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Masthead News Archives
April 2002
April 2002
April 25, 2002
Time fires publisher, five others
TORONTO-Management at the Canadian edition of Time magazine fired several employees earlier this week, including publisher Marty White, sources say, adding that a total of six employees are said to have been sacked: White's assistant Naydene MacIsaac, office assistant Christine Christie and three circulation employees. Confirmed to be replacing White (in his sales capacity) is Jim Redden, currently senior national account manager with National Post Business. Redden, a sales rep with Time in the late '90s, is set to return to the weekly on May 10 with the newly created title of director of sales. Joan Brehl, Time Canada's vice-president of strategic planning, is said to have been promoted to managing director following White's dismissal. Time Canada president and editor George Russell could not be reached for comment and Brehl deferred comment to Time Inc. director of public relations Diana Pearson, who could not be reached for comment.
April 24, 2002
CanWest to magazine contributors: pay your own way
TORONTO-While the CanWest-owned National Post crows about how its now-defunct weekly magazine Saturday Night "has the most finalists"-42 nominations-in this year's National Magazine Awards competition, a source at the Post confirms that CanWest declined to even enter the work or to pay the individual entry fees ($50). Individual contributors were contacted and told that if they wanted to enter their work they'd have to foot the bill. CanWest ceased publishing the money-losing title last September. It relaunched as a bimonthly under new ownership this month. An A2 story in the National Post two days ago named many the nominees who still happen to work for the CanWest daily, such as National Post reporter Brian Hutchinson, who received three nominations. Saturday Night nominee Jay Teitel, who received four nominations but who does not work at the Post, was not mentioned in the article.
April 23, 2002
Canadian Business Press announces Top-10 lists
TORONTO-Marketing magazine and CAmagazine stand out from this year's Kenneth R. Wilson Awards shortlist crowd with 23 and 20 Top-10 appearances, respectively. At the awards gala on June 5, the Top 10 lists across 17 categories will be whittled down to five nominees vying for either gold, silver or three "Top 5" honourable mentions. Organized by the Canadian Business Press, the KRWs celebrate excellence in business-to-business journalism. Other Top-10 contenders include: The Medical Post (7), Quill & Quire (6), National (6), Occupational Health & Safety (5), Canadian Machine & Metalworking (5), Foodservice and Hospitality (5), Pharmacy Post (4), Today's Trucking (4) and Canadian Lawyer (3). To see the full list, visit www.cbp.ca
Consumer magazines nominated for awards
TORONTO-The now-defunct weekly Saturday Night which ceased publishing last September, tops the list of this year's nominees for National Magazine Awards. Thirty-five of SN's 42 nominations were for editorial submissions including investigative reporting. The city monthly Toronto Life is next with 27 nominations (23 editorial), followed by L'actualite with 20 (18 editorial). Outdoor adventure title Explore bags 14 nominations (13 editorial), Elm Street has 13 (five editorial) and Cottage Life weighs in with nine (five editorial). The following titles each received eight nominations: Maclean's, Canadian Geographic, enRoute and R.O.B. Magazine. Winners will be announced at the 25th annual awards gala to be held at Toronto's Sheraton Hotel on May 31. The full list of nominees is at www.nmaf.net.
April 19, 2002
St. Joseph to create de Pencier scholarship
TORONTO-St. Joseph Corp. CEO Tony Gagliano announced Wednesday night that his company will endow Ryerson University with a $10,000 scholarship in the name of Key Media founder Michael de Pencier. St. Joseph purchased Key from de Pencier in February. The scholarship-$1,000 per year for at least the next decade-acknowledges de Pencier's extraordinary contribution to Canadian periodical publishing, his career dating back 30 years during which time he helped create the industry's national association, the National Magazine Awards and a number of award-winning publications. "It's really an opportunity for Michael to continue having a hand in attracting some of the youngest, brightest and best people to the industry," said Gagliano.
April 11, 2002
CLB Media acquires Action Communications
AURORA, Ont.—How do you grow a trade house by 300% in less than two years? In the case of CLB Media, you do it by acquisition. Following a deal reached two days ago to acquire the five magazines published by Markham, Ont.-based Action Communications, CLB swells to a 20-title trade publisher. Why did Action owner Mike Doody, 61, sell an operation he co-founded in 1973? “Because somebody was willing to pay us money,” he chuckles, declining to reveal the sale price of his $5-million operation. Doody says he’ll stay aboard till autumn to help with the transition. He has leased Action’s building to CLB for one year. CLB president Stuart Morrison says there will be no other acquisitions this year. “We’re going to take a pause,” he says. In August 2000, CLB published just five titles—Canadian Lawyer, Law Times, Workplace News and security-related offerings Canadian Security Magazine and SP&T. In September 2000 it acquired Burlington, Ont.-based Clifford/Elliot (a $3.5-million, five-title shop), then last November it struck a deal to acquire Mississauga-based Kerrwil Publications (six titles, one of which—CAD Systems—has since closed).
