Masthead News Archives
May 2000
Tax deductions for split-run ads on the way
Ottawa, Ont., 31 May, 2000: The federal Ministry of Finance is expected to announce changes tomorrow to Section 19 of the Income Tax Act to make good on last May's magazine pact between Ottawa and Washington.

According to a government source, the announcement was originally slated for today, but it was postponed at the last minute.

As it now stands, Section 19 only allows a 100% tax deduction for ads placed in magazines with 75% Canadian ownership and 80% "original content."

That is about to be changed to allow for full deductibility for ads in any title--regardless of the nationality of the ownership--as long as the magazine carries at least 80% Canadian content.

If the Canadian content is between 0% and 79%, a 50% tax deduction will be allowed.

The change is a component of Ottawa's 11th-hour amendments to Bill C-55, which had originally barred foreign publishers from offering "advertising services" in the Canadian market.

Ottawa backed down and agreed to allow exemptions from the legislation after the U.S. threatened to impose lopsided trade sanctions on important Canadian industries such as steel, softwood lumber and textiles.

Another key amendment agreed to last May already allows foreign titles to set aside 12% of their advertising space--without restrictions or content requirements--for Canadian advertisers wanting to exclusively target Canadian readers.

Under this scenario, the impending change to Section 19 will allow Canadian advertisers to deduct 50% of the cost of the ad.

The amount of space foreign publishers can reserve for Canadian advertisers climbs to 15% on Jan. 1, 2001, then to 18% as of July 1, 2002.
DCH says Magazine Fund not ready for Mags
Ottawa, Ont., 30 May, 2000: The Department of Canadian Heritage has cancelled a planned meeting at Magazines University to discuss the nascent Canada Magazine Fund.

DCH officials contacted the Canadian Magazine Publishers Association (CMPA) and the Canadian Business Press (CBP) today to notify representatives of the cancellation.

An official from Inter-Reg, the Ville Saint-Laurent, Que.-based firm handling registration for Mags U, says 112 people had signed up for the Tuesday breakfast session with DCH representatives.

All those who enrolled are being contacted about the cancellation.

According to CBP president Phil Boyd, DCH has delayed the scheduled roll-out of the long-awaited fund because several components have not yet been finalized.

Chief among the areas still to be completed is the Fund's Canadian content component, which is reportedly now being revisited to address concerns that its design excluded small publishers.
Saturday Night exits as a monthly with 13 NMAs
Toronto, Ont., 29 May, 2000: Paul Tough's brief tenure as editor of Saturday Night was amply rewarded Friday night when the erstwhile monthly picked up 13 National Magazine Awards--the evening's most impressive tally for a single magazine.

In all, Saturday Night received six golds and five silvers in the written categories, and one of each in the visual categories.

The honours came just three weeks after the Hollinger-owned title relaunched as a weekly supplement to the National Post under new editor Dianna Symonds (Tough declined an invitation to carry on as editor).

The next best showing at the awards gala--held once again at Toronto's Sheraton Centre--came from Toronto Life, which earned four golds and two silvers for its written submissions and four silvers for its visuals.

The only other magazine with a significant number of awards was Shift, thanks to three golds and one silver in the written categories and three golds and two silvers in the visuals component.

But the evening's top honour--Magazine of the Year--went to Chatelaine, which underwent a complete redesign and market repositioning early last year to capture a younger demographic.

The Rogers Media's flagship women's title also picked up a silver award in the written categories.

Named Best New Magazine, meanwhile, was the association book Montage. Published by the Director's Guild of Canada, the Toronto-based glossy covers the film and television industry

As for awards honouring individuals in the industry, the Outstanding Achievement Award went to Peter C. Newman (see "Newman gets NMAF career award" in this conference), while Yan Muckle took home the Alexander Ross Award for Best New magazine Writer.

Muckle was cited for his recent work in L'actualité, including reports on Alzheimer's sufferers and massacres in Guatemala.

