Canadian Magazine Industry News
13 July 2009,     NANOOSE BAY, B.C.
Island Times puts the spotlight on Vancouver Island
Travel information on Canada’s west coast is now available through Island Times, a monthly magazine that launched this month to spotlight Vancouver Island. The free glossy has a distribution of 15,000, with copies sent to tourism information centres, B.C. Ferries, the Vancouver Island Airport and travel agents across Canada.

 
 
Island Times has a free distribution of 15,000.
The idea came to Jayson Deleskie, now the magazine’s distribution and public relations contact, while sitting on a B.C. ferry one day, bored.

“To pass the time and to get some information about my destination, I found myself looking for a free publication to read,” he says on the magazine’s website. “There was nothing available.”

Deleskie then decided he would fill that niche by starting his own “interesting, fun and colourful” magazine about Vancouver Island. After speaking to long-time friend Jolene Aarbo, who has a background in graphic design and corporate branding, she agreed to be the publisher for Island Times, and they launched the magazine out of their own pocketbooks.

Content includes features on island hopping to nearby Gabriola Island, unique local art galleries and golf tips from Brent Morrison, director of instruction at the Brent Morrison Golf Academy. Readers will also find advertisements for local surf shops, retailers, restaurants and resorts. Ad rates range from $195 per issue for a small ad block, to $2,500 for a full-page back cover.

The magazine, printed in Vancouver Island’s Nanoose Bay, targets both locals and tourists, although distribution hits mostly tourist-based areas. According to Aarbo, Island Times will focus on the bright side.

“Everything is positive in this magazine. We’re an anti-negative publication,” she said. “Newspapers always have a negative spin on everything, and that attracts people’s attention. People are naturally drawn to disasters. But we don’t want to be that. We want to promote health and wellness, and all the fun things you can do out here.”
— Laura Godfrey
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