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Masthead News Archives
September 2001
September 2001
| September 28, 2001 Rogers to reinvent Shoppers’ mag TORONTO—Images magazine, a glossy quarterly produced for Shoppers Drug Mart by Multi-Vision Publishing, will be relaunched this coming March by Rogers Media as a 500,000-circ bimonthly called Images Beauty & Health. There will be three separate versions of each edition of the magazine, says Rogers’ Mitch Dent, each targeting a distinct group of Shoppers customers whose buying habits are captured with a loyalty card and databased. Rogers editorial reinvestment is “in the seven-figure range,” adds Mitch Dent. |
| September 27, 2001 Globe retains magazine critic TORONTO—The Globe and Mail has engaged poet and novelist Lynn Crosbie to write regularly on the subject of magazines. Crosbie’s column will appear every other Wednesday. It debuted yesterday with a critique of Spruce, Tyler Brûlé’s new biannual fashion magazine. The idea, says Globe Review editor Simon Beck, is to spark thought about wider cultural issues. Crosbie’s column will serve as “a kind of cultural stepping-off point,” says Beck. “We’ll cover the whole range—from Martha Stewart Living to probably pornography,” he adds. Crosbie holds a Ph.D in English from the University of Toronto and is the author of Paul’s Case, a controversial work of speculative fiction based on convicted murderer Paul Bernardo. |
| September 26, 2001 Maritime media mogul sells mag division HALIFAX—Newfoundland Capital Corp., a Dartmouth, N.S.-based communications company controlled by media-shy media magnate Harry Steele, has jettisoned its magazine publishing division. Halifax-based Metro Guide Publishing, which puts out 10 titles, was sold to long-time employee, publisher Sheila Blair, on Aug. 25. The magazines generate annual revenue of roughly $1.5 million, says Blair. Titles include East Coast Living and Port of Halifax Magazine. In addition to a string of community newspapers, NCC owns more than 30 radio stations across Canada and has amassed the largest commercial printing conglomeration in the Maritimes, generating $30.7 million in sales last year. NCC’s total sales in 2000 were $77.7 million. |
| September 25, 2001 Istona to edit new magazine TORONTO—Mildred Istona, editor of Chatelaine from 1977-1994, is set to return as editor-in-chief of Her Car, a new quarterly scheduled to launch this coming February. National Post automotive writer Graeme Fletcher will be executive editor. Her Car promises to help women make educated automotive-related decisions. It will be produced by Toronto-based custom publisher Clarco Communications. “It’s clearly an unserved niche in the market,” said Clarco president Michael Clarke. A circulation of 600,000 copies will be distributed primarily via newspapers. |
| September 24, 2001 Computer-to-plate adoption approaches 50% MISSISSAUGA, Ont.—Four out of 10 magazine publishers have fully digitized, filmless production departments. In 1999, less than one out of five publishers had adopted computer-to-plate technology. Look for these and other findings in Masthead’s sixth biennial Production Survey in the October issue of Masthead magazine. |
| September 17, 2001 Axe falls on Saturday Night TORONTO—Saturday Night magazine will cease publication following the Sept. 22 issue. Parent company CanWest Global Communications announced the closure today, citing a need to cut costs. CanWest also announced that 120 jobs at its daily National Post would be lost. Saturday Night magazine, Canada’s oldest consumer magazine, was established in 1887 and has won more National Magazine Awards than any other magazine. Saturday Night was converted from a standalone monthly to a weekly insert to the Post last May, in an attempt to bolster the Post’s weekend circulation war with The Globe and Mail. The glossy weekly was rumoured to have lost at least $5 million in its first year. |
| September 11, 2001 Trudeau issue had record sell-through TORONTO—The special one-time “Trudeau” edition of Maclean’s magazine that appeared last October generated nearly $1.3 million in sales. The perfect-bound, 162-page commemoration of the former prime minister contained no advertising. It appeared on newsstands Oct. 19. Trudeau died three weeks earlier, on Sept. 28. A total of 126,849 copies sold at $9.95 each. With a press run of 146,273, sell-through was a record-setting 87%, says Maclean’s executive editor Michael Benedict. |
| September 10, 2001 Small mags lose $4.5 million in funding OTTAWA—Of the Canada Magazine Fund’s $45 million kitty for fiscal 2000-2001, only $25 million was actually handed out by March 31 of this year. As unawarded funds do not carry forward into the next fiscal year, the difference—$20 million—has effectively evaporated. The lucky ones? Editorial component applicants, who received all of the $25 million set aside for them. The losers? Small magazine publishers, who were promised $5 million in funding but received only $503,000 by March 31. Of the $15 million set aside for the CMF’s infrastructure development component, roughly $1 million was dispersed. |
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| Jaded says: | |
Wow, Torstar really seems to be on a mission to bankrupt one magazine after another.... |
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| Lorene Shyba says: | |
Full of terrific information, Thanks!... |
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