The year in Canadian magazines

Canadian Magazines is taking a brief holiday from posting, as it does this time of year. We'll be back on January 2. In the meantime, and as a wrapup of the year just past (towards the end, there, 2008 was getting a bit grisly, wasn't it?) we present our annual, completely arbitrary, listing of some of those posts (just click on the heading for the link to the whole story -- remember search our archives for any other story.)

Best wishes for the season to all our readers; we've grown more than 70% in visits and page views since last year at this time; thanks to you.

And, as always, we'll appreciate even more tips in 2009 with information about what's going on in your magazine, your publishing company or the Canadian magazine industry.

January

It's big, but I don't like what you've done with it...
Toronto Star architecture critic Christoper Hume, writing about Toronto Life's purchase of naming rights on the corner of Yonge and Dundas Streets in Toronto, called the branded building "not just an offence against good taste, but a crime against urbanity."

They're not old people, they're consumers
Moses Znaimer is going to launch Zoomer, conjuring it out of CARP, the magazine for the 50-plus. Former Flare editor Suzanne Boyd to be editor.

Going out in style
John Macfarlane, the editor of Toronto Life for 15 years, helms his last issue. What was he going to miss? "The talented people".

February

What took you so long?
Maryam Sanati is promoted from deputy editor to editor-in-chief of Chatelaine, after a months-long international search to replace Kim Pittaway, who resigned.

It's not us, Ken, it's you...
Both senior editors at The Walrus -- Marni Jackson and Nora Underwood -- go on leave, simultaneously, ostensibly because heavy editing responsibilities interfered with books they wanted to write.

All in the family
François Olivier became president and chief executive officer (replacing Luc Desjardins) of Transcontinental Inc. so it is once again more or less a family-run business (except for those pesky shareholders). Olivier was Chief Operating Officer and is son-in-law of founder and chairman Rémi Marcoux.

March

Sunday funnies
Bob Hambly of the Toronto design firm of Hambly & Woolley turns out to have completed his 500th illustration (!) for the "Lives" back page of the New York Times Sunday magazine.

Glowing achievement or glaring mistake?
Vice magazine sells a glow-in-the-dark front cover campaign to auto company BMW.

We don't know her and we don't like her already
Jessica Rose was named Toronto Life art director and the choice of someone without magazine experience for this marquee job drew a lot of criticism; it was one of the blog's most-read, most commented-upon items of the year.

But who's counting?
Masthead reports a 15% decline in magazine launches.

April

Happy birthday to us
Chatelaine launches redesigned, biggest issue to mark its 8oth anniversary.

Almost as long as it takes to get an invoice paid around here
The Toronto Freelance Editors and Writers listserv notes that it's, more or less, 10 years old.

B2B to be eligible for MC
Magazines Canada's board announces it is recommending that trade magazines be eligible for membership in the association. Phil Boyd of Canadian Business Press is not well pleased.

Racks going to ruin
Vancouver's Magpie Magazine Gallery announces it is to close; blames iPods and distributors.

A man outstanding
It is announced that Charles Oberdorf, writer, editor, teacher, is to be honoured for outstanding achievement by the National Magazine Awards Foundation gala in June.

May

All revved up
Motorcycle Mojo magazine scoops the world with a cover story about the " Uno", a funky electric unicycle.

What ever happened to...?
Michael Ignatieff was one of four Canadians named by Foreign Policy magazine in the U.S. and Prospect magazine in Britain to their list of 100 leading world intellectuals.

What a flap!
Better Farming magazine wins a Canadian Association of Journalists award for its investigation of a pigeon-breeding pyramid scheme.

Mr. and Mrs. Magazine
Linda and Jim Gourlay of Saltscapes in Halifax named to jointly receive the volunteer of the year award from Magazines Canada.

Alert for Amber
A well-respected Calgary freelancer, Amber Bowerman, was one of five people killed in a multiple murder-suicide in a Calgary home where she rented a room.

June

You can subscribe, but it'll cost ya...
Canada Post pushes ahead with intention to implement distance-based pricing.

We imagine they leapt for joy
Dance Current magazine celebrates 10 years

The first day of the rest of her life...
Cobi Ladner resigns as editor of Canadian House & Home. It meant a lot to people, because this item was viewed more than any other on Canadian Magazines.

My work is done...
Ken Alexander resigns as editor of The Walrus.

Good doggie
Time Inc. unveils Newshound, a "mix 'n' match" consumer subscription site.

July

The father of us all
Clay Felker, the founder and visionary of New York magazine, dies at 82

That was a short retirement
John Macfarlane named to be interim editor of The Walrus magazine.

