Still time: register for fall 2018 magazine and digital magazine courses in Ryerson's Chang School

There are still a few days to take advantage of registering for some excellent fall-term magazine and digital publishing courses at Ryerson's Chang School. (We like to think that the Labour Day weekend helps concentrate people's minds!)

• Magazine and Website Publishing (CDJN 112) This course provides an overview of the business challenges and opportunities confronting magazine publishers today. All aspects of managing magazines, print or web-based, are touched upon: editorial, marketing, management, integration of web and print, advertising, production, and distribution; plus the challenges in starting a new publication. Guest speakers from the industry provide insights and the chance to ask questions and discuss issues. (Instructor: D. B. Scott)
• Writing for Magazines and the Web (CDJN 117) Intended for those with a serious interest in writing and selling non-fiction articles to print or online magazines or other communication venues, this is an introduction to the basics of conceiving, focusing, pitching, researching, structuring, writing and revising both short and longer feature articles. The course includes lecture/instruction, classroom exercises, and writing workshops with feedback from peers and the instructor. In addition to the recommended reading and weekly handouts, students are expected to read a wide variety of Canadian and American periodicals, and to complete (for grading) four shorter writing assignments, and one (1,000-word) feature story on a topic of their choice, targeted to an online or print publication. (Instructor: Diane 
• Advanced Feature Writing  (CDJN 118)  This project-intensive advanced course is designed for serious students of magazine feature writing to further develop their reporting and narrative skills. Students must have a familiarity with the basics of conceiving and focusing story ideas for specific markets as well as the fundamentals of researching, reporting, interviewing and writing, (such as covered in CDJN 117.) The course emphasizes what is called literary journalism, which combines journalism's concern for solid reporting and factual accuracy with many of the dramatic techniques of fiction. At its best, this kind of feature writing holds readers' interest, entertaining them while simultaneously providing the depth and context necessary to understand complex issues and events or capture the essence of a profile subject. There will be short writing assignments as well as one longer feature, which must contain some or all of the elements of the course: evidence of on-the-scene reporting, a narrative arc consisting of a well-crafted beginning-middle-end, character development, the use of dialogue instead of (or in addition to) traditional quotation, the use of symbol to support theme, etc. Students are expected to come to the first class prepared to discuss story ideas and move on quickly to writing a query letter. (Instructor: David Hayes)
• Magazine Copy Editing (CDJN 119)  This course is an introduction to the skills and knowledge required to ensure a high degree of clarity, consistency, and accuracy, as well as precise and appropriate use of language, in magazine editorial copy - print or digital based. After a magazine article has been edited, the copy editor attends to the finer details - checking grammar, punctuation, spelling, consistency of style, logic, and usage - and shepherds the article through the proofreading and production process. These "polishing" skills will be covered in this course, along with commonly used reference works, Canadian spelling, proofreader's marks, copy editing on computers, copy fitting, line editing, bias-free language, working with designed pages, and writing display copy. (Instructor: Bernadette Kuncevicius)
• The Online Publishing Toolkit (CDJN 207)  Print remains important, but online or digital publishing is gaining ground, seeing some titles moving (or launching) wholly online. Today's publisher or editor needs to manage "print plus": a modern multi-platform, multi-media magazine. Find out how to deliver content to readers whenever, wherever, and however they wish. Learn about such vital tools as content management systems, mobile apps, "the cloud," digital versions and mobile editions, social media, micro sites, analytics, ad portals, and more. (Instructor: Graham F. Scott)

TIME cover does it again

The latest in a series of excellent illustrated covers. 

This Mag launches a national talk series

This Magazine is to launch a national talk series in the fall., the first it has ever done. Cleverly titled We Need to Talk about This, each city's event will have a different topic and a diverse lineup of speakers. 

The talks will be in Montreal, Halifax, Vancouver, Calgary and Winnipeg, kicked off with the first event September 27 at 7 pm at the Glad Day Bookshop in Toronto. The topic there, featuring Farrah Khan, RM Vaughan and Alex Verman, is about LGBTQ issues, focussing on the big question “In what ways are LGBTQ communities experiencing violence today, and how are we working to fix it?”

