So Long, Elm Street
Stevie Cameron talks about Elm Street's demise
Elm Street founding editor Stevie Cameron snaps, “Oh, for Christ’s sake! That’s the kind of jealous sniping I don’t accept. What’s the matter with food and fashion? Vanity Fair has fashion!” Cameron is reacting to post-mortem comments on the reasons for Elm Street’s demise in January 2004. She’s not buying the prevalent suspicion that the […]
Too good to be Stu
Prankster columnist Jesse Brown fabricates an anti-lad magazine about the average Joe
Embarrassment and amusement. That’s the official reaction from Doug Bennet, the publisher of Masthead magazine, after his publication was taken in by an elaborate ruse perpetrated by known prankster and Saturday Night columnist Jesse Brown. Brown decided to fabricate an anti-lad magazine called Stu because he was tired of getting beaten over the head with […]
Copywrong
Does the publisher or author hold the right to secondary publication?
Heather Robertson, Mary Soderstrom and Jim Carroll all tell similar stories. In the early 1990s, they searched online databases and were shocked when they found their own articles. No one had asked their permission or given them extra money to put their work in a database. They felt cheated. The publishers were making a profit […]
Wartoons
Cartoonist David Rees declares cartoons on war
It is less than a month after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and the United States government has just begun bombing Afghanistan. It’s the middle of the night in an apartment in Brooklyn and David Rees, a freelance magazine fact-checker and occasional cartoonist is trying to make sense of everything that has being […]
Smitten with S.M.U.T.
Whether you define it as porn or erotica, S.M.U.T. penetrates its way through the orgy of competing adult-only publications
Jen Bowers, the editor and creator of S.M.U.T. magazine, emerges from the dark and smoky Zen Lounge on Queen West in downtown Toronto, where the publication is having its launch party. The 29-year-old greets me with a handshake in the lobby and upon finding out that I am part of the “media,’ passes me a […]
Feminist mags in trouble in Canada
The women behind Canadian feminist magazines are dedicated and certainly have the know-how but poor readership and advertising woes makes their jobs that much harder
Canadian women don’t have to look too far for beauty tips these days. Stores are filled with racks full of glossy women’s magazines boasting fall’s hottest eye shadow techniques or ten easy steps to achieving sexier arms. But we seem to be falling short when it comes to reaching women on a deeper level. Women […]
And the Winner is…
For all the prestige and glory associated with winning a national journalism award, is it truly a celebration of journalism at its finest?
I have never won a national journalism award. Which is okay, because I’m not a real journalist. But when I become a real journalist, it still won’t matter. Sure I’ll apply for the awards, but I’ll say it’s an honour just to be nominated. And if I win, I’ll frame my award and display it […]
Party On!
Launch parties are fun and good way to unwind, but do they also set the tone for how well a magazine will do?
“I’m kind of working,” Matt whispers in my ear. He smiles at a short, gray-haired guy who smiles back at him and slurps on his drink. Matt is temporarily employed at the CBC and right now he’s “working” the room. His contract expires soon, he tells me as he shoos me off. “Fine,” I think […]
OneWorld gives a voice to the voiceless
A new international website focuses on socially conscious journalism. But can it be objective?
“It’s possible to be socially responsible while maintaining high journalistic standards,” muses Alex Lockwood from his temporary post in Italy. “The two aren’t incompatible.” Lockwood is the content and networking manager for the “online media gateway” called OneWorld International. OneWorld has ten locations around the world, including a Canadian centre. OneWorld sites cover international news […]
To Whom it may Concern
A look at the world of letters to the editor and what it takes to get one printed
At the Toronto Star, the drab-brown hermetically-sealed high-rise by the lake, sits a pile of paper. It lies on a desk, a dozen snaking turns down the early-seventies hallways, stuccoed and beige, among the editorial offices. “Dear editor,” each page begins. They go on to document, argue, insist, clarify or plead. But first, they have […]
