http://www.mastheadonline.ca/rss/news.php MastheadOnline RSS en-us Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:05:44 EDT Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:05:44 EDT http://www.mastheadonline.ca info@mastheadonline.ca webmaster@northisland.ca http://www.mastheadonline.ca/news/2008/20080703901.shtml William Shields Thu, 3 Jul 2008 19:05:34 EST An experimental foray into the world of blogging has come to a sudden end at Toronto Life’s online domain. Publisher Sharon McAuley says lower-than-expected traffic figures and a softening advertising market have prompted the Web team to take advantage of the “malleable” nature of online publishing. http://www.mastheadonline.ca/news/2008/20080702832.shtml Wed, 2 Jul 2008 18:13:45 EST No word yet on whether Three Chord Johnny will add "I Am the Walrus" to its repetoire. Former Toronto Life editor John Macfarlane will serve as part-time interim editor and co-publisher of The Walrus while the magazine searches for a full-time chief.   "We are delighted John has agreed to help us manage this change," Walrus publisher Shelley Ambrose said in a press release. "His experience and expertise in magazine editing and publishing is unparalleled." http://www.mastheadonline.ca/news/2008/20080702717.shtml M.U. Wed, 2 Jul 2008 17:33:09 EST   Pool, Spas & Patios is one of three magazines purchased by Kenilworth Media on June 30. Kenilworth Media Inc., based here, has purchased the assets of Markham, Ont.-based Hubbard Marketing & Publishing Limited, including three magazines—Pool & Spa Marketing, Piscines & Spas  and Pools, Spas & Patios—and the annual Art of Water event. Founder Richard Hubbard put the company up for sale earlier this year and Kenilworth outbid all suitors, including American b-to-b giant Hanley Wood, according to publisher Ellen Kral. Though she would not reveal the sale price, Kral admitted that the deal is the largest Kenilworth has ever made. http://www.mastheadonline.ca/news/2008/20080702627.shtml M.U. Wed, 2 Jul 2008 18:09:43 EST A new magazine for cottagers. Ontario cottage country is a little more crowded this year—at least as far as the magazine market is concerned. In April, Cottage Central, a controlled-circulation monthly targeting vacationers in central Ontario, was launched. The monthly’s publisher is Renzo Rosati, a first-timer who got his training in the media business as an ad sales manager with Osprey Media. http://www.mastheadonline.ca/news/2008/20080627695.shtml Fri, 27 Jun 2008 11:39:08 EST The president and CEO of Section Rouge Média announced his resignation yesterday. Richard Desmarais, who has been director of the publicy traded magazine corporation since 2003, wants to devote all of his time to journalism, according to the company. Vice president Jean-Pierre Rancourt, will fill in as president and CEO on an interim basis.  Magazines published by Section Rouge include la Revue de machineries et d'équipements agricoles, Photo Police, Bébé, Junior and Grossesse. http://www.mastheadonline.ca/news/2008/20080627681.shtml Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:00:53 EST Get ready for anothe rate hike. Canada Post Corporation (CPC) is proposing an overall weighted average price increase of 3.1% for publications mail in 2009. This translates into a one cent increase for regional mail and a three cents increase for national mail (there is no planned increase for local mail). http://www.mastheadonline.ca/news/2008/20080626648.shtml Aaron Leaf Thu, 26 Jun 2008 15:11:32 EST The biggest problem with freelancers, according to Elisa Hendricks, a long-time freelancer and managing director of Midlyn HR Communications, is a reluctance to admit what they are. “All of a sudden, after a couple contracts you wake up as a businessman or woman without ever having written a business plan.” Hendricks talked about the trials and succeses of her life as both a freelancer and someone who deals with them to an audience of writers, photographers and editors last week at Magazines West. http://www.mastheadonline.ca/news/2008/20080626626.shtml M.U. Thu, 26 Jun 2008 09:11:28 EST Subscription fulfillment for magazines published by Montreal-based Les Éditions Gesca, including Golf AGP – International, Hockey le magazine, Ricardo (English) and Ricardo (French), will now be handled by CDS Global. Camile Diodati, the recently appointed circulation manager for Gesca and former manager of client services for CDS, spearheaded the move. “It makes my life a lot easier,” Diodati said. “I wanted to focus on growing the business and not on learning a new system.” Fulfillment for Gesca titles had previously been handled by Montreal-based GMI. http://www.mastheadonline.ca/news/2008/20080625797.shtml M.U. Wed, 25 Jun 2008 09:11:51 EST Vancouver-based newsmagazine The Tyee became the first online-only publication to join a Canadian magazine association when it joined BCAMP in December 2007. Defining what makes a website an “online magazine” is tricky. Do blogs count? How about “aggregator” sites? Or archives of information about a specific topic? For entities such as industry associations and awards programs (and magazines about magazines), coming up with a clear description is paramount. In mid-2006, the British Columbia Association of Magazine Publishers (BCAMP) created what is probably the first official Canadian definition of “online magazine” and opened its membership to Internet publishers. http://www.mastheadonline.ca/news/2008/20080625630.shtml M.U. Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:50:32 EST Profit magazine's annual list of Canada's fastest-growing companies listed Calgary-based RedPoint Media at number 88. Anyone who’s been out to the Alberta Magazines Conference knows how vibrant the publishing scene is in the tar sands province, so we weren’t surprised to see Calgary-based RedPoint Media Group Inc., on Profit magazine’s list of Canada’s fastest-growing companies for the second year in a row. The five-year-old company ranked 88, with growth of 690% over five years. In 2007, RedPoint earned $9,546,663, compared to $1,207,773 in 2002. Profits last year were in the 0-10% range. http://www.mastheadonline.ca/news/2008/20080624579.shtml Aaron Leaf Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:31:02 EST Joy Gugeler specializes in search engine optimization. According to Joy Gugeler, getting your magazine read online means you must stop thinking print. She should know. Gugeler, a former book editor, is now the editor-in-chief of Suite101.com, where she oversees 1500 paid writers that collectively attract over 8 million monthly readers, mostly through search engines. At the Magazines West conference last week in Vancouver, Gugeler used the experience she's gained at Suite to offer tips and tools for driving Web traffic. Using the knowledge gained, we've distilled Gugeler's presentation into ten golden rules for search engine optimization. http://www.mastheadonline.ca/news/2008/20080623744.shtml M.U. Mon, 23 Jun 2008 09:13:47 EST Ron Glen After 13 years at the editorial head of Direct Marketing, Ron Glen is leaving the position. “It’s the longest editorial stint I’ve ever had,” he writes in a farewell editorial, published in the June issue. “I rarely live in one place that long. I’ve had shorter marriages.” Glen, who turned 65 in March, had planned on retiring, but when offered the opportunity to take the editorial reigns of Contact Management, a sister publication under Markham, Ont.-based Lloydmedia, he couldn’t say no. “I expected to get the summer off,” he says, “but you know, best-laid plans.” The new position, he notes, allows him to “continue to report on a related field without the tyranny of monthly deadlines.” http://www.mastheadonline.ca/news/2008/20080623629.shtml Mon, 23 Jun 2008 18:55:02 EST The best magazine work in the West was honoured Friday at the 26th annual Western Magazine Awards, which took place at the River Rock Casino in Richmond, B.C. Transcontinental Media's Vancouver Magazine, which led the pack with 21 nominations, won seven golds, including Western Canadian Magazine of the Year. The best new magazine award went to Venture Publishing Inc.'s Unlimited, while the Magazine of the Year winners for each province were Border Crossings (Manitoba), Blackflash (Saskatchwean),  AlbertaViews and Vancouver Magazine. Enterprise was named best trade magazine. A full list of winners is available here. Below you'll find photos from the event, all taken by Aaron Leaf. Stay tuned to MastheadOnline for Aaron's reports on what went down at Magazines West, the annual two-day professional development conference hosted by the British Columbia Association of Magazine Publishers (BCAMP) and the WMAF. http://www.mastheadonline.ca/news/2008/20080620633.shtml Myron Love Fri, 20 Jun 2008 17:52:14 EST Indulge, the Winnipeg Free Press’ new magazine for the affluent, has only been on the scene since March and it already has a competitor: Trader Corporation launched Upscale Living in Winnipeg with a mass mail out in mid-June. Winnipeg is actually the fourth western Canadian city where Upscale Living has turned up, with Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton versions launched last fall. The total circulation for all four cities is around 400,000. http://www.mastheadonline.ca/news/2008/20080619689.shtml Thu, 19 Jun 2008 01:25:01 EST Canada’s consumer magazine market will continue to grow over the next five years, according to the latest projections in Pricewaterhouse Coopers’ Global Entertainment Media Outlook. The breakdown: Total revenues will rise from $1.2 billion in 2007 to $1.4 billion in 2012, increasing at a 2.7% annual rate. Print advertising will reach $782 million by 2012, up from $665 last year, increasing at a 3.3% rate. Advertising on magazine websites and mobile sites will reach $78 million by 2012. Circulation revenue will decrease at a 0.5% rate, from $530 million in 2007 to $518 million in 2012.