April 09, 2002
Agency takes over Hustler’s Canadian edition
OAKVILLE, Ont.—The magazine that bills itself as “harder and raunchier than ever”—a claim confirmed in an independent study conducted last night—has a new publisher. Ad agency Northland Media Inc. has signed a three-year licensing agreement with the Beverly Hills-based parent company LFP Inc. (Larry Flynt Productions). Northand principal Chris Kennedy says the licensing agreement was signed last summer after previous licensee BRZ Publications of St. Jérome, Que. “ran into financial trouble.” BRZ’s phone number is out of service. “It’s a tough industry,” says Kennedy, who sold ads for BRZ, noting that mainstream national advertisers are loath to come onboard the adult title. Kennedy says, however, that with the growing popularity of “soft porn” titles such as Maxim, Hustler may yet reach new ad clients. Interestingly, the New York Times reported yesterday that porn icon Penthouse magazine is in the financial doghouse, riddled with debt and a crumbling readership heading for the Web.
April 04, 2002
Brit custom publisher mum on scuppered deal
TORONTO—A stateside Wal-Mart executive is rumoured to have sunk a magalogue project planned for Wal-Mart Canada. Publicis Blueprint, a London, England-based custom publisher had already hired at least one person only to withdraw the offer a short time later. Publicis Blueprint co-founder and managing director Jason Frost declined to comment on the rumour when reached at his London office. He also declined to say whether job ads currently posted on this Web site’s Job Board should be removed. Wal-Mart Canada marketing executive Bob Ouellette did not return calls. Sources suggest the contract may have been spiked once Wal-Mart HQ learned that their Canadian counterparts were paying for the publishing initiative. Wal-Mart, says one source, emphatically does not pay for its publishing initiatives—the custom publisher does.
April 02, 2002
Lovig unplugs cooking glossy
EDMONTON—After one year of publishing a bimonthly on kitchen-tested recipes, it became evident to an Edmonton book publisher that making a buck in the mag business requires somewhat more cooking time. The April /May issue of Cooking at Home will be the last unless Grant Lovig, owner of Company’s Coming Publishing Ltd., can find a partner. He was expecting to reach the break-even point after one year. “The business of magazine publishing has proven to be a bigger challenge than we were able to finance on our own,” he says. “We don’t want to go it alone.” The magazine had a circulation of 100,000, half of which was paid, Lovig says. Content was original and expensive to generate (i.e., it wasn’t panhandled from the book division). He’s currently in talks with an unidentified prospective partner.
Time fires publisher, five others
TORONTO-Management at the Canadian edition of Time magazine fired several employees earlier this week, including publisher Marty White, sources say, adding that a total of six employees are said to have been sacked: White's assistant Naydene MacIsaac, office assistant Christine Christie and three circulation employees. Confirmed to be replacing White (in his sales capacity) is Jim Redden, currently senior national account manager with National Post Business. Redden, a sales rep with Time in the late '90s, is set to return to the weekly on May 10 with the newly created title of director of sales. Joan Brehl, Time Canada's vice-president of strategic planning, is said to have been promoted to managing director following White's dismissal. Time Canada president and editor George Russell could not be reached for comment and Brehl deferred comment to Time Inc. director of public relations Diana Pearson, who could not be reached for comment.
April 24, 2002
CanWest to magazine contributors: pay your own way
TORONTO-While the CanWest-owned National Post crows about how its now-defunct weekly magazine Saturday Night "has the most finalists"-42 nominations-in this year's National Magazine Awards competition, a source at the Post confirms that CanWest declined to even enter the work or to pay the individual entry fees ($50). Individual contributors were contacted and told that if they wanted to enter their work they'd have to foot the bill. CanWest ceased publishing the money-losing title last September. It relaunched as a bimonthly under new ownership this month. An A2 story in the National Post two days ago named many the nominees who still happen to work for the CanWest daily, such as National Post reporter Brian Hutchinson, who received three nominations. Saturday Night nominee Jay Teitel, who received four nominations but who does not work at the Post, was not mentioned in the article.
April 23, 2002
Canadian Business Press announces Top-10 lists
TORONTO-Marketing magazine and CAmagazine stand out from this year's Kenneth R. Wilson Awards shortlist crowd with 23 and 20 Top-10 appearances, respectively. At the awards gala on June 5, the Top 10 lists across 17 categories will be whittled down to five nominees vying for either gold, silver or three "Top 5" honourable mentions. Organized by the Canadian Business Press, the KRWs celebrate excellence in business-to-business journalism. Other Top-10 contenders include: The Medical Post (7), Quill & Quire (6), National (6), Occupational Health & Safety (5), Canadian Machine & Metalworking (5), Foodservice and Hospitality (5), Pharmacy Post (4), Today's Trucking (4) and Canadian Lawyer (3). To see the full list, visit www.cbp.ca
Consumer magazines nominated for awards
TORONTO-The now-defunct weekly Saturday Night which ceased publishing last September, tops the list of this year's nominees for National Magazine Awards. Thirty-five of SN's 42 nominations were for editorial submissions including investigative reporting. The city monthly Toronto Life is next with 27 nominations (23 editorial), followed by L'actualite with 20 (18 editorial). Outdoor adventure title Explore bags 14 nominations (13 editorial), Elm Street has 13 (five editorial) and Cottage Life weighs in with nine (five editorial). The following titles each received eight nominations: Maclean's, Canadian Geographic, enRoute and R.O.B. Magazine. Winners will be announced at the 25th annual awards gala to be held at Toronto's Sheraton Hotel on May 31. The full list of nominees is at www.nmaf.net.
