Inside! Mags U Brochure Letter from Sheila Copps 5 Charlie Angus, editor, MP 21
QA& Saltscapes Co-publisher TALLY Linda Gourlay 2004 Magazine industry Along with many other industry representatives, grows to Q you made the trek to Ottawa last month to exchange views with lofty heights our policy makers. What are your top three concerns? Our concerns are fairly with a 23% universal among all region- A al publishers: (i) an enabling increase in environment without govern- ments ‘selling advertising’ in start-ups government-owned/competi- tively published products; agazine launches: up. Run-of-press continues on page 22 ➤ advertising pages: up. No, this isn’t a fairy tale. Canada’s magazine industry is enjoying a growth spurt. Although we had a dismal start to the millenni- um,M with start-up numbers dwindling from record highs in the late ’90s, many publishers, old and new, laid seed to produce an impressive amount of new magazines last year. And that’s not the only good news; closures declined to a record low of 27. continues on page 10 ➤
CONTENTS
March 2005 $6.95 Editor’s note 3 Reporter 4 Inside 7 Feature 10 Starts, Stops & Changes 16 People in Print 21 www.mastheadonline.com Refrigerator journalism 15 The return of Claude J. Charron 4 Bennet on the CMF 26 COVER STORY
2004 TALLY AT A GLANCE STARTS Total launches 124 CONSUMER • Niagara (Lifestyle/Calgary/CanWest Global ART/LITERARY (Regional lifestyle/St.Catharines, Communications Corp.) Total closures 27 • Beyond Arts Ont./Osprey Media Group) • Warrior Missing in action 3 (Calgary/Small Print Productions) • On The Bay (Arts, culture/Montreal/Média Suspensions 4 • Idea&s (Regional lifestyle/ Collingwood, Guerrier) Consumer launches 100 (Literary/Toronto/ University of Ont./On The Bay Magazine Inc.) • Yoink Industry trade launches 18 Toronto, Faculty of Arts & Sciences) • Our Canada (Arts, entertainment /Toronto/ • Mapalé Artes y Letras (Reader contributions/Montreal/ Jeff Chan) Medical launches 4 (Latin-American arts [Spanish]/ Reader’s Digest Magazines Canada) Association launches 2 Ottawa/Art and Literature Mapalé & • Simcoe Life HEALTH/WELLNESS Consumer closures 18 Publications Inc.) (Regional lifestyle/Barrie, Ont./Osprey • Canadian Health & Lifestyle Digest Trade closures 8 • Moist Media Group) (Toronto/Merit Marketing) Tally (Erotica/Ottawa/Taliesin Publishing) • Q Magazine • Canadian Healthstyle Association closures 1 • The Shore (City mag/London, Ont./Q Magazine & (Vancouver/Canadian Healthstyle (Literary/Toronto/Shane Sinnott, Philip Mushroom Studios Creative Inc.) Magazine Inc.) Darling, Matthew Holdstock) • Fit Life • Vancouver Review ENTERTAINMENT (Toronto/Nishe Media) (Arts/Vancouver/ Vancouver Review • Performance • Ici maintenant PAST TALLY ROUNDUP Publication Society) (Theatre/Toronto/Entis (Health, wellness [French]/ TOTAL TOTAL • Vein Communications) Montreal/Les Bouts de papier inc. and YEAR LAUNCHES CLOSURES (Arts/Vancouver/Jackie Duys) • Star Système Cactus Pub & Design) 2004 124 27 (Celebrities [French]/Outremont, Que./Quebecor Media) MEN'S 2003 101 47 BUSINESS/NEWS/TECHNOLOGY • The Bay Street Bull • Stars Réalité • Joe 2002 83 50 (Business/Toronto/The Bay Street (Reality television [French]/ (Ajax, Ont./Metroland Printing, 2001 69 43 Bull Inc.) Outremont, Que./Quebecor Media) Publishing & Distributing Ltd.) 2004 2000 81 60 • Business Speak • Urban • Winnipeg Men Life is lush in the publishing 1999 122 64 (For women/Toronto/Woman's Globe (Urban music, lifestyle/Toronto/Priya (Winnipeg/Studio Publications, Inc.) Ramanujam) 1998 106 76 Inc.) industry as launches are • Up & Coming Business Journal RECREATION/TRAVEL/SPORTS 1997 116 55 (For business students/London, GENERAL INTEREST • Canadian Poker Player up and closures are down 1996 106 41 Ont./Ahad Ghadimi) • 2 (Surrey, B.C./Fifth Street Publishers) 1995 95 58 • Western Standard (Lifestyle for couples/Toronto/2 For • Driven 1994 117 54 (Conservative newsmagazine/Calgary/ Life Media Inc.) (Automobile, lifestyle/Dorval, BY ANN MEREDITH BROWN JMCK Western Publishing • Cross Cultures Que./Auto Journal Inc.) Corporation ) (Multicultural/Kitchener, Ont./ • Entre les lignes Gehan Sabry) (Books [French]/Montreal/Les édi- e finally did it. We’ve surpassed the number total