Masthead News Archives
June 2001
June 29, 2001
Parker to join New Internationalist
TORONTO—This magazine’s Judith Parker has confirmed that after four years with the crusading, left-leaning bimonthly—the last three as associate publisher—it’s time for a change. She’s set to become the North American marketing coordinator for Oxford, England-based New Internationalist magazine—a globally circulated monthly that reports on social justice issues. Parker will join her new employer in the fall to spearhead the marketing of NI’s ancillary product lines including calendars, books, and environmentally friendly products.

June 28, 2001
CMF, StatsCan data being prepared
OTTAWA—Statistics Canada has once again pushed back the release date for its Periodical Publishing Survey. StatsCan’s Tom Gorman says the survey, which covers the period 1998-1999, will be released “certainly sometime in July.” The Department of Canadian Heritage is also waiting on StatsCan. DCH publications policy manager Tara Rajan says the survey’s findings will be incorporated into an “activity report” on the first year of the Canada Magazine Fund. The report will outline, among other things, foreign publisher activity in Canada. Look for that to appear perhaps by September, Rajan said.

June 27, 2001
Eye converts to CTP
TORONTO—Concurrent with a redesign introduced last month, eye magazine also converted to a computer-to-plate (CTP) production workflow. The Torstar-owned alternative weekly is now printed at the massive print facility in Vaughan, Ont., on the same press that churns out The Toronto Star.

June 26, 2001
Malden stepping down
TORONTO—Possessed of a “desire for change,” veteran Rogers publishing executive Terry Malden confirmed today that he’ll pack it in after a three-decade career in the magazine business. Malden joined Maclean-Hunter (acquired by Rogers six years ago) in 1971 as an in-house financial analyst. He spent four years with Telemedia starting in 1984. He’ll step down at the end of next month as executive vice-president and chief operating officer of Rogers Media-Publishing. Only 54, Malden said he has no intention of retiring and will seek another occupational challenge, likely outside the magazine industry.

June 25, 2001
Quebec fashion mag loses chief editor
MONTREAL—The top editor at Publicor’s glossy women’s magazine, Clin d’oeil, left the monthly suddenly last week. A source at the magazine says editorial director Jean-Yves Girard held the post for roughly a year prior to his departure last Tuesday. “He was getting a little tired,” said a member of the editorial staff.

June 22, 2001
Geist wins magazine of the year
VANCOUVER—Geist was named Magazine of the Year last night at the 19th annual Western Magazine Awards. Conceived on the living room table by the husband-and-wife team of Stephen Osborne and Mary Schendlinger in 1990, Geist has grown to a position of prominence in the Canadian cultural community. “I feel like we’ve just scratched the surface,” says Osborne regarding Geist’s mission—to provide a forum for cultural criticism in Canada.

June 21, 2001
New PMB study results in gigantic gains
TORONTO—A Print Measurement Bureau survey released today revealed spectacular triple-digit gains in readership, with some titles climbing by almost 500%. The enormous increases result from a new methodology called Recent Reading—considered the standard in the U.S., Germany, France and the U.K.—that tends to yield higher scores than the fusty Through-the-book method used in this country since 1973. Print Measurement Bureau president Steve Ferley said response from publishers has been “mostly favourable.” A full analysis of this startling survey will appear in the July/August issue of Masthead magazine.

June 20, 2001
Rogers poaches Transcon’s star editor
MONTREAL—Elle Québec/Elle Canada editor-in-chief Lise Ravary will leave her lofty perch at Transcontinental Media this Friday to become the publisher of category competitor Châtelaine on July 24. Ravary says the move was not planned but rather resulted from discussions that developed after a casual luncheon date with Les Editions Rogers Média president Marc Blondeau. Ravary noted that Transcontinental Media has accepted her decision graciously. “They could have asked me to leave the building under escort,” she said. “I still have my full computer access. They trust me and that trust will be respected.”

June 19, 2001
PMB, Stats Can data released this week
TORONTO-The latest survey into magazine readership habits is set to be released this Thursday. Print Measurement Bureau president Steve Ferley says strict security measures have been imposed on the PMB's contract printer to ensure that everyone gets the valuable marketing information at the same time. Meanwhile, some findings from Statistics Canada's long-delayed Periodical Publishing Survey will be released on Friday, says Stats Can's Tom Gorman.

June 18, 2001
SMIG a possible target: Transcontinental
TORONTO—Industry sources say it’s overpriced at a figure rumoured to be upwards of $100 million. At any rate, the Southam Magazine and Information Group (SMIG) and its 30-plus trade magazines remain on the block. Rogers Media has already stated the asking price is too high. Well, is it? “I wouldn’t say that,” said Transcontinental Media president André Préfontaine in a brief interview recently at Magazines University. So, is Transcontinental interested in SMIG? “We’re interested in making acquisitions,” Préfontaine said.

June 15, 2001
Bayard, Spafax win U.S. awards
MONTREAL—Child education publisher Bayard Canada (Chirp, chickaDEE and OWL magazines) has been tapped for excellence in educational publishing by two American groups. The New Jersey-based Association of Educational Publishers named chickaDEE winner of the best one-themed issue and best feature article while OWL bagged kudos for best design for a feature article. The Maryland-based Parents’ Choice Foundation handed a gold award to Chirp, a silver to chickaDEE and a “Recommended” rating for OWL.

Meanwhile, Air Canada’s inflight title enRoute (published by Montreal-based Spafax Canada) will be presented with a bronze medal tomorrow night at the American Travel Writers Association banquet in Arlington, Virginia. The award is for Gwynne Dyer’s “Rock of Ages” (April 2000).