Picking up the prestigious, $3,000 President's Medal--chosen from among the Gold winners in the non-fiction written categories--was Mary Rogan for her Saturday Night piece, "Acts of Faith." Rogan's article also won gold in the Health and Medicine category.

Hosted by Canadian filmmaker Don McKellar, the 23rd annual running of the National Magazine Awards saw 65 winning entries share a total of $64,000 in prize money.

Also winning prizes were: Outdoor Canada (two gold, two silver); The Malahat Review (one gold, two silver); Canadian Geographic (two gold); Canadian Business, L'actualité medicale, Toronto Life FASHION (one gold, one silver); Azure, Border Crossings, enRoute, The Georgia Straight, Ottawa City Magazine, Revue Commerce, WEDDINGBELLS (one gold); Adbusters, BC Business, Citizen's Weekly, Gardening Life, Hamilton Magazine, L'actualité, MoneySense, National Post Business, Prairie Fire, Vancouver (one silver).

Contact: 416-422-1358
Cottage Life buys Calgary's EXPLORE
Toronto, Ont., 26 May, 2000: The publishers of award-winning Cottage Life magazine have purchased Calgary-based EXPLORE magazine from Thompson and Gordon Publishing Co. Ltd.

Toronto's Quarto Communications Ltd. announced the acquisition--its first since launching Cottage Life in 1988--yesterday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

With the sale, long-time EXPLORE publisher Peter Thompson plans to concentrate on developing software for publishers.

For now the outdoor recreation and travel book will remain based in Calgary.

Currently published eight times a year, EXPLORE has a paid circulation of more than 25,000.

Quarto president and Cottage Life publisher Al Zikovitz says he aims to boost that number to 60,000 over the next three to five years.

He also plans to apply the same branding strategy to EXPLORE that has created successful TV, radio and trade show spin-offs for Cottage Life (a new Web site launches next month.

"We think EXPLORE is ideally positioned to become the focal point for a range of communications products geared to serving the outdoor adventure market," Zikovitz said by way of press release yesterday, noting that the magazine is ready to move to "the next level."

Contact: 416-599-2000
Goold and Chidley take over big biz books
Toronto, Ont., 25 May, 2000: There's a changing of the editorial guard underway at two of the country's major business magazines.

At Report on Business Magazine, Douglas Goold has been named to take over as editor from Patricia Best, while Canadian Business has named technology editor Joe Chidley to replace Arthur Johnson.

Goold, who had been editor of The Globe and Mail's "Report on Business" section, was officially named editor last Friday.

The author of three books, Goold joined The Globe as a full-time staffer in 1992, serving as investment editor and a columnist before becoming editor of "Report on Business" in 1997.

Among his books is The Bre-X Fraud, a national bestseller co-written with Globe columnist Andrew Willis.

Goold's resumé also includes editorial stints with the now-defunct Financial Post and The Edmonton Journal. As well, he was the founding editor of Investment Executive magazine.

As for outgoing editor Patricia Best, she is expected to officially leave early next month after wrapping up the magazine's July issue (see "People in Print," June).

Over at category competitor Canadian Business, meanwhile, editor Arthur Johnson has resigned to become editor of the National Post's "Financial Post" business section.

News of the appointment was released by the National Post on Tuesday, with Johnson taking up his new position on June 19.

Johnson, who joined Canadian Business in 1994, oversaw the Rogers Media title's conversion from a monthly to a biweekly format.

In tandem with Johnson's appointment, the National Post has named Terence Corcoran editor-in-chief of the "Financial Post" section.

Back at Canadian Business, Chidley was named yesterday as Johnson's replacement.

The magazine's technology editor since April, Chidley first joined Canadian Business as a senior writer after leaving a similar post at Maclean's.

Contact: 416-789-0998 (Post); 416-585-5203 (RoB)
Southam's trade titles on the block -- again
Toronto, Ont., 24 May, 2000: Three years after abandoning plans to sell its 35-plus trade magazines, Southam Inc. has opted to put the books back on the market.