Go with God
Bayard Presse Canada, the publishers of Owl, Chickadee and Chirp, buys out its religious partner, the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate.

Last call
Front Page, a much-loved Edmonton newsstand, announces it is closing up.

Twice as nice
PMB announces that it will move to bi-annual release of data in 2009.

That happened at This
Graham Scott named editor of This Magazine.

Biting the hand that fed you
Douglas Bell, until recently a daily blogger at Toronto Life (now blogs for the Globe and Mail) takes his former employers to task for misleading its readers about gun violence in the city: "[it] fails in even one instance to place this 'trend' in any sort of context. The issue is violence, not guns."

August

Editorial. Retail. We do it all
A former editor of Flare magazine, Bonnie Brookes, is named chief executive officer of The Bay.

Electrons, not atoms, geddit?
Kat Tancock of Best Health magazine launches an online magazine blog.

We're dancing as fast as we can
The Department of Canadian Heritage says that the implementation of the Canada Periodical Fund (the merger of the Publications Assistance Program and the Canada Magazine Fund) won't come into force until fiscal 2010. Seems it was harder to do than they expected.

Robber barons we know and admire
Ken Whyte, the publisher and editor of Maclean's magazine, publishes a biography of William Randolph Hearst and says he's going to set the record straight. Yes, Hearst fomented the Spanish-American War. But who's perfect?

Re Cycling
The first issue of Dandyhorse, a magazine for city cyclists, is launched in Toronto

September

Freelancers of the world, unite!
Former editor of Toro magazine, Derek Finkle, announces that he is going to start a literary agency to represent independent writers of all kinds, including magazine freelancers. Today, $1 a word. Tomorrow?

Rack 'em up!
Coast to Coast Newsstand services publishes a 2007 box score for the newsstand sales of Canadian and U.S. titles on Canadian newsstands; the number one spot among Canadian magazines is Hello! Canada. None of the top 10 and only three of the top 20 newsstand sellers are Canadian.

My store, my racks, my rules
Indigo Books & Music tells publishers that, within 5 years it will only sell magazines that have at least 50% recycled paper; this comes on top of its edict that magazines that sell in its stores must sell 50% of their draw or be dropped.

One side, I'm a lawyer
Maclean's magazine's rankings of the country's law schools is criticized for its methodology and its intentions.

One side, I'm a water bottler
The industry association for the people who put water in plastic bottles criticizes an article in Canadian Water Treatment magazine which says that bisphenol A is leaching out of plastic bottles and cans, with possible very serious side effects.

One side, I'm a copyright cop
A new, web-based product called iCopyright helps publishers fingerprint their content and track when someone uses it without permission or payment.

Happy anniversary I
Cottage Life staff celebrates Penny Caldwell's 50th issue by hijacking her editor's blog.

Happy anniversary II
The Walrus celebrates its 5th anniversary.

Go figure...
Jewish Living magazine, started in New York by former Toronto Life art director Carol Moskot and her husband, Dan Zimerman, folds after only five issues.

October

I thought you told them...
Books in Canada magazine turns out to be out of business, but forgot to tell the funders.

Wearing two hats; one of them for gardening
Erin McLaughlin the editor of Transcon's Canadian Home & Country magazine, assumes the additional duties of editor-in-chief of Canadian Gardening. Aldona Satterthwaite, the editor since January 2001, moves on.

We're outta here...well, we're half outta here
North Island Publishing announces it is folding Masthead magazine and its companion website, mastheadonline. (Postscript: it later changes its mind and says it will keep publishing the website.)

We're also outta here...
Frank magazine folds. Founder Michael Bate says it is "time to move on". Fans of Remedial Media suffer in silence.

November

Reaching the end of their leash
DogSport magazine of Guelph is sold to one of its major advertisers, a U.S. manufacturer of dog agility products.

Where do we sign?
A study done for the Ontario Media Development Corporation recommends that Ontario create a refundable tax credit for magazines, the only cultural industry in the province that doesn't have one.

Shocked and appalled
A Toronto Life cover story on an "honour killing" draws harsh criticism from critics who say it should be ashamed to foster sterotypes; editor Sarah Fulford says, far from being ashamed, she's proud of it.

The medium gets a message
Magazines Canada hires the ad firm Zulu to promote magazine to agencies and advertisers.

When the going gets tough, the tough close magazines
St. Joseph Media announces the closure of Gardening Life and Wish magazines, in anticipation of plummeting advertising sales.

