Let the good times roll: Magazines Canada chair

Magazines Canada has issued a statement saying that, for Canadian magazines at least, the recession is over. 

“Canada’s magazines are back,” says Magazines Canada chair Terry Sellwood. “The economic downturn was very challenging for all publishers but we are seeing some good signs for the year ahead. With continued economic stability in Canada and supportive and predictable government periodical programs, Canada’s magazine media  will do its part in creating jobs and economic growth, and providing ever-increasing choice and convenience for Canadian consumers.”

The industry association says that federal government magazine policy and investment (for example, the Canada Periodical Fund, which represents approximately 3.8% of overall industry value) remains a key factor in the industry's success. It also said that its members have reported some pleasing trends:

• Advertising revenue has been improving over the past two years
• Consumer demand for magazines has remained steady in the past two years, despite the state of the economy; Canada's consumer magazines command over two-thirds of subscription sales in the country
• Canada's magazines are now fully integrated digital media companies. "Readers will continue to rely on the delivery of their print magazines to their mailbox but, today, readers can also access Canadian magazine brands and content almost anytime, anywhere.

Transcon's Larivière joins ABC Canada board

Natalie Larivière, the president of Transcontinental Media (which publishes all its consumer and trade magazines)has joined the board of the Audit Bureau of Circulations' ABC Canada Board Committee.

She has been with Transcontinental since 2006, having previously been president and CEO of the Quebecor Media Book Group.

Shuffle at MagsBC as president and treasurer resign

There have been major changes to the board of the Magazine Association of BC with the resignation of president Elizabeth Rains, treasurer Jennifer MacLeod and director at large Patrick Mackenzie. Macleod is leaving Color magazine in December.While no reason was given for Rains's resignation, it is said to be temporary and she intends to rejoin the board sometime in the future.

Vice-president Kim Mah has stepped in as acting president, pending executive elections at the next board meeting November 30. Two new board members have joined: Michele MacKenzie, marketing consultant at Business in Vancouver magazine; and Alexandra Samur, managing editor of rabble.ca.

Bus shelter ads will promote the new wordmark, name and website of BC magazine association

The transit-using public in the lower Mainland of BC may perhaps get their first inkling of the new branding for Magazine Association of BC (formerly the British Columbia Magazine Publishers Association (BCAMP)). Starting August 16 and running until October 3 large bus shelter ads will feature the cover images of member magazines and the new wordmark and associated new website address (bcmags.com).

BCAMP hits a bump, but recovers with variant on proposed name change

The B.C. Association of Magazine Publishers bumped up against protocol in seeking permission to change its name to Magazines BC. As a result, the association's newsletter reports, it has come up with a close approximation:

Still, the recent annual general meeting decided to exercise discretion and, instead of approving the name change right away, to ask the member magazines to give their assessment of the new name and look:

By doing business as the Magazine Association of BC, the organization hopes to appear more inclusive to industry partners, more memorable to the general public and more appealing to corporate sponsors. (After last month's newsletter was published, we received word from the Protocol Office that the Magazines BC name was not available to us, and thus we proceeded with an alternate option.)

We hope the membership approves of the new marketing name and logo and we look forward to launching our brand refresh (website, stationery, logo for member magazines and websites) in September.

*  *  *

On a separate matter, the newsletter reports that the Canada Periodical Fund will not be funding what has been a very popular program whereby on a bimonthly basis, member magazines were distributed free to 200 medical, dental and legal offices in the Lower Mainland. Heritage said it would not fund the program because it had not produced sufficient results. However, the association hopes to "repackage" it and make it a request circulation arrangement, whereby medical and dental offices would opt in.

Spacing magazine publisher stickhandles drive to legalize road hockey...CAR!

Small magazines sometimes feel they're preaching to the choir, as the saying goes, and may feel they have little influence. But Spacing magazine is proof of the thesis that having their kind of "bully pulpit" can sometimes give influence far larger than their paid circulation.

Matt Blackett, the publisher and designer and general factotum of the urban affairs magazine seems to have tapped into a hunger in the mainstream press for someone to quote on a wide range of city issues. 

