Masthead News Archives
July 1999
Images hires fashion expert as new top editor
Toronto, Ont., 29 July, 1999: Fashion, beauty and fitness guru Charmaine Gooden has been appointed editor-in-chief of Multi-Vision Publishing Inc.'s Images magazine. Gooden, whose résumé lists an eight-and-a-half-year stint as beauty and fitness editor at Chatelaine, has also contributed to such titles as Flare, Modern Woman, Point of View and Avon's Confidante. Her work also extends to the small screen, where she recently created and hosted The Beauty Guide, a half-hour show on the Women's Television Network. As well, she has been a regular correspondent for CBC Newsworld and The Dini Petty Show. Before entering into a career in journalism, Gooden worked for four years as Holt Renfrew's special events and publicity coordinator. Her influence on Images will become apparent as of the upcoming Winter 1999 issue, due out Nov. 15. Gooden's appointment fills the void left in April following the departure of former editor-in-chief Kate Macdonald, now editor of Gardening Life.
Contact: 416-595-9944
--The
CANCOPY names copyright expert to top job
Toronto, Ont., 28 July, 1999: The former CEO of both Copp Clark Professional and the Canadian Almanac & Directory Publishing Co. Ltd. has been appointed executive director of the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (CANCOPY). The appointment of Fred Wardle--he officially starts on Sept. 1--was announced today by CANCOPY's board of directors. Currently the president of Wardle Communications Inc., Wardle will replace current executive director Andrew Martin, who leaves the post on Aug. 1. According to a CANCOPY press release, Wardle has "extensive publishing experience" in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. He is also the current chair of the Canadian Copyright Institute, and he is a past president and chair of the Canadian Publishers' Council. "We chose Mr. Wardle because of his extensive business experience and commitment to copyright issues," the release quotes CANCOPY co-chair Rosemary Neering as saying. As for Martin, he is credited with making an "important contribution" to CANCOPY's growth during his six-and-a-half-year tenure as executive director (projected revenues for 1999 are expected to top $20 million).
Contact: 416-868-1620
--The Editor

Liquor board gives birth to book on booze
Montreal, Que., 27 July, 1999: Quebeckers interested in learning more about the wine, beer and liquor they consume now have a new magazine to help guide their tastes. Launched in May by the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ), SAQ primeurs is published under contract by the Montreal ad agency Publicité Martin. According to editor Marie-Claude Hébert, the bilingual title covers SAQ products, complete with product histories and dining recommendations for "what goes with what." Also included are sections on travel to wine- or spirit-producing regions, cuisine, and the food and wine preferences of local celebrities. Roughly 230,000 copies are printed in English and distributed free via SAQ branches and Montreal's English-language daily, The Gazette. The French edition, which makes up the bulk of the title's 2.3 million circulation, is also distributed through SAQ branches, as well as through local newspapers.
Contact: 514-845-2160
Frequency: eight times per year
Circulation: 2.3 million
Cover price: free
Subscription: n/a
Colour ad: $15,000
--Deanna Rosolen

New quarterly looks at native Canadian art
Toronto, Ont., 22 July, 1999: There are stories behind works of art. And for art collectors and researchers, learning those stories can provide a better connection with a particular work--not to mention a clearer understanding of it. Hence last month's launch of Genous: First Peoples Art of Canada. "There's lots of stories to be told," publisher Dennis Hillman says of his new glossy offering. "It's needed." Hillman, who was an Inuit art distributor for 15 years, says the magazine focuses on native Canadian visual arts, providing "uplifting" stories on new and longtime artists, as well as profiles of artists with unique gifts. Distributed to museums, universities and librairies across Canada, Europe and the U.S., the new quarterly also includes exhibit reviews and gallery profiles.
Contact: 905-271-1977
Frequency: quarterly
Circulation: 15,000
Cover price: $7.50
Subscription: $24.95
Colour ad: $2,330
--Deanna Rosolen