Will they give out diplomas?
Canadian Business Press, the trade association for b2b magazines, buys Magazines University from North Island Publishing and intends to continue with a June conference under that name, in direct competition with Magazines Canada and its partners in MagNet.

Well, it's a start...
Zoomer magazine reports a $402k loss on $1.7 million of income in its first quarter.

December

Gentlemen, start your negotiations...
The Canadian Writers Group, the literary agency started by former Toro editor Derek Finkle, says it has signed 200 people to its list, even before making a swing through the west.

R.I.P. Ted Rogers
Ted Rogers dies at 75. He ran Canada's largest magazine publisher (consumer and trade). He had no sooner expired than...

No offence, you're fired
...Rogers Media lets 100 people go across all its properties, including magazines and the Blue Jays baseball front office. It described it delicately as "right sizing" and said that those chosen for the chop shouldn't think it had anything to do with the quality of their work.

It's not the principle, it's the money
Maisonneuve magazine said it could no longer afford to run its daily MediaScout online briefing about the journalism of the big players in publishing and television.

We thought you'd already gone...
Time Canada is folded and its ad sales staff let go. The editorial staff went some time ago. Canadians will now get the U.S. edition, says the company, which is what they've essentially given Canadians for years.

The year in Canadian magazines

Canadian Magazines is taking a brief holiday, back on January 2 with a whole new year of news, notes and comments on the industry. To wrap up this year, here's an almost completely arbitrary listing of some of the things that we posted about this year, with links to the actual stories.

Best of the season to you and yours.

Make a new year's resolution to send us a tip in 2008.

January

The big dogs play nice together
Rogers and Quebecor announced an alliance whereby Rogers magazine and website content would show up on Quebecor's Canoe site.

No tag days for them, then
Masthead magazine released a salary survey that showed the median salary for a big magazine publisher was $100,000 (and for a small/medium one $36,000).

Cover-up girl
A Toronto-based company launched Muslim Girl, aimed mostly at teens in the U.S. market. The first issue had a hijab-wearing 16-year-old girl from Tulsa, Oklahoma.

But it's a dry cold
Regina's Mayor Pat Fiacco goes ballistic over an article in Maclean's that his city contains Canada's worst neighbourhood.

So far, not so good
Six months after launching the Canadian edition of Hello!, Rogers dumps its entire team (publisher, editor and art director) and hands the magazine over to be administered by the franchise holder in Spain.

Unpaid, but undaunted
Research seems to show that Canadian magazines benefit from more than 631,000 volunteer hours a year.

Waddadeal!
Magazines Canada launched a "Buy 2, Get One Free" direct mail offer to more than 1 million Canadians on behalf of member magazines.

May contain nipples
Maisonneuve magazine had to polybag an issue in deference to the tender sensibilities of Chapters/Indigo stores to permit it to be sold on their racks. The magazine contained some tasteful nude photos.

Well-written, though
An article by an anonymous student from an unnamed journalism school said that she routinely cheated and made up interviews to fulfill her assignments.

IPA. R.I.P.
The Independent Press Association folded.

February

Asper-ation
CanWest Global Communications buys The New Republic magazine.

Less is more at Marketing
Rogers's Marketing magazine cuts its frequency to biweekly and trims its page size, putting more faith and attention to its daily online news service.

Last gasp for Toro
Toro magazine closes because its rich owner lost interest; posts its last issue online, without ads.

Big and mean
In a move that scared the wits out of small magazines, Chapters/Indigo announced that magazines would have to sell 50% of their draw if they wanted to stay on their racks.

And the silver goes to...
The Canada Council for the Arts celebrates its 50th anniversary.

March

More readers, that's good isn't it?
Hill Strategies Group reported that an analysis of Statistics Canada data showed that there were 3.2 million more readers in Canada than there were in 1992.

10 years and counting
Alberta Venture magazine, the business title that covers a booming province, marks its 10th anniversary.

Green and keen
Canada Wide Media launches Granville, a title about sustainable living for Vancouver.

Buying the sizzle
Transcontinental launches More magazine (a joint venture with giant Meredith Corporation -- Better Homes & Gardens etc.) with 70,000 subs already signed up.

It seemed like a good idea at the time
Maisonneuve magazine of Montreal announces that it won't, after all, launch a city magazine.

No more moose mugs
Canadian Geographic announces it is getting out of the merchandise business.

Saint June
June Callwood wins the Writer's Trust Outstanding Contribution Award. Best known as a campaigner for the disenfranchised, the longtime freelancer told the crowd her proudest accomplishment was to be a journalist and said: If any of you happens to see an injustice, you are no longer a spectator, you are a participant and you have an obligation to do something.
Callwood died in April.

