MASTHEAD SPECIAL REPORT

UPDATED: Has the decline in magazine launches bottomed out? You could say so, based on the results of the new Masthead Tally of Launches and Closures, covering the years 2010 and 2011.

Print magazine launches climbed 46% in 2011. Granted, it's a jump from just 13 titles in 2010 to 19 last year, and the total is far off the peak year of 2004, when Masthead reported 139 magazine launches — more than two per week.

But it's still an encouraging trend, given that launches were up across both consumer, business-to-business and custom titles, and that pundits have written off print as "dead".

PRINT LAUNCHES AND CLOSURES



Furthermore, the launches came from Canada's largest publishing houses — think Rogers's Sportsnet — to the customary entrepreneurs burning to get their ideas in print — the mixed martial arts title MMA Guide, for example.

As always, notable and not-so-notable titles fell by the wayside. Consolidation finally caught up with Madame and Homemakers. Dogs in Canada was put down. Harrowsmith Country Life went to the big vegetable patch in the sky. A recent promising launch, Holmes, also hung up its hammer, but let's hope only temporarily, as the brand owners seek a new publisher following a dispute with the first contractor.

Since 2009, Masthead has also tracked online launches, and now with three years under our belt we can produce a table:

Online Launches
2009	11
2010	5
2011	12

Measuring online launches is tricky: defining an online "publication" would challenge any lexicographer, for starters. Our definition includes some measure of independent editorial content, whether supported by advertising or not, but something more than a blog.

We appreciate feedback here, either regarding our definition or our listings. As in the past, we will update the Tally (both for print and online titles) as new information flows in.

On that score, we'd like to thank the following individuals and organizations for their help in compiling the Tally:

Gary Garland, Magazines Canada
Marian Robertson, Audit Bureau of Circulations
Ron Sellwood, Coast to Coast Newsstand Services
CCAB div. of BPA Worldwide

Masthead has been tracking launches and closures since the 1990s; recent previous Tallies are posted here:
2008
2009

PAST TALLY ROUND-UP

Print Magazines

Year	Launches	Stops
2011	19	9
2010	13	2
2009	17	37
2008	74	29
2007	75	28
2006	82	24
2005	93	33
2004	139	34
2003	101	47
2002	83	50
2001	69	43
2000	81	60
1999	122	64

PRINT LAUNCHES 2010

Consumer:

• Garden Making (2010), print, Inspiring Media
• Canadian Cycling (2010, print, Gripped Publishing)
• Canadian Capital (2010, print, Rogers Publishing)
• Friday Night (in print originally in 2010, print ended 2011, still online, KAP Media) - celebrating Jewish life in Toronto
• Ottawa Wedding (2010, Coyle Publishing)
• Ottawa Family Life (2010, Coyle Publishing)
• Holmes (2011, Dauphin Media Group)
• Hors serie Echos Vedettes (2010, print, TVA Publications) - arts/culture
• Plaid (2010, print, Plaid Publishing) - Toronto/Int'l fashion

Business:

• Rein (2010, print, Free Hein Publishing) - all things equestrian
• Payments Business (2010, print, Lloydmedia)
• Listed (2010, print, Tully Media) - for Canadian listed companies

Custom:

• Women of Influence (2010, Bassett Custom Publishing)

PRINT STOPS 2010

• Edmontonians (2010, consumer, Sharon MacLean)
• Canadian Printer (2010, business, Rogers Publishing)
   

ONLINE LAUNCHES 2010

• Aggregation (2010, consumer, Gary Campbell) - TK description
• Muskrat (2010, consumer, Rebeka Tabobondung) - indigenous culture
• The Kit (2010, consumer, Giorgina Bigioni) - fashion/beauty
• Real Style Magazine (2010, consumer, Real Style Network)
• Yonge St. (2010, consumer, Issue Media Group)

PRINT LAUNCHES 2011

Consumer:

• Dutch (2011, print, Mokeham Publishing)
• Sportsnet (2011, print, Rogers Publishing)
• The Grid (2011, print, consumer (free), Star Media Group) *previously Eye Weekly until May 2011
• Hush (2011, print, Dadmehr Naimi)
• Canadian Yachting West (2011, print, Kerrwil Publications)
• Maxim Canada (2011, print, GDC Media) - men's interest
• Toronto Home (2011, print, Leah Lipkowitz)
• The Kit (2011, Star Media Group)
• MMA Guide (2011, Harris Rosen) - mixed martial arts
• Be Fabulous! (2011, Gryphon Publishing) - for Baby Boomer women
• The Dorchester Review (2011, consumer, Foundation for Civic Literacy)

Business:

• AXS Longboard Retailer (2011), print, Michael Brooke, Rick Tetz
• Chamber Vision (2011, print, Metro Guide Publishing)
• Renovation Contractor (2011, Caruk Media Group)
• Grocery Business (2011, Grocery Business Media)
• Travel Management (2011, Business Information Group)
• Ever (2011, print, Rive Gauche)

Custom:

• Sara (2011, print, TVA) - Reitman stores
• Canadian Magazines Canadiens (2011, print, Spafax)

PRINT STOPS 2011

Consumer:

• Eye Weekly (2011, consumer, Star Media Group) *Became The Grid in May 2011
• Homemakers (2011, consumer, Transcontinental - TC Media)
• Madame (2011, TC media)
• Harrowsmith Country Life (2011, print, Malcolm Publishing) - also had large-ciculation annual Harrowsmith Alamanac that closed
• Holmes (2011, Dauphin Media Group)
• Canadian Architecture and Design (2011, Dauphin Media Group)
• Dogs in Canada (2011, print, Apex Publishing)
  
• Gaze (2011, print, John Williams) - For gay community of Atlantic Canada

Business:

• HighwaySTAR (2011, print, Newcom)

ONLINE LAUNCHES 2011

• Petpourri (2011, consumer, Teresa Morgado)
• Condominia (2011, business, Communiqis Inc)
• Toronto Standard (2011, consumer, Toronto Standard Media Company)
• Queeries (2011)
• Chikara (2011, consumer, Angela Jorgensen) - female mixed martial arts
• Artoronto (2011, consumer, Publishers Three)
• Canadian Industry Online (2011, trade, Industry Media)
• Global Renewables Online (2011, trade, Industry Media)
• masalamommas.com (2011, consumer, Anjum Choudhry Nayyar) - South Asian mom culture
• Ramp1885.com (2011, consumer, Hina Ansari) - fashion
• Envision: Seeing Beyond (2011, business, Breton Communications) - Optical industry
• Astitva:An Identity (2011, consumer, Renu Minhas) - for south Asian women over 40

Tally Making:

What follows are the criteria we use to identify launches and closures.
• Only standalone magazines with bonafide editorial content are counted as launches.
• Not included are annuals or SIPs; magazines bound into other titles; newspaper sections, inserts/unbound supplements touted as magazines; and magazines that have restarted unless the magazine had ceased publishing for over a year.
• English and French editions of the same launch count as one, except in cases where the editorial content is significantly different.
• Unless found, magazines listed as M.I.A. will be counted as closures next year.