April 19, 2002
St. Joseph to create de Pencier scholarship
TORONTO-St. Joseph Corp. CEO Tony Gagliano announced Wednesday night that his company will endow Ryerson University with a $10,000 scholarship in the name of Key Media founder Michael de Pencier. St. Joseph purchased Key from de Pencier in February. The scholarship-$1,000 per year for at least the next decade-acknowledges de Pencier's extraordinary contribution to Canadian periodical publishing, his career dating back 30 years during which time he helped create the industry's national association, the National Magazine Awards and a number of award-winning publications. "It's really an opportunity for Michael to continue having a hand in attracting some of the youngest, brightest and best people to the industry," said Gagliano.
April 11, 2002
CLB Media acquires Action Communications
AURORA, Ont.—How do you grow a trade house by 300% in less than two years? In the case of CLB Media, you do it by acquisition. Following a deal reached two days ago to acquire the five magazines published by Markham, Ont.-based Action Communications, CLB swells to a 20-title trade publisher. Why did Action owner Mike Doody, 61, sell an operation he co-founded in 1973? “Because somebody was willing to pay us money,” he chuckles, declining to reveal the sale price of his $5-million operation. Doody says he’ll stay aboard till autumn to help with the transition. He has leased Action’s building to CLB for one year. CLB president Stuart Morrison says there will be no other acquisitions this year. “We’re going to take a pause,” he says. In August 2000, CLB published just five titles—Canadian Lawyer, Law Times, Workplace News and security-related offerings Canadian Security Magazine and SP&T. In September 2000 it acquired Burlington, Ont.-based Clifford/Elliot (a $3.5-million, five-title shop), then last November it struck a deal to acquire Mississauga-based Kerrwil Publications (six titles, one of which—CAD Systems—has since closed).
April 09, 2002
Agency takes over Hustler’s Canadian edition
OAKVILLE, Ont.—The magazine that bills itself as “harder and raunchier than ever”—a claim confirmed in an independent study conducted last night—has a new publisher. Ad agency Northland Media Inc. has signed a three-year licensing agreement with the Beverly Hills-based parent company LFP Inc. (Larry Flynt Productions). Northand principal Chris Kennedy says the licensing agreement was signed last summer after previous licensee BRZ Publications of St. Jérome, Que. “ran into financial trouble.” BRZ’s phone number is out of service. “It’s a tough industry,” says Kennedy, who sold ads for BRZ, noting that mainstream national advertisers are loath to come onboard the adult title. Kennedy says, however, that with the growing popularity of “soft porn” titles such as Maxim, Hustler may yet reach new ad clients. Interestingly, the New York Times reported yesterday that porn icon Penthouse magazine is in the financial doghouse, riddled with debt and a crumbling readership heading for the Web.
April 04, 2002
Brit custom publisher mum on scuppered deal
TORONTO—A stateside Wal-Mart executive is rumoured to have sunk a magalogue project planned for Wal-Mart Canada. Publicis Blueprint, a London, England-based custom publisher had already hired at least one person only to withdraw the offer a short time later. Publicis Blueprint co-founder and managing director Jason Frost declined to comment on the rumour when reached at his London office. He also declined to say whether job ads currently posted on this Web site’s Job Board should be removed. Wal-Mart Canada marketing executive Bob Ouellette did not return calls. Sources suggest the contract may have been spiked once Wal-Mart HQ learned that their Canadian counterparts were paying for the publishing initiative. Wal-Mart, says one source, emphatically does not pay for its publishing initiatives—the custom publisher does.
April 02, 2002
Lovig unplugs cooking glossy
EDMONTON—After one year of publishing a bimonthly on kitchen-tested recipes, it became evident to an Edmonton book publisher that making a buck in the mag business requires somewhat more cooking time. The April /May issue of Cooking at Home will be the last unless Grant Lovig, owner of Company’s Coming Publishing Ltd., can find a partner. He was expecting to reach the break-even point after one year. “The business of magazine publishing has proven to be a bigger challenge than we were able to finance on our own,” he says. “We don’t want to go it alone.” The magazine had a circulation of 100,000, half of which was paid, Lovig says. Content was original and expensive to generate (i.e., it wasn’t panhandled from the book division). He’s currently in talks with an unidentified prospective partner.
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