Not only has his vocal championing of mass transit got him appointed to the Toronto Transit Commission's new customer service advisory panel and the city's pedestrian committee, but now he's become a spokeperson for the legalization of road hockey. Plus he is quoted regularly in a wide variety of publications and website on other issues such as "guerilla gardening", cycling  and local politics.

This weekend, in the Globe and Mail, he was quoted on the allure of street hockey thus:

As childhood obesity creeps up and the city contemplates different ways to keep kids healthy, Mr. Blackett argues it doesn’t make sense to outlaw one of the simplest. He points to Kingston, whose city council added special provisions to its policing code of conduct in 2008 to permit street hockey.
"Our streets aren’t entirely utilitarian: They're an area that, I think, is somewhat social. ... They can be used in unique and creative ways."

 As I say, publishing a little magazine can make you a go-to source, sometimes on unlikely subjects. It's a measure of the influence that the hard work of publishing an indy magazine can give.

International head of Bauer Media named FIPP president and CEO

The International Federation of the Periodical Press (FIPP) has named Chris Llewellyn, international managing director of Bauer Media, to be president and CEO.

A member of the FIPP management board since 1999, Bauer served as the chair between 2005 and 2007, and succeeds Donald Kummerfeld who has been FIPP CEO since April 2001. Llewwellyn has been the international managing director of Bauer Media (formerly Emap Consumer Media) since 1998. Currently, Bauer Media has some 70 licenses in 36 countries with brands such as FHM, ZOO, CAR, heat, and Closer.

Magazines Canada is a member of FIPP.

FIPP also announced that founding chairman and editor-in-chief of India Today Group, Aroon Purie, has been elected as the new FIPP chairman.

Atlantic Magazines Association lays down a good foundation

The Atlantic Magazines Association (AMA) is off to a good start after its first annual conference in Halifax. [Disclosure: I was a paid speaker and have done some consulting work with them.] The fledgling association has its work cut out for it in part because of a surfeit of geography; most other regional associations (BC, Alberta, Manitoba) don't encompass four provinces and two time zones (well, one-and-a-half). Like other regional associations, they have to cast their net fairly wide and try to serve, and please, large and very small magazines, b2b and consumer titles, association and custom. But also like other regional associations, the AMA can surf along for a time on a wave of goodwill.

The buzz surrounding the conference was very positive and the potential for collaboration is big. Atlantic magazines share some issues with all other magazines; and they have conditions that are particular to their market. One of the ways of dealing with those issues is to work together and learn from each other, from the regional associations and from the national associations (Magazines Canada and Canadian Business Press). This conference was a good start.

Magazines Canada ramps up: when the going gets tough, the tough get going

In response to the storm of depressing magazine news these days, it's encouraging that Magazines Canada is taking several very worthwhile initiatives.

• Two new national association partners have joined the MagNet superconference, held each June (this year June 2 - 5) in Toronto. The Canadian Authors Association (CAA) will hold its annual conference at MagNet 2009, while the Editors' Association of Canada (EAC) will be kicking off its annual conference at MagNet on Friday, June 5 and running until Sunday at 89 Chestnut in downtown Toronto. They join the Professional Writers Association of Canada (PWAC) which last year announced it has integrated its full annual conference program inside MagNet. The other national association partners are Magazines Canada, the Circulation Management Association of Canada (CMC) and the Canadian Society of Magazine Editors (CSME). as a national partner. The National Magazine Awards gala is the evening of June 5.
  
• Magazines Canada is also launching a "toolkit" that contains links to facts, data, video podcasts and newsletters and advisory services, most of which have existed separately, but which haven't been clustered together in one, easy location.
• There is also word that there is a new, tactical promotion initiative in the works, developed with input from the industry's top sales directors, giving Magazines Canada members a new way to reach advertising decision makers.
• Magazines Ontario is being launched, a new microsite within Magazines Canada, serving the specific interests and issues of importance to magazines with an Ontario regional focus. It complements other regionally and provincially based associations. Members of the Magazines Ontario sub-commitee are Sharon McAuley, Toronto Life, Matt Robinson, Outpost, Graham Scott, This Magazine and Terry Sellwood, Quarto Communications (Cottage Life).
  

