships. Now she is revisiting the issue in light of recent developments, largely lawsuits and decisions in the U.S. "Unpaid internships have become visible," she says.

"I’m not sure how to properly communicate how huge this is, how far we’ve come since the spring of 2012, when I sat down to write a screed about the intern system in Hazlitt’s early days. I had been pitching essays about interning for years, with no takers—it was an off-the-radar issue for mainstream media. While the unpaid internship had all but replaced an actual job as the de facto mode of entry-level employment, talking about how shitty and immoral and dangerous this was was not really done. Most people my age and younger had been affected by the rise of internships, but the truth of our experiences—be it the indignity of working for free or, for those who can’t afford to intern, the resentment of being locked out from the get-go—had been buried."

Kimball will be discussing the unpaid internship issue on Thursday on Hazlitt's podcast The Arcade.  

E-book beer history being given away by The Walrus magazine

A free e-book about the history of the Canadian love affair with beer is being offered to iPad users by The Walrus magazine in collaboration with Coach House Books Inc.. Under the Influence: How Labatt and its allies brewed up a nation of beer drinkers is a reprint of an essay by Matthew Bellamy, originally published in the June issue of the magazine. The work was supported in part by financial support from the Writers' Trust of Canada. The e-book version was published in time for Canada Day and is available on iTunes. The cover image of the "stubby" bottle of memory is by Ross MacDonald. 

U.S. consumer mag ad revenue up 1.8% in Q1 2013

Consumer magazine advertising revenues in the U.S. were  up 1.8% in Q1 of 2013, compared with the same period a year ago, according to results of a study released by Kantar Media. This compares with a decline in total ad expenditures across all media of 0.1% mostly attributed to comparisons with 2012, which had the benefit of Olympic advertising. 

National newspapers saw spending decrease 9.2% and local newspapers 3.3%. Network TV spending was down 5.2% while spot TV expenditures were down 2.4%. 

The wayback machine: buyouts; unions; fundraising; swimsuits; copyright; airbrushing

Another in our sporadic, somewhat arbitrary, recollections of posts past on the Canadian Magazines blog. (Named in homage to Peabody's Improbable History, starring the time-travelling dog Dr. Peabody and his faithful boy, Sherman, from the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. 

Five years ago

• Bayard Presse Canada buys out religious partner
• Digital magazine editions are gaining ground, particularly for b-to-b magazines
• You guys are afraid to talk about abortion, Maclean's tells its readers
• Front Page newsstand, an Edmonton fixture, to close up shop
• Will cultural mags be able to meet the CRA fundraising benchmarks?
• Webster relinquishes Maisonneuve publisher job to be a full-time editor

Three years ago

• Canadian Press, a 93-year-old co-op, is to be privatized by its three biggest members
• Will it be the law to disclose that a magazine has airbrushed its cover model?
• Writer's open letter to Canadian writers urgest them to join "a real union"
• BCAMP hits a bump, but recovers with variant on proposed name change
• Indigo Books & Music stores to branch out into more toys, more gifts and photography
• Up Here magazine uses swimsuit models to provoke discussion of climate change

A year ago

• Avenue Calgary out of the chute with Stampede issue on new iPad app
• Elle Canada publishes 2nd cover that's an ad for nail polish
• Dogs in Canada may bound back if publishing partner can be found
• Supreme Court copyright decision does not unleash a "free for all", says Access Copyright
• Sportsnet magazine being sold for a buck a copy
• Leaving magazine publishers in the lurch is bad for the business