The doyenne of Chatelaine
Doris Anderson, who turned Chatelaine magazine into one of the most successful magazines in Canada in the 1960s and '70s, dies age 85.

April

Online and on a tear
Online advertising tops $1.1 billion in Canada in 2006, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada.

Guess what we're thinking
The Canada Council was roundly criticized for changing the rules for its Supplementary Operating Funds initiative in mid-process, then lamely saying that the changes were published on its website. After asking people to "think big" and being overwhelmed by applications, the result was that many applicants "got small"; asking for $50,000 and getting $10,000.

Once the smoke had cleared...
A new open-source online medical journal called Open Medicine springs from the aftermath of the firing of the editors of the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

Peeling away
Rob Laidlaw and Jessie Rasch sell their extremely successful Modified Automotive Group to Primedia for an undisclosed sum.

Toronto Life's name in lights
St. Joseph Corporation buys the naming rights to the intersection of Yonge and Dundas Streets in Toronto and dubs it Toronto Life Square.

Big payday for Brunico
Brunico Communications Inc., publisher of Strategy, Playback and Media in Canada, is sold to a group of private investors for an estimated $10 million.

May

A standup guy
Maclean's editor and publisher Ken Whyte testifies as a character witness at the trial of his old National Post and Saturday Night proprietor, Conrad Black.

Hook, line and merger
Ontario Out of Doors (Rogers) decides to merge its Spring Fishing Show with the Canadian National Sportsmen's Show.

Always with his hand up
Terry Sellwood, the general manager of Quarto Communications (Cottage Life, explore) and former president of the National Magazine Awards, is named Volunteer of the Year by Magazines Canada.

Maybe the magazines just got heavier
A report by Michael Fox for Magazines Canada reports that Canada Post's margins for delivering magazines slid to only 4% because of an astonishing 10% increase in costs.

The lure of the open road
Bill Shields, the editor of Masthead magazine, resigns after six years to spend time travelling around and motorcycle racing.

June

Selling and buying
Quebecor Media buys Osprey Media Income Fund for $517 million.

Young and fuelish
Venture Publishing announces the launch of unlimited, a business magazine for the young and hip of Alberta, and elsewhere.

Double-booked
Both MagNet (Magazines Canada etc.) and Magazines University (Canadian Business Press and Masthead) hold industry conferences within weeks of each other.

Fair dealing
The first rumblings of discontent emerge about differential pricing between Canada and the U.S., as the loonie gains ground.

Best face forward
Maisonneuve wins best of show at the annual newsstand awards.

R.I.P.
Beloved circulator Terri DeRose dies.

Up is the new down
A study shows that the magazine and newspaper trade deficit with the U.S. has grown by 18% since 2000.

July

They like us, they really like us
The Canadian Business Press cuts a membership deal with its American counterprt, American Business Media. Under the deal, CBP members get passwords for the ABM site and access to various deals and benefits.

Print is so yesterday
Digital Journal magazine goes wholly online.

Sara, we hardly knew ye
After only 13 months on the job, Sara Angel departs Chatelaine.

It's an honour just to work here
The Walrus magazine internships -- originally among the most generous in the business -- switch to unpaid when Metcalfe Foundation funding ends.

Timmies on us!
The Canada Council receives a permanent $30 million funding increase.

Take it out in trade
The Professional Writers Association of Canada starts an online store to sell mugs, t-shirts and bumper stickers.

The rats aren't too happy, either
Maclean's cheeses off lawyers by calling them rats on its cover.

What didn't you understand about "worst"?
The Beaver's contest to find The Worst Canadian backfires somewhat when people flood the site and name former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.

August

Jim takes it easy
Jim Ireland, the well-known art director for many Canadian magazines, sells his shop , retires and gets some time for painting.

Please allow six weeks for delivery
Magazines Canada's second direct mail campaign on behalf of participating member magazines sells a record 10,000 subs.

Trading places
Marco Ursi is named editor of Masthead magazine, replacing Bill Shields (see May).

Madame Minister Meets Magazines
Josée Verner, formerly Minister of International Co-operation and Minister for La Francophonie and Official Languages is named Minister of Canadian Heritage, responsible for the Canada Magazine Fund and PAP. Her first question? What's PAP?

Pass the K.D.
Redwood Custom Communications loses the account to produce custom magazines What's Cooking (Canada) and Food and Family (U.S.) for Kraft Foods. Layoffs ensue.

Flare gets a makeover
Flare magazine unveils a new look with its September issue.