Masthead founder heads for new challenges
Markham, Ont., 21 July, 1999: After seeing Canadian Home Workshop through a name change, a redesign and a 5% jump in circulation, editor Doug Bennet is calling it quits. Bennet, Masthead's founding editor, has announced that he will be leaving the Camar Publications title on Oct. 1 to pursue a book proposal and several freelance projects. "I feel like I've made a difference here," he says of his three-year stint with the Markham, Ont.-based title. "It's been good." Bennet's resignation coincides with that of Workshop senior editor Lee Oliver, who is also leaving in October to go freelance. The search for replacements is now underway. According to Bennet, his first priority after leaving will be to prepare a book proposal with fellow writer Tim Tiner. The pair hope to publish a U.S. edition of their outdoor guide Up North, which has already spawned a second edition here in Canada. "It's just been eating away at me for about three years," he says of his book plans. "It's one of those things if you don't do it now you'll never do it." As for his career in magazines? "I will be back in magazines, inevitably," says Bennet. "I just have to get this book thing out of me, to see if we can do it. I don't want to be on my deathbed thinking we never tried."
Contact: 905-475-8440
--The Editor

Where publishes special book for Pan Am Games
Winnipeg, Man., 20 July, 1999: Just in time for the Pan Am Games here, Where Winnipeg has released what it's referring to as a special collector's issue. Entitled "Best of Winnipeg," the 220-page, perfect-bound issue debuted this month. Editor Brad Hughes says the special edition offers profiles on local artists, chefs, summer festivals and the people who live in the city's different ethnic quarters. The Best of Winnipeg also includes a calendar of events for the Games, restaurant reviews and shopping guides. According to Hughes, 62,000 copies were printed.
Contact: 204-943-4439
--Deanna Rosolen

Adbusters aims to go bimonthly this fall
Vancouver, B.C., 12 July, 1999: Abusters, which serves up quarterly tirades against over-consumption and consumer culture, plans to boost its frequency to bimonthly this fall Named Magazine of the Year at the National Magazine Awards in June, the Vancouver-based title hopes the change provides for a more consistent newsstand presence. According to marketing assistant Jonathan Priddle, the magazine's current quarterly status creates lengthy stretches when it can't be found on newsstands. "Being a magazine," observes Priddle, "you want to be on the stands all the time."
Contact: 604-736-9401
--Deanna Rosolen

Canada Post's Statement of Mailing goes digital
Toronto, Ont., 9 July, 1999: Forget brushing up on your math skills. Canada Post's Statement of Mailing (SOM) form is now on Canada Post's Web site with a rating engine that automatically calculates mailing costs. For publishers, this should be welcome news. "If you've ever gone through the rating process on the manual form, or especially with subsidy calculations, it's become quite harry now," says Sandy Quaile, an officer with Canada Post's department of process improvement, national sales and finance. This fall, meanwhile, publishers will also be able to submit the eSOM form electronically through the corporation's Web site.
Contact: www.canadapost-esom.com/overview_e.html.
--Deanna Rosolen

PMB entertains new way to capture data
Toronto, Ont., 8 July, 1999: In order to accommodate its burgeoning membership, the Print Measurement Bureau is considering changing the way it measures magazine readership patterns. "We fear that we may hit a wall with the number of titles we measure," says PMB president Steve Ferley, noting that the current, time-consuming "through-the-book" methodology could eventually prevent the firm from accepting new members. Toronto-based PMB now has roughly 100 member titles, but Ferley says he expects membership to continue growing due to fragmentation within the medium. Currently, the PMB board is considering whether to adopt the "recent reading" methodology employed in the U.S. According to Ferley, recent reading is "easier to administer" because survey participants are asked if they have "read or looked into" any issue of a particular magazine within a specified time frame. With the "through-the-book" approach, the questions specifically pertain to the most recent issue of a magazine. Should the board decide to adopt the new procedure--a decision is expected by the end of August--the matter will be brought to the membership for a vote. Contact: 416-961-3205
--The Editor