Mag world view: Interview rebirth; Wrong questions about mags?; Teens shun print; Stack -- still all about print

• Interview Relaunch Proves There's Life Yet in High-End Magazines  (The Guardian)
• Welcome Back: A Magazine Relaunch Musing… (Mr. Magazine)
• Are We Asking the Wrong Questions About Magazines? Linda Thomas Brooks Thinks So (Folio:)
• Showstopper Magazine: Celebrating Its First Anniversary With 40 Years Of Teen Dance History & Experience (Mr. Magazine)
• Teens Shun Print Mags,... (Folio:)
• Woman's Weekly's 'exploitative' contracts anger authors (Guardian)
• Magazine subscription service Stack still ‘all about print’ as it marks ten years of sending out random independent titles to members (Press Gazette)
• When it comes to user data, are we done catching Google red-handed? (Nieman Journalism Lab)

Rogers Communications seeks to sell 8 digital and print assets in a package deal

Rogers Communications Inc. is seeking a buyer for a package of eight of its digital and print magazine assets, including Maclean’s, Canadian Business, MoneySense, Today’s Parent, Hello! Canada, Flare and Chatelaine’s French and English editions − as well as its custom-content group according to a story in the Globe and Mail.

The company is looking for a comprehensive deal, including all of the publishing assets on offer, rather than selling them individually.

The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce has been retained to manage the sale.

The magazine sale process comes after Rogers Media laid off 75 full-time employees in June, reducing the size of its digital content and publishing staff by a third. Rogers said at the time that the cost-cutting was designed to keep its publishing business “sustainable.” If a sale were to occur, Rogers would still be in the digital publishing business, largely with websites and apps related to its broadcast businesses, such as CityNews and Sportsnet. Rogers faces challenges seen across the industry, as growth in digital advertising has not been sufficient to make up for steep declines in print revenues.

According to information Rogers provided to potential buyers, the magazines had $12-million in print advertising revenue last year, and $9.5-million in digital ad sales; print circulation accounted for $16.5-million in revenue while digital circulation was roughly $600,000.

Matthew Holmes leaving as president and CEO of Magazines Canada

Matthew Holmes, the president and CEO of Magazines Canada, a role he has held since January 2016, is leaving by the end of August. Holmes will be returning to work in post-secondary education heading up government and industrial relations at Queen's University. A search is underway for his replacement, led by Scott Jamieson, the chair of Magazines Canada and the hiring committee plans to fill the position by fall 2018. 

Advanced Feature Writing with David Hayes

David Hayes is known as not only an excellent magazine freelancer but also an excellent teacher of those who wish to emulate him. His evening course at Ryerson University's Chang School, Advanced Feature Writing (CDJN 118), is intensive, focussed on getting real story ideas published in real magazine markets. Several students each term sell what they write. Expect to hit the ground running and to keep up the pace for 13 weeks, starting Thursday, September 13, 6:30pm. Sign up now.

https://ce-online.ryerson.ca/ce/calendar/default.aspx?id=5&section=course&mode=course&ccode=CDJN+118   

Read more about the course on Hayes's own blog: http://davidhayes.ca/2018/08/advanced-feature-writing-fall-2018

Mag world view: UK Print ads up; Hearst departure; Eddies and Ozzies; NatGeo reorganizes, top 3 out

• Print advertising in UK national papers rises for first time since 2010 (Guardian) 
• British editor Joanna Coles quits Hearst's US glossies (The Times)
• Clowns to the Left of Me… Jokers to the Right: The Independent Publisher in an Age of mergers and acquisitions (Scholarly Kitchen)
• Silence from PR firm BLJ Worldwide over 'recruiting journalists' to support Qatar football World Cup 2020 bid (Press Gazette)
• Folio: Eddie & Ozzie Awards 2018 Finalists Announced (Folio:)
• Upworthy editor steps down as owner Good Media Group culls 31 staff across titles in US (Press Gazette)
• Three Top Execs are Out as National Geographic Partners Reorganizes (Folio:)
• Ink Co-CEO & Founder, Simon Leslie, To Samir “Mr. Magazine™” Husni: “We Support Print Because Print Works.” (Mr. Magazine)
• Publishers Clearing House is surviving the ad duopoly by selling engagement (Digiday)
• What is a Scandinavian media company’s first-ever director of public policy up against? (Nieman Journalism Lab)