The move comes weeks after the late April announcement that parent company Hollinger Inc. was selling the bulk of its community newspapers in Canada and the U.S.

In September 1996, the Southam Magazine and Information Group was put up for sale as part of owner Conrad Black's plan to reshape Southam into a newspaper-only enterprise.

Sale plans were shelved in February 1997, however, after the stable of business-to-business titles failed to attract "final definite offers."

At the time, Southam president and COO Don Babick said the decision to take the books off the block reflected a change in thinking at "the upper end of the company."

According to Babick, it was decided that the books could "manage themselves as self-contained" without affecting the core newspaper group.

Now it would appear that the rationale for the sale is Hollinger's expressed interest in moving further into the realm of new media, as was the reasoning for the proposed sale of the newspapers.

Masthead Online is still waiting for comment from Southam executives.

Southam's stable of roughly 40 trade books covers a wide range of markets, from insurance, health and education to plastics, construction and trucking.

Contact: 416-445-6641 (Southam)
Newman to get Outstanding Achievement Award
Toronto, Ont., 23 May, 2000: Peter C. Newman, who was editor of Maclean's during its 1978 transformation from a monthly to a newsweekly, has been named this year's recipient of the prestigious Outstanding Achievement Award.

The honour will be presented by the National Magazine Awards Foundation (NMAF) at its annual awards gala this Friday at Toronto's Sheraton Centre.

Along with his editorship of Maclean's (1971 to 1982), Newman has also served as editor-in-chief of The Toronto Star and he continues to write a column for Maclean's.

He has also authored 20 books, the most recent of which was Titans: How the New Canadian Establishment Seized Power.

The NMAF's Outstanding Achievement Award is presented annually to an individual who has made career-long contributions to the Canadian magazine industry.

Recent past recipients have included: Ryerson magazine program director Lynn Cunningham, former Saturday Night editor Robert Fulford, art director James Ireland, the late Catherine Keachie (executive director of the Canadian Magazine Publishers Association), L'actualité publisher Jean Paré and long-time magazine editor and educator Don Obe.

Contact: 416-422-1358
Merger creates B.C.'s second largest publisher
Vancouver, B.C., 19 May, 2000: Two B.C. publishers have merged to form the province's second largest magazine publishing house.

The merger of Greenheart Publications Ltd. and OP Publishing Ltd., which was announced May 16, effectively brings 18 different titles under one roof.

The newly formed company will take the name of OP Publishing Ltd., which was already Western Canada's leading publisher of outdoor recreation and tourism publications.

OP will continue to maintain offices in Vancouver and Victoria.

Ten-year-old OP's existing stable of 16 magazines included Pacific Yachting and BC Outdoors, while Greenheart brought two books to the table, Cottage Magazine and Coastal Grower.

Greenheart was established in 1995 by Norscot Holdings Ltd., which also has business interests in radio, manufacturing and construction in B.C., Alberta and Washington State.

Contact: 604-899-4009
Horse book purchased and absorbed by rival
Aurora, Ont., 18 May, 2000: Calgary's Dakota Design and Advertising has sold Canadian Equine Magazine to one of its category competitors--lock, stock and jumping barrels.

Aurora-based Corinthian Publishing Company Ltd. purchased the bimonthly in March and promptly merged it with one of its existing titles, Canadian Horseman Magazine.

Equine's focus on breeding and English riding disciplines can now be found in Canadian Horseman, which traditionally concentrated on the health and care of horses.

Along with expanding its focus, Horseman also picked up Equine's writers and its 2,000 paid subscribers, who will now receive the Corinthian bimonthly instead.

Corinthian's Horse Publications Group is Canada's largest publisher of equine magazines with five separate titles.

Contact: 1-800-505-7428
Magazine co-produces TV show on the North
Yellowknife, NWT, 17 May, 2000: Up Here magazine and Big Fish Productions have spawned a TV pilot about northern Canada.

