I Do
A new magazine emerges in Canada to help gay and lesbian couples plan their weddings
When Kevin Bourassa and Joe Varnell planned to get married in January 2001 at the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto, they faced all the usual dilemmas. They worried about the caterers. They worried about the florists. They worried about the reservations. Except for one difference – they weren’t preoccupied about which businesses to choose, but […]
Battling the abstract
In reviewing modern art, the first step is a response
What the heck is a psychotope? I’m looking at a press release for an upcoming group show called Psychotopes at the YYZ Gallery. Not only is the event within the circulation area of the community newspaper where I work as an arts editor, but it looks like the subject matter might be local as well […]
The Great Canadian Conan Craze
O'Brien gets far more attention north of the border
This is the first thing I see when I open up my email one Wednesday morning in January: “Hey, you might want to write in and double our chances!” My boyfriend has caught Conan O’Brien fever, a highly contagious affliction that has swept across the GTA. Symptoms include compulsive email checking, fingers permanently crossed for […]
Journalism Goes Hollywood
Hollywood's treatment of the media may skew audience perceptions of the profession, but one thing's for sure: journalists on screen make for compelling characters
The trailer for Veronica Guerin is jam-packed with action. Bullets fly and cars speed through the streets against a backdrop of chilling music. At one point, Cate Blanchett as reporter Veronica Guerin says of risking her life, “I don’t want to do it, I have to do it.” The ominous tagline flashes across the screen: […]
The Journalism Bloggingspiel
Blogs are becoming a new form of journalism: serious and up-to-date but are they always reliable?
Like any self-respecting journalist, Tony Walsh has a ritual for soaking up the day’s news. Every morning, Walsh (at www.clickableculture.com) pours himself out of bed, pours a cup of coffee and pores over 24 of his favourite blogs. As a blogger and freelance writer for Shift’s online magazine and Exclaim! magazine, it’s his job to […]
Hip-Hop Blues
Reporting on a musical genre and culture that many believed to be just a "fad" only a decade ago, an abundance of hip-hop magazines now flood newsstands. But do any of them contain any journalistic credibility?
In all likelihood, writing and editing hip-hop magazines won’t instantly unlock the door to the “bling bling .” It’s harder than it seems, as it presupposes different skills. According to Kristen Asklund, who contributes toUnderground Sound Magazine, an online urban magazine, in order to be successful a writer needs “a good handle on hip-hop terminology, […]
A Shame Not To
Two young, Toronto women have created a thoughtful, brassy feminist magazine called Shameless. Now they're discovering how hard it is to get it published
Nicole Cohen and Melinda Mattos were told from the beginning that publishing a feminist magazine for teenaged girls would be a challenge. Although creating an alternative for Canadian girls is a noble venture, a magazine critical of its usual bread-and-butter would have to be creative in terms of funding. Mattos says they had some idea […]
Capital Gains
How the free, ad-dependent Capital magazine survived Canada's harsh magazine marketplace by finding its niche
So what the fuck do you do with a cultural studies degree anyway? Get into social work? Bartend? Start another degree? Design or advertise? Firing up a magazine isn’t normally at the top of any broke grad’s list of options, but in the spring of 1999 it’s what McGill University students Malcolm Levy and Jarrett […]
Internships: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
We all know what to expect from interning at the Oval Office, but what about interning at magazines - is it beneficial, or just a dead end?
I loved my magazine internship. I worked full-time: fact checking, occasionally copy editing and writing a monthly column with another intern. I was never paid, but I didn’t care. I learned how a magazine is produced and I got experience I could put on my resume. I suppose this was payment enough. Did I expect […]
2 is Better Than None
A new magazine for coupledom
Diane Hall and her husband Gerry Brown had a busy February. So busy in fact, they could only spare a few minutes for an interview about their new project. As the publisher and founder of one of Canada’s newest magazines, they’ve spent countless hours at the office getting the publication ready for its March launch. […]
