“Magazines turn page to post-Internet era” |
| Magazines turn page to post-Internet era Posted: 08 Mar 2011 07:35 AM PST Do you have your copy of Goats Across Canada yet? New Vancouver-based magazines are popping up like baby goats in springtime but there's no guarantee they'll survive beyond the thaw. Titles in Masthead's yearly tally of new Vancouver magazines for 2008 include Goats, which is exactly what it sounds like; Blush Magazine, for modern mothers, published in Richmond; and FortyFour, a magazine for youth by high school students in North Vancouver. While these particular titles may not seem relevant individually, magazines link Canadians across a very large country. Before the Internet, magazines stretched the boundaries of communities. Families in Toronto and Prince George ate meals that sprang from the same pages of Canadian Living. Magazines today still serve a unique purpose, even in this information-saturated age. People don't go online to read well-researched 10-page articles--they go to magazines. But magazine publishing is an expensive venture, often the financial equivalent of a black hole. Money has to come from somewhere and more often than not, it comes from the Ministry of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, as well as the Canada Council for the Arts. Canadian magazines receive government subsidies for editorial content as well as delivery costs through two separate Heritage Canada programs, the Canada Magazine Fund and the Publications Assistance Program (PAP), which helps cover postage costs for magazines. The programs are slated to be replaced by the Canada Periodical Fund in 2010 or 2011, which could affect subsidy levels in the near future. As most of Vancouver's magazines already operate on a small budget, this has editors worried about publications' survival. The government needs to subsidize Canadian magazines so they can survive alongside their wealthier American cousins, according to Glen Clark, CEO of book and magazine distribution company News Group North America and former NDP B.C. premier. U.S. magazines already dominate the market, leaving Canadian publications struggling to maintain their cultural voice. "The little guys in Canada are a fairly small part of the industry in general," the former politician says. But not everyone agrees that magazines should be kept afloat with public money. The Canadian Taxpayers Federation says arts and culture in Canada should be paid for by the people who want it and not through taxation. "The best way to fund magazines is with tax cuts," says Maureen Bader, provincial director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation of British Columbia. The federation is a non-governmental organization established to monitor government spending. Bader says giving the choice back to Canadians about what they want to spend their money on is not only best for taxpayers; it would make the magazine industry better by ensuring competition. "Then the inclination is for content writers and publishers to make magazines that people want to buy." Cutting subsidies could mean a return to the days when the arts were defined by the tastes of those wealthy enough to fund them. Bader says less government interference would mean those who can afford to finance the arts would step in and everyone else could keep more of their paycheques. The problem is, many people have the mistaken idea that money given to magazines is wasted or frittered away, says Jenn Farrell, vice-president of the British Columbia Association of Magazine Publishers (BCAMP). "I think some people are under the impression that these magazines receive a lot of money, which they don't, or that the money is being used frivolously, which it is not," Farrell says. The City of Vancouver estimates that every dollar spent on arts funding raises an additional $12.75, which is re-invested in the local economy, according to a report prepared by the Alliance for Arts and Culture in 2009. Farrell recently attended this year's B.C. Book and Magazine Week, which was co-run with the Association of Book Publishers of B.C. She says celebrating the industry is important, especially when the future is so uncertain. "Everything is kind of in flux right now," Farrell says. The BCAMP is primarily concerned about how the changes to Heritage Canada's magazine funding will affect smaller B.C. literary and arts publications. The new fund is set up to subsidize magazines with a circulation of more than 5,000, leaving the little publications to fend for themselves. "It is ironic because these are often the magazines that are most in need of support," Farrell says. "These are the magazines that are operating on a shoestring budget already." The week long festival is a chance for those struggling to keep magazines alive, and readers, to relax and have fun, Farrell says. But editors and publishers may not feel much like celebrating these days. The industry has always been difficult--with or without a recession. Only one in nine magazines makes it, much like struggling start-up restaurants. Fly-by-night operations are nothing new, and Canada's magazine history is littered with tales of rags that barely made it to the newsstands and went under. Then there are the veterans, surviving for years before finally giving out. One of Canada's oldest national magazines, Saturday Night, stopped publishing in 2005 after 118 years. However, while national magazines struggle to find both readers and relevance, some city magazines have maintained strong followings. Gary Stephen Ross was editor-in-chief of Saturday Night magazine when it ceased production. He is now editor-in-chief at the very successful Vancouver Magazine. Vancouver's top magazine is robust and healthy, with a circulation of 50,000, even as many major magazines waste away due to a dearth of advertising and subscriptions. The publication, owned by Transcontinental Media, had a 17 per cent jump in readership in 2008, according to the Print Measurement Bureau, a non-profit organization that compiles information for Canadian publishing companies and advertisers. "We're the exception," Ross says. But despite Vancouver Magazine's success, Transcontinental itself has faced a difficult start to the year. Transcontinental publishes in Canada and the United States and has suffered a steep drop in advertising, as well as increased printing costs, during the recession. The company laid off 10 per cent of its employees, including 600 people in Canada, in February 2009. While none of the layoffs hit Vancouver Magazine, even the successful 40-year-old publication has to count all of its staples in this economic climate. "We're being careful and budget conscious. It's a tough world out there," Ross says. "But we're not planning to lop off any heads." But he says the demise of some magazines may just be part of a natural selection process because the market is so crowded. Even if that is the case, Ross says it is never easy to see another magazine fail. "It's a sad day for everyone. There's no dancing on graves." With