| May 27, 2010 | MagaScene Newsletter 71 |
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• Magazines Venture into the Promised Land: • One Year Older and Still Growing: The Online Life of Birthing Magazine... • NEWS: National Mag Nominees, Call for WMA submissions, Digital Economy Consults... • EVENTS: MagNet, SFU Workshops, Social Media and Copyright Webinars... • JOBS: up! Editor... • ETC...Golf Mag for Sale, Space for filling Station...
Magazines Venture into the Promised Land:
By Anh Chu Rob Tanner is the ideal volunteer by any definition: dedicated and engaged with a tendency to go above and beyond. So his shock at winning AMPA’s Volunteer of the Year Award came as a surprise to us here at AMPA, where we think he’s an obvious choice and have always found his contributions to be truly stellar. This humble attitude is part of what makes Rob, president of Tanner Young Publishing Group (which publishes Canadian Cowboy Country and Where Edmonton), deserving of such recognition. The other part is his clear commitment to the Alberta magazine industry. For the past nine years, Rob has sat on the AMPA board of directors (with a two-year stint as president devoting many hours to advancing the association and ensuring its sustainability) and on its membership and advocacy committees. He also remains an active advocate for magazines as the chair of the Alberta Cultural Industries Association. But for all of Rob’s involvement, he is the first to admit that he gains as much as he contributes. AMPA spoke to an effusive Rob about the highs of volunteering, and what he predicts for the future of magazines (hint: it’s bright!). AMPA: You are a very busy man but have been a strong supporter of AMPA and the industry. Why? The magazine industry is an extremely vibrant one and there are different models: controlled circulation, which is prevalent in Alberta, versus a typical Ontario distribution of paid circulation—both of which offer different challenges. AMPA has made the Alberta industry’s voice be heard better at a national level. It’s strengthening the industry in Alberta. There’s a lot of work to be done yet, however I’m working for a group that allows magazine publishers a larger voice and at the end of the day, we all win. Over the past nine years, what are the achievements you’re most proud of? Why should magazines and industry people join AMPA? It’s also great on the professional development side of things: learning how other people are doing things, getting the Pros on the Road or seeing some of the expert speakers that come through. Even if you take one thing out of the conference, for example, you’re wiser than you were when you went in. Anybody not taking advantage is missing a huge opportunity to improve their own business. There are many new technologies like the iPad that could change what magazines become. If you had a crystal ball, what would the future hold for Alberta magazines? Why are magazines are so well-positioned to take on new technologies? That sounds promising. Is there anything else you’d like to add?
One Year Older and Still Growing: The Online Life of Birthing Magazine Babies are on our minds at AMPA these days, and with the next generation of our team on his/her way, the latest issues of Birthing Magazine are both eagerly anticipated and quickly dog-eared. Who knew an article on cloth diapering could prompt such lengthy lunch-hour discussions? The creative forces behind Birthing Magazine, a team of talented and ambitious women—all mothers themselves—know all too well the issues that matter most to today’s moms (and dads too!). Laura de Jonge founded Birthing Magazine in 1997 to provide a forum for addressing topics for which information was not always readily available, such as midwifery care, homebirth, extended breastfeeding and attachment parenting. More generally, it is a magazine devoted to offering information on natural pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, birth and early parenting alternatives. Though their readers are predominantly female, Birthing’s Editor In Chief Karen D. Crowdis describes a growing interest in, and involvement with, the birth experience on behalf of men. As a result, the magazine directly engages male readers with birth stories written by dads and articles encouraging women to just let dad be dad. The online life of Birthing is in its own early infancy—the website’s overhaul and re-launch took place in January 2009. At www.birthunlimited.ca, Birthing’s readers are connected with the larger community that is Birth Unlimited—the non-profit organization behind the quarterly publication—and to relevant resources and events. There is a new digital membership option, offering an online alternative to the traditional membership and allowing readers to access the latest issue in a digital format; the digital edition of the spring 2010 issue is also offered as a benefit for regular members. The result of the website and magazine redesign has been an increase in contributions from professional heath care practitioners and writers; this, as Crowdis explains, demonstrates the success of the changes, as it is no small feat to attract talented and informed writers. Birthing has further online endeavours in mind for the near future. A student group has developed a communications plan for the magazine, which will be used to determine their next steps in the online realm. Currently in the planning stages are a member-only section that will include a forum/feedback component, and potentially a blog. The active participation of Birthing’s Facebook followers, who frequently engage with the discussion topics and pose questions about their own pre-natal and parenting dilemmas, demonstrates the desire for this kind of ongoing engagement with the community. As with all print media, Birthing Magazine is adapting to the demands of ever-changing technology, and the increasing interest in online content. Here at AMPA, we just want to know when they’ll venture into how-to video—for that day when we have to help our soon-to-be mom make sense of those darned cloth diapers.