June 14, 2001
Former Toronto editor nabbed for plagiarism
SAN JOSE, Calif.—According to a report published by the San Jose Mercury News two days ago, Toronto-based CanadaComputes.com published content plagiarized by freelancer Antonietta Palleschi. The report states that content written by Los Angeles Times technology columnist Larry Magid and others appeared in at least nine Palleschi articles dating back to July 2000. Canada Computer Paper Inc. editorial director David Tanaka—who oversees CanadaComputes.com as well as such print publications as Toronto Computes! and Quebec micro!—would only confirm that a breach had occurred, noting that “I’ve been directed by Antonietta’s lawyer to cease and desist from giving public statements about this.” Palleschi is a former employee of IT World Canada (formerly known as LTI) where she edited technology journal Lac Carling Governments Review. She could not be reached for comment.

June 13, 2001
Marketing trims staff
TORONTO—Five staff positions have been eliminated at Marketing Magazine, Rogers Media’s award-winning flagship trade publication. Two of three editorial staff cuts were via attrition with recently vacated positions remaining unfilled. Laid off were: staff writer Astrid Van Den Broek, classified ads manager Patti Harris and inside sales rep Pamela Evans. “Ad pages are down significantly this year,” says Marketing Media Group executive publisher Cameron Gardner, noting that ad space in sibling title Digital Marketing has dropped by 50% over last year, “and that would be a conservative estimate.” Further staff reductions are unlikely, he says. The cuts were made late last month and come after what Gardner describes as five years of double-digit growth at the magazine.

June 12, 2001
MacLean sells publishing stake, retires
TORONTO—Pat MacLean, grande dame of the Canadian business press, is retiring from the magazine publishing industry after a career spanning more than 30 years. Last Wednesday she sold her 50% stake in Style Communications Inc. (publisher of Style and Canadian Jeweller magazines) to veteran publisher Rod Morris, who succeeds MacLean as Style publisher and president of Style Communications. “My husband’s been retired for three years now and he’s been very persuasive in getting me to slow down as well,” MacLean says. “I’m ready for this.” She was presented with the Harvey Southam Editorial Career Award in 1998, the “highlight” of her career.

June 11, 2001
Maclean’s announces layoffs
TORONTO—Eight of Maclean’s 40 editorial staffers were informed today that their services were no longer needed. The layoffs, effective immediately, result from an editorial restructuring initiated by editor Anthony Wilson-Smith who is transforming Canada’s newsmagazine from hard news reportage to a model that places greater emphasis on context, analysis and commentary. Laid off were: senior writers Patricia Chisolm, D’Arcy Jenish, John Nicol; section editors Mark Nichols (Health and Science) and John Schofield (Education); associate editor Susan Oh; assistant editor Catherine Roberts; and associate photo editor/photographer Phill Snel.

June 08, 2001
PAP being renegotiated
OTTAWA—The Department of Canadian Heritage is currently negotiating a new arrangement with Canada Post regarding the Publications Assistance Program. Talks are expected to wrap up by September, after which point DCH is expected to rule on the Canadian Business Press’ proposal concerning rate breaks for request circulation. The current PAP agreement expires next March.

June 07, 2001
Mag to focus on cosmetic modifications
TORONTO—Rising body consciousness manifesting as demand for after-market breasts and penis extension operations has prompted a Toronto-based publisher to produce a quarterly glossy providing service-oriented editorial on cosmetic surgery, anti-aging products and other forms of cosmetic enhancement. “We’re very confident we have a viable product,” says publisher Roberto DeAngelo who, along with co-owner Salon Communications, will launch the first issue of Elevate next week.

June 06, 2001
Editors honour best magazines
TORONTO—For the third year in a row the Canadian Society of Magazine Editors tipped its hat to Cycle Canada, handing it and editor Bruce Reeve the coveted Editors’ Choice Award for best magazine with a circulation of less than 60,000. Winning in the 60,000-150,000 category was editor Douglas Thomson’s Canadian Home Workshop while Canadian Geographic, edited by Rick Boychuk, won in the over-150,000 category. The annual CSME dinner and awards ceremony was held here two days ago, at the end of the opening day of the 10th annual Magazines University—the industry’s largest professional gathering.

June 05, 2001
Zikovitz succeeds McAuley at CMPA helm
TORONTO-With a show of hands and no opposition, Cottage Life/Explore publisher Al Zikovitz was elected chair of the Canadian Magazine Publishers Association yesterday. "The magazine industry has been good to me," said Zikovitz in his acceptance speech at the annual general meeting, promising to convey as industry advocate the pride members take in their respective titles. He succeeds Quill & Quire publisher Sharon McAuley who was praised for guiding the CMPA through a difficult strait of legislative (Bill C-55) and organizational challenges during the past two years.

June 04, 2001
Black’s mags too pricey, Rogers says
TORONTO—Conrad Black’s stable of 30-plus trade magazines are priced beyond what Rogers Media is prepared to pay, says Rogers Media Publishing president and CEO Brian Segal. “Yes, Rogers was interested in the Southam magazine properties but we had a different view on price,” Segal says. “[We couldn’t] agree on a price that made sense to Rogers.” Black said last month that he’s happy to hold onto the group which includes such titles as Broadcaster, Canadian Architect and Hazardous Materials Managment.

June 01, 2001
Snoops abandon CMF info request
OTTAWA—A federal source confirms that two separate requests made under the Access to Information Act have been deemed abandoned. The two requests—first by a journalist last November, then by a publisher in January—sought disclosure of more than 500 applications and related paperwork filed under the editorial component of the Canada Magazine Fund (CMF). Neither party was apparently willing to pay the photocopying and administration fee.

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Jaded says:
Wow, Torstar really seems to be on a mission to bankrupt one magazine after another....
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