for 2004, down from 29 in 2003, the number of CITY/REGIONAL • Easy Lifestyles tions Entre les lignes inc.) • Angus (For baby boomers/Mississauga, • Extreme of start-ups from the previous all-time-high industry trade launches, as opposed to medical or asso- (Satirical community news/Mattawa, Ont./Silver Saver Publications Inc.) (Adrenaline sports/Toronto/Steve year of 1999 with 124 launches for 2004, ciation start-ups, remained flat at 18. Phil Boyd, presi- Ont./Kevin Pecore) • Exclusive Style Times Vandermey and Canadian Association which is 22% higher than the average number dent of the Canadian Business Press, says there’s been • Calgary Living (Lifestyle/Mississauga, Ont./ Publishers) (Luxury lifestyle/Calgary/AdComm Diane Clark) • The Fish’n line of magazine launches over the last decade. very little growth in the industry over the last decade. Media Group) • Grind (Fishing/Winnipeg/Visualeyes WIt should come as no surprise, really, that the industry “We estimate there are 725 [business] titles, same as 10 • Cityscape (Music, culture/Toronto/Sandra Arias, Graphics) is showing steady growth; last year’s launch numbers years ago.” The industry’s biggest losses were between (Urban lifestyle/Toronto/Nishe Media) John Cartagena) • The Hockey Reporter • Cobblestones • Highrise (Courtice, Ont./Windward were 23% higher than 2003, the highest year-over- 1991 and 1995, he says, largely due to the removal of (City mag/Winnipeg/Jamie Saari- (Urban lifestyle/Toronto/Dylan Communications) year increase in a decade. Leading National Advertisers postal subsidies for controlled-circ titles. “It’s been stat- Alvarez) Crawshaw, Kyle Maling) • Horizon Travel (Canada) measured a healthy 6.5% increase in run-of- ic ever since.” At least the hemorrhaging has stopped. • Eh! • Plus (Toronto/Horizon Travel Magazine) (Canadiana/Tillsonburg, Ont./Eh! (Lifestyle/Toronto/Krosinski • Icehockey Grass Roots press ad pages for 2004, which resulted in a 7.4% According to past Tally calculations (see our consumer Magazine Inc.) Enterprises Ltd.) (Toronto/CHF Sports) increase in ad revenue over 2003. Those results, versus trade graphs), business launch figures took a sec- • The Kitsilano View • Porch • Icehockey World however, measure the ad growth of Canada’s top ond nosedive between 1998 and 2001, while closures (Community lifestyle/Vancouver/ (Community living/Nelson, B.C./ (Toronto/CHF Sports) View Media Group) Habitat Communications) • Metalcraft consumer magazines, a flourishing sector that had a soared, but have since rebounded to pre-9/11 levels. • The Long Beach View • ROOM (Metalworking/Toronto/Raft strong showing in last year’s Tally, representing 81% of And if the U.S. b2b publishing market is any indication, (Community lifestyle/ Vancouver/View (Entertainment/Windsor, Ont./ Media Inc.) all launches for 2004. The trade sector, on the other things could be looking up for Canadian trade publish- Media Group) Dan Sylvester) • Modified Luxury & Exotics hand, has plateaued. ers. New York-based American Business Media reports • Mississauga Quarterly • Speed (Modified luxury cars/Toronto/ (Regional general interest/ (Lifestyle/Montreal/Yanouk Poirier) VerticalScope Inc.) Although there were 24 trade/business launches in a year-to-date increase of 1.21% in b2b print ad pages Mississauga, Ont./Compton:Oppel Inc.) • Swerve continues on page 12 ➤
Snags a whopping French-language Former MP Ezra Michael Atkins’ Farmers launch Industry vet Jeff Trade title St. Joseph Media Rogers’ largest Winnipeg cosmetic French-language Special-interest 200,000-plus subs quarterly on Levant launches latest trade consumer/trade Shearer launches celebrates 125th debuts shopping paid-circ start in enhancement title publisher launches paid-circ mag on in year one reality television conservative pub offering, on mining hybrid from B.C. regional pub anniversary lifestyle glossy 20 years starts then stops in ’04 English title metalworking
January February March April May June July August September October November December
10 MASTHEAD MARCH 2005 MASTHEAD MARCH 2005 11 COVER STORY