NEWS And the Nominees Are…
It's the Oscars of the Canadian magazine-world...the National Magazine Award nominees for 2010 have been announced. The 2010 Western Magazine Awards Competition is Open The competition is open from May 3 to June 4, 2010. Magazines are invited to send in entries in any of its 28 categories. No hard copies are required, unless entering for one of the Magazine of the Year categories (new, trade or provincial). Magazines may enter as many pieces as they’d like, and may enter the same piece in more than one category. PDFs are required for every Written, Visual and Gold Award category (not Magazine of the Year). Finalists will be announced on the Western Magazine Award website and by email in the summer. Winners will be announced in October. Questions? Call 604-945-3711, email: info@westernmagazineawards.ca, or visit Be Heard with the Government’s Digital Economy Consultations Get your opinion heard! The Government of Canada has launched national consultations to help inform the development of a digital economy strategy. Deadline for submissions at digitaleconomy.gc.ca is June 9, 2010.
EVENTS MagNet June 1 to 4, 2010 MagNet is Canada’s national public policy, professional development and networking conference for magazine professionals. This internationally acclaimed event attracts participants from around the world with its targeted and dynamic programming. The industry’s top leaders, innovators, thinkers and visionaries congregate once a year in downtown Toronto to attend MagNet, produced collaboratively by Canada’s key industry associations.
SFU Summer Publishing Workshops July and August 2010 The SFU Summer Publishing Workshops offer you a chance to learn from and work with more than 100 of North America's top editors, writers, marketers, designers, publishers, and new media moguls. They will challenge and guide you through one of the most intense and valuable educational experiences you may ever have. Getting Social: Using Social Media to Grow Your Brand Thursday, June 17, 2010 2:00pm EST (Webinar)
Featuring: Amber Mac Facebook groups. Twitter. Blogs and video blogs. How should your brand be reaching out to your audience through social media—and should you be thinking of them as an audience at all? Join technology journalist and author of Power Friending: Demystifying Social Media to Grow Your Business Amber Mac as she takes us through her strategy for making friends with customers by:
Members: $25 Non-members: $35 Copyright 101: Featuring Warren Sheffer Tuesday, June 29, 2010 2:00pm EST (Webinar) Not sure what copyrights your magazine has been acquiring—or should be acquiring—from your contributors? Unclear on what digital rights you have and what those rights mean? Worried about what kind of paper trail you should have on file in case of copyright disputes? Not clear on just what you can do with the content you've purchased? Join Magazines Canada for a primer on copyright with lawyer Warren Sheffer of Hebb & Sheffer. Warren is engaged in a broad intellectual property and business law practice. He regularly advises clients in the Canadian publishing industry. In addition to his LL.B., he holds a B.A. in Economics, an M.A. in History and a Professional Specialization Certificate in International Intellectual Property Law. He currently serves as duty counsel at Artists’ Legal Advice Services (ALAS), a not-for-profit summary legal advice clinic in Toronto that serves artists of all disciplines.
JOBS Editor, up! magazine (posted on May 19, 2010) Deadline to apply: June 4, 2010 This position requires at least six years’ of senior editorial magazine experience (preferably with a newsstand publication; better still with a travel magazine) and a skill set that includes engaging and sophisticated writing, deft editing and managerial and organizational proficiency. Click here to read full posting for Editor, up! magazine ETC... For sale: Regional golf magazine Regional golf magazine in second year of publication for sale. Established industry relationships, excellent freelance talent pool and distribution system in place. Serious inquiries only. Sherry Shaw-Froggatt, Frog Media Inc., 403-807-1272 Swap: Magazine Ad space for Office Space
filling Station is a literary and arts magazine run entirely by volunteers, dedicated to publishing only the most original and innovative poetry, short fiction, creative non-fiction and creative criticism. Unlike other literary magazines based in Calgary, fS does not currently have university affiliation; as such, it often has more difficulty securing free, central community space. fS has a crucial need for space for events such as literary workshops, our Blow Out Alternative Literary Festival, fundraisers, magazine launches, and, ideally, an office. Those involved with its creation and outreach events mandate comprise the filling Station Publications Society, a non-profit society registered with the Province of Alberta. filling Station Magazine has been publishing for 15 years (and, this fall, 50 issues) with help from the Canada Council for the Arts, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, and Calgary Arts Development Authority. If your organization has space that is appropriate, benefits extended to you from filling Station could include a free full page ad in each of our issues distributed locally and nationally through Magazines Canada, both in print and online (our electronic edition, iPhone compatible, is available through Magazines Canada's Digital Storefront), a banner ad on our website (currently being designed by the wonderful Structured Abstraction), inclusion in our electronic newsletter, and preferential recognition in all of our publications and event materials alongside our other major funding bodies (CC, AFA, CADA), a sponsorship package with a dollar value of over $1500. If this proposal sounds interesting, we would love to bring you some magazines, take a look at your Calgary location, and discuss possibilities further. Please contact Managing Editor Laurie Fuhr at meditor.fs@gmail.com |
To UNSUBSCRIBE from MagaScene, please send an email with the subject "UNSUBSCRIBE" to ampa@albertamagazines.com. MagaScene is written and compiled by Anh Chu. To be in included in the next issue of MagaScene, please send an email to ampa@albertamagazines.com.
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