The Grid is shutting down

It will be a matter of sadness to its many readers that The Grid, the Toronto weekly magazine published by the Star Media Group (Toronto Star) is being shut down. After 162 issues, it was announced, this Thursday's will be its last. 

The decision, announced by John Cruickshank, the president of Star Media Group, was attributed to insufficient advertising revenue, despite the strong and loyal reader following. 

Among he many ironies of the decision is that The Grid was accreting the kind of young, hip, urban following that the parent company wanted to reach. And in the process had won international prizes as one of the world's best-designed newspapers and many National Magazine Awards for design and writing. Recently, the magazine had significantly reduced its trim size in an apparently unsuccessful attempt to reduce costs. 

The paper was launched in May 2011, succeeding Torstar's Eye Weekly, heralding itself as "a fresh, accessible voice for Toronto". Among other things, it eschewed the sex ads that had been a staple of Eye. 

Among the many things that will likely be missed by its readers is the insightful column The Keenan Wire by Edward Keenan and the energetic infographics that The Grid excelled in.