and a 3.7% jump in ad revenue over 2003 in 12 major is in the Web component of b2b publishing. STARTS industry categories, as of last November. Large trade publishers such as Hollinger’s Business continued from page 11 ➤ • Loulou Publishing Inc.) It also takes a little faith. Michael Atkins, president of Information Group and Rogers Media are not the only 100 Consumer 40 Trade • Outdoor & More (Shopping/Montreal/Rogers Media) • HorseCare Laurentian Media Group, saw an opportunity in the min- ones investing in online and digital publishing. Toronto- Launches (Travel, outdoor activity listings/ • Pizazz (Brantford, Ont./Harold Howe) 35 Launches 80 Mississauga, Ont./Outdoor & More (Showcases Niagara talent/Niagara • The Hosting Standard ing market to create his new industry title. He launched based Baxter Publications, publisher of Canadian Travel Closures Closures Magazine) Falls, Ont./Lori D'Ascenzo) (Web hosting, e-business/ 8,500-circ quarterly Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal Press and Travel Courier, launched enhanced versions of 30 • Partir • Pure Woman Toronto/VerticalScope Inc.) 60 25 (Travel [French]/Montreal/ (Lifestyle/Saskatoon/B. Ann Jones) • Pet Biz one year ago this month to showcase Sudbury’s mining its audited digital editions in January. Citing portability, Transcontinental Media) • Shopping Clin D'Oeil (Pet retail/Richmond Hill, Ont./ expertise internationally. Atkins, however, was not sur- timeliness, accessibility and interactivity as benefits of 40 20 • Romance Travel (Shopping [French]/Outremont, Kenilworth Media) prised that many of his peers weren’t introducing new going digital, Baxter’s new souped-up DEs include ads 15 (Toronto/Wedding & Honeymoons Que./Quebecor Media) • Senior Executive 20 Publishing) • Stella (Public and private sector relations/ titles. “The business model has changed so dramatically,” that literally speak to its readership. 10 • Scuba Press (Sex/Toronto/Sharlene Azam) Ottawa/Beacon Publishing Inc.) he says.“When you’re a publisher in a vertical market, you On the consumer side, Rogers Media unveiled its 0 5 (Toronto/Equinox Marketing and • Viva • Small Farm Canada have to do everything and do it well.” In order to occupy largest paid start-up in years. It jumped into the hot ’94 ’95 ’96 ’97 ’98 ’99 ’00 ’01 ’02 ’03 ’04 ’94 ’95 ’96 ’97 ’98 ’99 ’00 ’01 ’02 ’03 ’04 Media Inc.) (Health, beauty/Toronto/Rive Gauche (Metchosin, B.C./Southern Tip • Urban Fitness Media) Publishing Inc.) a new market, says Atkins, publishers nowadays can be new shopping mag niche, which saw several entries last A look at the number of consumer launches The trade publishing industry has seen a (Toronto/Piccolo Publishing) • Wish • Sudbury Mining Solutions Journal required to launch more than just a magazine but an arse- year including St. Joseph Media’s lifestyle pub Wish, (Shopping, lifestyle/Toronto/ (Sudbury, Ont./Laurentian Media versus closures shows 2004’s figures are lot of volatility over the last decade but the nal of brands such as a Web site, trade show and even a TVA Publications’ Clin D’Oeil spin-off Shopping and moving in the right direction numbers now seem to have plateaued SPECIAL INTEREST St. Joseph Media) Group) • Bluegrass North • Tire News peer-to-peer association. Where we’ll see growth, he says, Rogers’ Loulou in both English and French editions. (Bluegrass music/Vancouver/Connie YOUTH/STUDENT (Automotive/Longueuil, Que./ After just two issues of both versions, Loulou has Jean Thiessen) • Entrepôt Publications Rousseau & Associés) claimed a total paid circ of over 130,000. “We launched Post Mortem Circulation Controlled vs. Paid • The Canadian Immigrant (Culture for post-secondary • Visual a magazine that people want,” says Montreal-based Frequency (Vancouver/Bright Light Media Corp.) students/Toronto/Benjamin Leszcz) (Design/Toronto/Arango ar Loulou publisher Lise Ravary. • Canadian Newcomer • Glue Communications) e Weekly O 4%) 25,001- 50,001- (8%) . Paid (1 th e y (2% (Info for new immigrants/Toronto/ (General interest for post-secondary stu- • Web Host Industry Review 50,000 100,000 Biweekly (2%) 7 (7 So did Reader’s Digest Magazines Canada. Also out of er (30%) ) % Biannual >10 years (21%) (11%) 100,001-200,000(6%) Canadian Newcomer Magazine) dents/Ottawa/Algonquin College School (Web hosting/Toronto/The Web Host ) (22%)
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