"A television series about Canada's far north, by northerners, will appeal to both northern and southern viewers," says Up Here publisher Marion LaVigne. "It will help increase awareness for the North from coast to coast".

According to LaVigne, the series will showcase stories from the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut, focusing on "northern people living fascinating lives."

The pilot and the yet-to-be completed 13-part series will mirror the Yellowknife-based magazine's format, with up to four feature stories per episode.

Production of the pilot is underway and it's estimated that the entire series could cost almost $500,000. Up Here and Big Fish are currently looking for additional financing.

LaVigne says the pilot should be ready for the CBC's perusal by the end of August, while an actual air date has yet to be confirmed.

She says a television presence could help boost 16-year-old Up Here's circulation, which currently stands at approximately 30,000.

Contact: 867-920-4652 (Up Here); 867-669-9819 (Big Fish)
Industry professionals to compete at Mags U
Toronto, Ont., 16 May, 2000: One of the most popular repeat seminars at Magazines University--the Newsstand Quiz Show--has confirmed its teams of contestants for this year's competition.

Sponsored by the Circulation Management Association of Canada (CMC), the fifth annual Quiz Show will be held June 6 at 2:30 p.m.

This year teams of circulators, retailers and wholesalers will square off amongst themselves and the audience.

The circ team includes: Bob Cohen, president, ProCirc; Stephanie Barrington, director of consumer marketing, Toronto Life and FASHION; and Terry Sellwood, vice-president circulation, Transcontinental Publications.

On the retail team are: Adrian Prater, Shoppers Drug Mart; Louise Stefens, vice-president press promotion, HDS Retail North America; Helena Lomnicki, Chapters

Finally, the wholesaler are: Glen Clark, vice-president national sales, Metro News; Kevin Brannigan, vice-president circulation, News Group; and Frank Filippelli, vice-president distribution, Benjamin News.

In this interactive workshop, participants examine various magazine covers and try to determine which ones boasted the highest sales, and why.

Magazines University 2000 runs June 5, 6 and 7 at The Old Mill in Toronto, with the Masthead Trade Show running June 5 and 6.

For more info on the three-day conference, visit the CMPA's Web site at www.cmpa.ca.
Menz magazine unveils yet another new look
Toronto, Ont., 15 May, 2000: Faster than you can say "that's-so-last-century," Menz has undergone yet another makeover.

Fresh from a complete redesign last fall, the glossy lifestyle book for men changed its look yet again with the recent spring edition.

According to new managing editor Lawrence Creaghan, last fall's revamp put Menz in a mildly incestuous relationship with sibling publication Ocean Drive, in that the two were borrowing heavily from each other in terms of desgin and content.

That's not surprising since Ocean Drive editor-in-chief and creative director François Guenet took on the task of revitalizing Menz when it joined his publishing house last fall (see "More redesignz," February).

With Creaghan's arrival, Guenet is now working soley on Ocean Drive.

Creaghan, who comes to Menz from a business publication calleds The Corporate Report, says the latest changes include a new logo, tagline and layout, as well as new fonts.

"Advertisters tell us that this is a niche that no one else is filling, so we intend to fill it," says Creaghan, noting that Menz targets men aged 30-plus "whose interests include more than just fashion."

More than just fashion apparently means renewed coverage of sport celebrities, cars, music and--why not--gourmet barbecuing.

Contact: 5124-932-2257
Chart strikes distribution deal with MuchMusic
Toronto, Ont., 11 May, 2000: Magazine World, Humber College's student-produced annual about the magazine industry, comes off the presses this month.

Promised are features on newsstand distribution, start-ups, advertising techniques, e-zines, freelancing, cost-cutting and the world of publishing beyond Toronto.

"I think they've done quite a nice job finding out what it is people in the industry want to know about," says faculty advisor Terri Arnott.

Magazine World is one of several lab trade magazines published through the journalism program in Humber's School of Media Studies.