Block that error
Cynthia Brouse publishes what we think is the first Canadian textbook on fact-checking (or is that fact checking?).

September

Espace
Spacing magazine launches a Montreal blog, complementing its Toronto version.

Singles and available
Canadian Living and Canadian House & Home are best Canadian newsstand performers in a list compiled by Coast to Coast Distribution Services.

Not so sweet
Rogers venture into a partnership with Canada Post, using its lists of people who recently moved, ends with the closure of Chocolat. Move they did. Subscribe? They did not.

Explanation for the nation
Christopher Moore in the Literary Review of Canada, tries his best to explain the many nuances of the decision in the case of Robertson vs. Thomson et. al. Freelancer Heather Robertson has spent 10 years fighting for the right to be paid by publishers who put her stories in databases and online.

Single and substantial
The Canadian single copy magazine market is demonstrated to be 13% of the North American single copy market, the first time that figure has been known.

Miss you already, John
John Macfarlane announces he will be stepping down after 15 years as editor of Toronto Life; to be succeeded by Sarah Fulford.

Osprey dives into the sun
Former Osprey Media Income Fund CEO Michael Sifton takes over as CEO of Sun Media after his company is swallowed.

No chicken neck yet
Fashion magazine celebrates 30 years.

October

Our man in Toronto
Rogers Media announces that it is going to sell ads in Canada for Hearst Magazine online properties.

Indas morphs into CDS
Indas Limited, one of Canada's two major fulfillment companies, which has been owned for a while by CDS Global, is rebranded to make it official.

What rhymes with 40?
Malahat Review marks 40th anniversary by celebrating work of co-founder Robin Skelton.

The right has left
The Western Standard folds its print edition; may carry on online.

Here's your list, what's your hurry?
Canadian Geographic lets its entire circulation department go, on top of other recent departures and the closing of its merchandising division.

But who's counting?
Ontario gets its 6th culture minister in 7 years.

Getting the lead out
Consumer advocate magazine Protégez-Vous beats back an attempted injunction to stop it publishing a story that say MegaBlocks toys have lead in them.

Bedside companion
Harrowsmith Country Life publishes an "all Canadian" almanac. Sells out 100,000 and reprints.

MARD?
Marketing and CARD merge their staffs.

Crosstown trip
Andrew Coyne the columnist leaps from the National Post to Maclean's.

Bad enough that I don't get paid...
Readers get to vote on applications for online interns at Flare.

November

Someday my print will go
Quebecor World sells its perennially troubled European printing division. [Within weeks, the deal falls through.]

Mazel tov
Former Toronto Life art director Carol Moskot and her husband, former ad agency guy Daniel Zimmerman, launch Jewish Living in New York to some acclaim.

CP Gone
The Canadian Press retires its CP symbol.

Not what we had in mind
Universities, many of whom were boycotting the whole business, howl because Maclean's changes its methodology for its university rankings and their standings fall.

Sneaky
This blog reveals that some U.S. publishers are using split run covers to remove U.S. prices and keep higher Canadian prices instead, despite the soaring loonie.

No more Mr. Nice Copy
Access Copyright sues Staples for $10 million for copyright infringement because it won't police profligate use of pay-as-you-go photocopiers.

Depressing news
Two, competing, magazines about depression are to be launched in the spring; one from each of the former partners in Schizophrenia Digest and BP magazine.

Fine-tuning the Magawards
The National Magazine Awards Foundation board approves a bunch of changes.

We're outta here
Rogers announces that it is pulling its trade magazines out of membership in the Canadian Business Press.

December

Et, voila!
Quebecor's TVA magazines join Magazines Canada, adding a much needed boost of French titles to the national association.

It pays to advertise
A special 6-month promotion called the Best of B.C., co-ventured by the Periodical Marketers of Canada and the British Columbia Association of Magazine Publishers, resulted in a 7-fold increase in sales.

Dinged by Disticor
Disticor Direct increases its fuel surcharge by 20%, without notice.

Zoomer moves
Bonnie Baker Cowan, the editor of CARP, the magazine for the 5o-plus, has resigned, following the takeover of the magazine and the parent association by Moses Znaimer.

Vive le difference
The Beaver magazine publishes for the first time in both English and French editions, marking the 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec.

Wish it hadn't happened?
In a bizarre twist, the reader forums of Wish magazine (St. Joe's) is hacked by radical Turkish nationalists.

Little gone books
Toronto Life discontinues its "little red books", the outserts that were polybagged with each issue. The decision is coincident with the departure of the man who invented them, editor John Macfarlane.