Alberta announces $650,000 funding increase for province's magazines

The Alberta government has announced funding boost for Alberta’s magazine publishers of $219,000 a year over the next four years. According to a post in  the Edmonton Journal, culture and tourism minister Ricardo Miranda said the funding — which increases annual support for the sector to $650,000 — will help grow a sustainable magazine publishing industry in Alberta.

“Alberta magazines are experiencing a renaissance and provide readers with unique literary and visual experiences,” he said. “I encourage all Albertans to pick up an Alberta magazine to explore new ideas.”

Joyce Byrne, president of the Alberta Magazine Publishers Association, said the cash will help boost capacity and broaden the impact of Alberta-grown magazines.

Alberta publishers produce nearly 200 titles annually, delivering 18 million copies to readers each year.

Sticking up for magazines

Some people in the business may be finding it heavy sledding defending the future and health of magazines in the wake of the Rogers Publishing announcement last week*.

But Joyce Byrne showed a lot of spunk (and had some fun) explaining what the situation means to host Rob Brown and his call-in listeners on Wednesday on CBC Alberta@Noon in Calgary. Byrne is the publisher of Avenue Calgary and is the president of the Alberta Magazine Publishers Association. 

*Rogers is closing the print versions of some well-known magazines (FLARE, Sportsnet, MoneySense and Canadian Business) making them available exclusively on the web, selling off its business-to-business titles and its French language mags (Châtelaine, LOULOU, and L'actualité) and cutting back on frequency of Maclean's, Chatelaine (English) and Today's Parent.
Here's how Byrne set the scene:

"I think as somebody who loves magazine and media and speaks to colleagues and readers and people who work within those brands, "heartbreaking" is the word of the day. Two of those brands are over 100 years old: Maclean's and Canadian Business. Chatelaine was founded in 1928. We're talking about motherhood brands for Canadians and for many people they've been reading them all their lives. It doesn't matter who published them. They invite them into their homes every month, every week and it's difficult to imagine making that transition. A lot of those people probably also consumed the brands in other ways, which is what we see as a pattern in media generally, that people spend a certain amount of time with the brand in one way and just as people might watch television on their computer as well as on the box or listen to radio on their computer while they're moving around. They'll also consume or dip into content on the internet or on social media."

Start at the 30.4-minute mark:  
http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2695923985/

Alberta Oil releases its "top 200" list of energy companies; raises money for Fort McMurray

Alberta Oil magazine today launched its list of the 200 top energy companies in Canada; at the luncheon where the issue was unveiled, the keynote was given by Melissa Blake, the mayor of the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, where the Fort McMurray fire happened. A total of $15,525 was raised out of ticket sales, the Builders’ Circle and the Foreman’s Club for The United Way, Fort McMurray.

In introducing the 200 print issue and its comprehesive online package, Nick Wilson, the editor of Alberta Oil said:

"We recognize the impact Fort McMurray has made on this province and our country. The past month has shown us a lot of tragedy, compassion, hope and pride. The individual stories of tragedy, loss and sacrifice, heroism and the kindness of strangers tell the tale of the whole—the spirit of Fort McMurray."

Recognized as Canada's top energy performers were:

• Top Oil Producer – Seven Generations Energy
• Top Gas Producer – Painted Pony Petroleum
• Top Midstream Company – TransCanada
• Top Service Company – Packers Plus

Canadians don't know much about energy industry and don't trust feds and oil companies to inform them

Alberta Oil magazine says that a national survey conducted in late December with Leger, the Research Intelligence Group, shows that Canadians are both largely uninformed about the energy industry and unlikely to trust the federal government and oil companies when it comes to finding out about it. 

(The National Survey on Energy Literacy was based on online interviews with 1,396 online interviews, including 508 Albertans.)

Max Fawcett, the editor of Alberta Oil, reports some of the highlights in an online newsletter

When asked who they trust on key issues related to energy literacy, Canadians consistently ranked oil and gas industry groups, oil and gas companies and the federal government near the bottom of the list. On carbon emissions, for example, only 10.2 per cent of Canadians said they trust oil and gas companies. Independent organizations and NGOs, on the other hand, were trusted by 40.1 per cent, with the academic community scoring the highest at 53 per cent. 

The survey also revealed that Canadians remain, by and large, uninformed about many key issues related to energy production and distribution. They did not know, for example, that BC is not the only province with a carbon tax or levy (Alberta has one as well), or that they’re directly invested in the energy sector through the Canada Pension Plan. Their lack of knowledge about energy issues isn’t a mystery to them, mind you – only 31 per cent of Canadians said that they felt well informed about issues related to energy production and consumption. 

Other interesting results include the deep vein of opposition to the energy sector in Quebec, which suggests that the forthcoming conversation about the proposed Energy East pipeline will be just as rancorous as the ones in British Columbia have been, and the relatively strong support for a meaningful price on carbon. Indeed, there’s more support in Alberta for such a policy than there is in B.C. 