Sister annuals include Fine Cut, which focuses on the film and television industry, and the media magazine Convergence.

Magazine World can also be found online at http://etcetera.humberc.on.ca/magazineworld.

Contact: 416-675-5007
Rogers Media purchases HPAC magazine
Toronto, Ont., 10 May, 2000: Rogers Media has added another title to its stable of business-to-business books.

In April the publishing giant purchased Heating, Plumbing and Air Conditioning Magazine, a.k.a. HPAC.

Published seven times a year, the Toronto-based trade magazine had been owned by Liz Mills and Bruce Meacock, who will stay on as publisher.

Contact: 416-596-3515
Concave Media now part owner of Wax mag
Vancouver, B.C., 9 May, 2000: Vancouver's Concave Media Group and skateboard manufacturer Pride Skateboards have purchased four-year-old Wax Magazine from owner and publisher Russell Reimer.

Terms of this month's sales were not disclosed.

According to Reimer, the new owners want to give the magazine more national exposure while retaining its focus on snowboarding and skateboarding.

Circulation will expand, for example, with Pride Skateboards distributing Wax to its customer base.

The editorial department will remain in Calgary, while Concave Media Group plans to house the business end of the operation in Vancouver.

Reimer says he's staying on as publisher until July, and then he's off to join NBCOlympics.com as an associate producer.

Contact: 403-244-4894
Transcon's Préfontaine to appear at Mags U
Toronto, Ont., 8 May, 2000: Transcontinental Publishing president André Préfontaine will be this year's guest speaker at the annual CCAB luncheon at Magazines University.

Fresh from his takeover earlier this year of Telemedia's consumer magazines, Préfontaine is expected to offer his views on the short-term prospects for the Canadian publishing industry.

The fourth annual CCAB luncheon begins at noon on June 7 with a reception in the Guildhall at The Old Mill, once again the site of Magazines University.

Contact: 416-487-2418 (CCAB)
Pevere to address CMPA lunch at Mags
Toronto, Ont., 5 May, 2000: The Canadian Magazine Publishers Association (CMPA) has now nailed down the keynote speaker for its annual luncheon at Magazines University.

Just back from Cannes, Toronto Star movie critic and cultural commentator Geoff Pevere will be this year's featured speaker.

The luncheon will begin at 12:30 p.m. in the Guildhall at The Old Mill, the site of Mags U for the fourth year running.

Co-author of the 1997 national bestseller Mondo Canuck: A Canadian Pop Culture Odyssey, Pevere will offer an off-beat, humorous take on the plight of Canadian content in an era of increasingly blurry borders.

Also a contributing editor to Shift and other magazines both here and abroad, Pevere published his latest book--Team Spirit: A Field Guide to Roots Culture--with Doubleday Canada in 1998.

Contact: www.cmpa.ca
Ms. editor-in-chief to address Mags U
Toronto, Ont., 4 May, 2000: The Canadian Magazine Publishers Association (CMPA) has secured Ms. editor-in-chief Marcia Ann Gillespie as this year's international speaker at Magazines University.

Gillespie, who is also president of Ms. owner Liberty Media for Women, has been asked to discuss the 28-year-old feminist magazine's quest to attract younger readers.

The CMPA's International Speaker session will be held at 9 a.m. on June 5 at Magazines University.

For the fourth year in a row, Magazines U will be held at The Old Mill in Toronto, running June 5, 6 and 7.

Contact: www.cmpa.ca
Former Owl publisher now with NextMedia
Toronto, Ont., 3 May, 2000: Diane Davy, former publisher of the children's magazines Owl, Chickadee and Chirp, has been named president of the Toronto-based communications agency NextMedia.

Although Davy left the children's magazines in late 1998--roughly one year after they were purchased by Bayard Press Canada--she has remained involved in the magazine industry as a CMPA board member.

Her current term ends in June.