advertisers pulling out, government subsidies shifting, and consumers spending less on luxuries like subscriptions, it is no wonder editors and publishers are concerned. "We're getting it on all fronts," says Stephen Osborne, publisher and founder of Geist magazine. Geist, aimed at readers who want their art and literature straight up, grants their simple request with an equally simple design. Osborne, who started the national literary quarterly that could in 1990, says the new Canada Periodical Fund might set aside less money for editorial expenses. Part of the problem is that Canada Post is no longer co-funding the PAP. Previously, Canada Post had matched the cost of mail delivery through the program but stopped contributing last March. This means the Canadian government had to give an additional $30 million to the PAP to keep it afloat until the new fund replaces it in the next two years. It also means the government will have to put additional funding into the new periodical fund to cover the hefty price tag of shipping national magazines across the country--or subsidies that magazines would have used to cover editorial costs will go to postage stamps instead. The guidelines for the new fund are vague but Heritage Canada says funding amounts will be based on a magazine's popularity and it will be up to the publishers to determine what the money covers. This means postal and editorial content subsidies will no longer be separate. Heritage Canada has only released limited information about the fund over the past two months but publishers are already concerned about two particular changes: a cap on maximum subsidies to any one magazine, and a requirement that magazines have a circulation of at least 5,000 per year. These two issues hit publishers at both ends of the spectrum--the very large magazines as well as the new, smaller publications that are struggling to find loyal readers. The cap is expected to affect magazines such as Canadian Living (also a Transcontinental Media publication) and Maclean's. Individual magazines will receive a maximum of $1.5 million through the fund per year. While that amount might be more than enough for magazines like Geist, it doesn't come near covering the cost of shipping Canadian Living to your door every month. In 2008, Maclean's received more than $2.5 million and Canadian Living nearly $3 million, through the PAP to cover postal costs. Geist received $9,515 through the PAP last year, not a significant portion of the magazine's funding. According to Osborne, Geist is still not bringing in the big money. "It's not generating any meaningful revenue. Not yet," Osborne said. But Geist does make it well past the lower-end of the criteria for subsidies, with a yearly circulation of 10,000. However, many of Vancouver's smaller cultural and literary periodicals may not be eligible for funding under the new terms, including those published by colleges and universities. Event Magazine and Prism International, literary efforts published by Douglas College and UBC, respectively, each have a circulation of 1,200. Both could have trouble securing subsidies under the new Heritage Canada program in the next few years. The voice of the contemporary Canadian poet could fade to a whisper without the platform of publications like Event and Prism International. And modern Canadian literature survives in large part because of magazines like Geist. About two-thirds of Geist's budget comes from subsidies and grants, and less than a quarter comes from advertising. Geist receives funding through the magazine's foundation, which gets its money from a number of different sources including the Tula Foundation, the Canada Council, the B.C. Arts Council, the B.C. Gaming Branch and Heritage Canada. As for how Geist will prepare for the possible funding changes ahead, Osborne says there's nothing publishers can really do. "There's no way to plan for it," Osborne says, laughing. "We're just going to hang in here." While magazines search for new ways to keep the coffers full, the Internet is not much help. Both Geist and Vancouver Magazine have taken diverse paths through cyberspace and neither is richer for the trip. "It doesn't really make more than a few thousand per year," Osborne says. Geist's website is primarily used as a tool to get feedback from readers. "It is really like an extension of the letter to the editor," Osborne says. But at Vancouver Magazine, the website is a completely separate entity. While the print magazine contains in-depth articles on every aspect of Vancouver life, including politics and history, the website focuses on entertainment, restaurants and shopping. "Our understanding of how people use the web is they use it for specific information," Ross says. "People don't sit there and read a 4,000 word article online." But some smaller magazines are using the Internet as a more affordable alternative to print. Only magazine, launched by editor Darren Atwater in 2004, ran as a print publication for two years before going completely online. Atwater also founded Vancouver's Terminal City magazine in 1993. It folded in 2005. The differences between running a print and an online magazine are manifold, Atwater says. Atwater now lives in London, England but the magazine and most of the staff are still based in Vancouver. It's an arrangement that might have been impossible in the more expensive days of pulp and ink. While things are less structured at Only than at Terminal City, Atwater says staff actually communicates more often. "We talk way more often now but hardly ever see each other," Atwater says. "We're online all the time." Running an Internet magazine is also a lot cheaper. Production costs are minimal, especially if you know what tools to use. Atwater has lifelong web hosting through a company he invested in years ago, and he uses a range of open source software (OSS) which is developed and shared by users, as well as Google applications for document sharing and editing. While low costs and regular communication with staff are benefits for online magazines, Internet publishing still isn't very profitable and there are certainly kinks to be worked out. But Atwater says the Internet is a good medium for fledgling magazines. "There's a great opportunity for someone to do 'the' online Vancouver magazine," Atwater says. "It's all open." But there isn't much funding for online publishing from Heritage Canada or the Canada Council for the Arts. "Magazines that get funding have to be on glossy paper with paid circulation," Atwater says. "The people getting it are Modern Dog and Maclean's." Telefilm Canada does have the Canada New Media Fund but none of the last round of subsidies went to online magazines. "It's this kind of brass ring. I've never known anyone who received the money," Atwater says. "I believe it's possible, I've just never known anyone to pull it off." janayafe@gmail.com © Copyright (c) Lower Mainland Publishing This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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