CBP prez says trade publishing association should stay independent

[This post has been updated.]

Canadian Business Press president Phil Boyd has told Masthead magazine (sub req'd) that he is firmly in favour of maintaining an independent trade publishing organization. This comes on the heels of Rogers Media Publishing withdrawing its membership in CBP and announcing that it was in talks with Magazines Canada about a possible alliance.

Boyd said that the two associations' members had editorial and circulation models that are "fundamentally different".

(Interestingly, while John Milne, the senior vice-president of the Rogers business and professional group had spoken about the need for a unified voice, Magazines Canada has made no comment or any suggestion about a possible merger of the two associations.)

Boyd's remarks were somewhat less conciliatory than the tone immediately after (CBP's website said last week that it was interested in talks about working more closely together with Magazines Canada on merging two, annual competing conferences. That may still be true.)

“Most Western countries have two associations,” Boyd said. “One representing the interests of consumer magazine publishers and one representing the interests of business and professional publishers.”

As one example of the differences, Boyd said:

“[The CBP] believes controlled circulation magazines, which account for the bulk of business and professional titles, should receive PAP assistance,” Boyd said. “For obvious reasons, Magazines Canada would prefer that PAP was only available to paid circulation magazines."

[Phil Boyd points out that he actually said "members of Magazines Canada".]

What should we do about Indigo deal? asks the Book & Periodical Council

The Book and Periodical Council (BPC) is asking its members what stance the organization should take (if any) on the issue of Indigo Books & Music taking over all sales of books and periodicals to school libraries, with the blessing of the Ontario Liberal government.

As you know, during the Ontario Provincial election Premier Dalton McGuinty announced $120 million in additional new funding over four years for books and [school] librarians across the province," said a memorandum to members from Executive Director Anne McClelland. "The Premier made this announcement at an Indigo Books & Music chain bookstore. Heather Reisman [Indigo's CEO] then committed to providing all the books to schools at Indigo’s cost.

"While the announcement in principle is fantastic and everyone is very pleased that the Ontario Liberals are committing to a major funding initiative for school libraries in the province, the proposal to direct the funding for the libraries through one single retailer without any tendering process is of major concern."

BPC is the umbrella organization for associations involved in the writing and editing, publishing and manufacturing, distribution, and selling and lending of books and periodicals in Canada (Magazines Canada is a member). Member organizations are being polled to find out a) whether their organization is taking a position, b) whether they think the BPC has a role to play, c) if so, what role and d) what message should be delivered to the Ontario government.

The McGuinty announcement took the industry completely unaware and seems to ignore the fact that wholesalers and library buying services -- which often handle magazine subscriptions too -- already have arrangements in place with schoolboards and school librarians across the province.

Bob Sexton of Outdoor Canada new CSME president

The Canadian Society of Magazine Editors (CSME) has elected Bob Sexton, associate editor at Outdoor Canada, as its president, according to a report in mastheadonline (sub req'd).

Sexton replaces Douglas Thompson, editor in chief at Canadian Home Workshop, who served as CSME president for three years. Thompson, currently studying for his MBA at the Odette School of Business at the University of Windsor, will stay on in a past president’s role.

The CSME board is:

• President - Bob Sexton, associate editor of Outdoor Canada magazine.
• Vice-President - Laurie Jennings, managing editor of Wish and Gardening Life.
• Treasurer - Angela Keenlyside, senior managing editor of Chirp, chickaDEE and OWL.
• Program/Communications Director - Liann Bobechko, assistant editor at Cottage Life.
• Awards Director - Jodi Avery MacLean, managing editor at Canadian Home Workshop.
• Membership Director - Martin Zibauer, senior editor of Cottage Life.
• Technical Co-ordinator - Jessica Ross, executive editor of Homemakers.