Most recently, Davy was president and publisher of Owl Books (owned by Greey de Pencier Books Limited), where she has since been replaced by the former vice-president of creative development, Sheba Meland.

Contact 416-971-9973 (NextMedia)
Grants increase much smaller than expected
Toronto, Ont., 2 May, 2000: The Ontario Arts Council (OAC) has added an extra $850,000 to its budget for arts grants, with magazines getting an additional $11,000 across the board.

That figure is much less that the $1.4 million in administrative savings the OAC originally announced it had earmarked for arts grants.

When the OAC board met in late March, however, that figure had shrunk to $850,000.

Seems OAC bureaucrats had overlooked a few budgetary adjustments before making their original announcement in February.

As with all OAC grants programs, the $389,000 magazine component will get an extra 2.8% in funding this year, which translates to roughly $11,000.

The next application deadline for magazines is June 30.

Contact: 1-800-387-0058
Toronto tab's publisher steps down
Toronto, Ont., 1 May, 2000: The publisher of eye, a weekly Toronto tab featuring a wide range of columnists and reviewers, has stepped down to join a start-up entertainment venture.

Carol McDowall officially resigned late last month to join Big Box Entertainment Inc., which specializes in interactive "entertainment kiosks" for bars and pubs.

As one of the new firm's vice-presidents, McDowall is in charge of marketing and sales.

While with eye, McDowall was credited with loosening rival NOW Magazine's longstanding grip on the alternative weekly market, both in terms of readers and advertisers.

Back at eye, former director of marketing Einar Murchison has been handed McDowall's duties, along with the new title of associate publisher.

The weekly is published by Eye Communications, a division of Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd.

Contact: 416-504-4339

RoB Mag's Patricia Best resigns as editor
Toronto, Ont., 1 May, 2000: Report on Business Magazine editor Patricia Best will be stepping down from her post early next month following completion of the business title's July issue.

"I have a profound sense of been there, done that, bought the T-shirt," says Best, who was named editor of The Globe and Mail title three years ago. "It's a good time because I've done everything I've wanted to do."

According to Best, her decision to leave was fueled in equal measures by personal and professional considerations.

On the home front, she intends to spend more time with her four-year-old daughter, Natalie, and her film producer husband, Carlo Liconti.

Then there's her desire to do more writing.

"It's not mysterious," says the best-selling business author, who has an outstanding book contract with Macfarlane Walter & Ross. "I've been a writer more often than I've been and editor."

Back at the magazine itself, meanwhile, recent changes in the management structure have also come into play.

"Working for a publisher is different from working for an editorial director," says Best, noting that when she was hired, she reported to then publisher Stephen Petherbridge, now The Globe's vice-president of TV and new ventures (see March's "Briefly" section).

Now she answers to newly installed editorial director Nigel Horne, who joined The Globe's magazine division in mid-February.

While publishers typically avoid meddling in editorial affairs, Best observes, editorial directors can--and do--get involved in the editorial side of operations.

Stressing that she respects and understands the role of the editorial director--and Horne's contributions in particular--Best says she prefers to work without a supervisor, as was the case when she was hired.

Plus, she says she's successfully completed all the changes--including a complete graphic redesign--she had wanted to make.

And she leaves on a high note: RoB garnered eight National Magazine Award nominations this year, all but one in the writing categories. To date, the magazine has earned 21 nominations under Best's editorship.

Best joined RoB Mag in July 1997, taking over from then acting editor Charles Macli. At that time, both Macli and senior editor Tricia Wilson had temporarily headed the editorial masthead following the previous December's resignation of editor David Olive (see "The Best choice," September 1997).

Immediately before taking over the editorship, Best had been freelancing, writing books, broadcasting and consulting. She left her last staff job, as assistant ME at the Financial Times of Canada, in 1991.

According to new publisher Phillip Crawley (also publisher of The Globe and Mail), interviews are already underway for Best's replacement. Candidates from both within and outside the organization are being considered, he says.

Contact: 416-585-5000
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