Sally Armstrong calls it quits at Homemaker's
Toronto, Ont., 7 July, 1999: After 11 years as editor-in-chief of Homemaker's, Sally Armstrong is leaving the Telemedia title to return to school and pursue a writing career. She informed publisher Barrie Wykes of her decision late last month. "She been phenomenal for the magazine," says Wykes, Armstrong's boss at Telemedia. "She has been the magazine." Armstrong says the decision to leave was one of the hardest she's ever made. "It's time. I know it's time," says Armstrong, noting that she'd been thinking of resigning since last year. "I know this is the right thing. It's very scary." Although she leaves her post voluntarily, Armstrong admits it is not without some reluctance. "I love my magazine, I love my readers," she says. "I've always said, ‘I don't work for Telemedia, I work for some woman in Moose Jaw or Halifax or Montreal.' And I really, honest to God, believe that." Love her job as she may, Armstrong says she could heard the clock ticking. "If I'm ever going to do anything else with my life," she recalls thinking to herself, "I have to get going or else it's just not going to happen." Prior to her appointment at Homemaker's, Armstrong spent 13 years on the editorial staff of sister Telemedia title Canadian Living. Originally a high school teacher, she began her career in journalism as a columnist for The Mississauga News. Throughout her magazine career, Armstrong has been an active industry booster, serving as president of the National Magazine Awards Foundation and helping found the Canadian Society of Magazine Editors. She now plans to enroll in a University of Toronto graduate program focusing on women's studies. That'll be at night. Through the day Armstrong hopes to carve out a career as a freelance writer. And given her abiding interest in the national and international rights of women, she's also keen to write a book--she's already written the outline--on the struggles of Balkan woman during the past decade of conflict. While her successor has yet to be chosen, Armstrong say she's "very anxious to help with that process. It's still early days." Could she envision a middle-aged white male as a possible ? "Well, you know, the gender issue is interesting," says Armstrong. "I regret that I didn't end up with a male editor. I certainly offered the job to several, but never managed to close the deal. You know, what we do is not so gender specific in terms of a good read. And more than 20% of our readers are men. Could a man edit it? Well, it would have to be a pretty special man."
Contact: 416-733-7600
--William Shields

Publisher buys out Kenilworth Publishing Inc.
Richmond Hill, Ont., 5 July, 1999: Markham, Ont.'s Kral Communications has bought association magazine publisher Kenilworth Publishing Inc., which counts Construction Canada, Signs Canada, GreenMaster and IGA Canada among its stable of titles. The April 30 deal sees Kenilworth president Jim Davidson stay on as chairman, while Ellen Kral--who had been serving as group publisher for the previous one and a half years--takes over the top executive position. According to Kral, the sale allows Davidson to fulfill his desire to "scale back" his involvement in the Richmond Hill, Ont.-based publishing concern. Along with his chairman responsibilities, Davidson will also serve as a consultant concentrating on corporate promotion and developing new business. Contact: 905-771-7333
--Fouziah Ismail

CCAB opens first office outside Toronto
Montreal, Que., 2 July, 1999: Periodical auditor CCAB, a division of BPA International, has opened a full-service office in Montreal to better serve its 107 Quebec members, as well as new applicants from the region. The new office, the first-ever CCAB branch office established outside of Toronto, officially opens this month. Manning the office will be senior auditor Matt Pasquale and auditor Annabel Eggleton. According to a CCAB press release, the new Montreal operation represents the second phase of CCAB's 1998 merger with New York-based BPA International. "For the past 18 months, we have concentrated on upgrading our technology, and we are now in a position to expand services to all CCAB members," says Peter Little, chairman of the board of BPA International. "By having a permanent presence in Quebec," he says, "CCAB will be in a position to provide closer, more personal service." The address of the new Quebec office is: 1010 rue Sherbrooke Ouest, Bureau 1800, Montreal, H3A 2R7.
Contact: 514-845-0003.
--The Editor

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