If there’s a silver lining in the results for the energy sector, it’s that the majority of Canadians have not yet made up their mind on issues like hydraulic fracturing and pipeline projects – and are therefore open to being brought around to their perspective. But they have their work cut out for them, as this survey shows.

The magazine provides an online energy literacy test so readers can assess how well they understand the sector.  

Achievers announced for Alberta Magazine Awards

The Alberta Magazine Awards give out two kinds of awards: their showcase awards across a number of categories (see earlier post); and the Achievement Awards, recognizing the accomplishments, innovation and creativity of individuals and publications in the province's magazine industry. The Achievement Awards are announced in advance of the gala which takes place March 5 in Calgary, plus the final shortlist of 3 is announced for Magazine of the Year.) The gala is part of the two day 19th annual Alberta Magazine Conference at the Carriage House Inn in Calgary March 5 and 6. 

This year's achievers are:

• Achievement in Publishing, Chris Bird, Fly Fusion Magazine
• Editor of the Year. Steven Sandor, Avenue Edmonton
• Volunteer of the Year, Jennifer Schmidt-Rempel, Lethbridge Living
• Best New Magazine (Recipient), Grains West

• Magazine of the Year (Shortlist) 
• Avenue Calgary
• Avenue Edmonton
• Glass Buffalo

View the complete list of finalists and read the entries

Alberta Showcase honours the best in the province's magazine publishing

UPPERCASE magazine  of Calgary won both as Magazine of the Year and editor of the year for Janine Vangool, its publisher and editor, at last night's Alberta Magazines Showcase Awards. Tom Tait, the owner and publisher of Galleries West received the Achievement in Publishing award for being an innovator in publishing operations for more than 30 years, and is a strong supporter of the province’s magazine publishing industry.

A release from the Alberta Magazine Publishers Association (AMPA) reported the highlights:

Calgary’s Swerve magazine came away with numerous awards including Gold in Essay, Feature Design, Photograph (Landscape, Still Life and Architecture) and Service; and Silver in the Alberta Story and Service categories. Eighteen Bridges, a national-award winning magazine grounded in the narrative tradition, also had a strong showing, taking Gold in Cover, Feature Writing (Short), Fiction and Poetry; and a Silver award in Fiction. 

Alberta Views accepted Gold awards, in the Alberta Story, Illustration and Photograph (People & Portraiture) categories. Also receiving Gold awards were Alberta Venture for Profile, FreeFall for Emerging Writer, UPPERCASE for Art Direction for a Single Issue, and Westworld for Digital Presence.

Best New Magazine was awarded to Glass Buffalo, a literary magazine launched in 2012 to showcase the creative writing talents of students and alumni at the University of Alberta.  Emily Ursuliak received the Volunteer of the Year award for her contributions to filling Station magazine this past year.

Full list of Showcase Awards winners, including contributors and articles

Alberta magazines are winners at awards program

Eighteen Bridges magazine, based in Edmonton, was one of the multiple award winners in the Alberta Magazine Awards, announced last Thursday at a gala event in Calgary. It took a gold in Fiction, Poetry and Profiles and silver in Alberta Story, Essay and Profile categories. Other winners included Calgary’s UPPERCASE magazine, which won both gold and silver awards in the Art Direction for a Single Issue category. Alberta Views won gold in the Essay category, and Alberta Oil won gold in Illustration. Calgary’s Swerve magazine also had a strong showing with a gold in the Alberta Story, Feature Design and Service categories, and Silver in Illustration.

Two previously announced awards were presented: Mike Ganley received the Editor of the Year award for his accomplishments with Alberta Venture, the province's premiere business magazine published by Venture Publishing Inc. There was a standing ovation for Calgary-based publisher Elaine Kupser who received the career Achievement in Publishing Award. She launched IMPACT magazine in 1991 with $5,000 seed money and a love of fitness and has gone on to become a leader in both the fitness and publishing industries with offices in Calgary and Vancouver.    

A full list of winners  in the 14 showcases is available, along with articles to download. The awards program is managed and hosted by the Alberta Magazine Publishers Association.                                                                                

Field and Stream editor to be keynote speaker at Alberta Magazines Conference

Anthony Licata, the award-winning editor of Field and Stream magazine, is the keynote speaker at the Alberta Magazines Conference, Thursday and Friday, March 24 and 25 in Calgary. The conference features the Alberta Magazine Awards and a number of important seminars by such industry leaders such as Martin White, talking about online sales, Luke Hayman of New York's Pentagram on digital design, Eithne McCredie on circulation and Scott Bullock talking about newsstands. There is also a Friday trade show. More information on events, speakers and prices can be found in the impressive conference brochure.

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.