Micro-blog updates

Canadian Writers Group launches May 11

An interview in the Ryerson Review of Journalism with Derek Finkle, founder of the Canadian Writers Group, reveals that the agency will go to bat for the over 50 writers that have signed with it.

In the interview, Finkle discusses why freelancers aren't willing to negotiate:

The reality is, to make it as a freelance writer, it requires almost perverse perseverance.
And I think, unfortunately, a lot of even established freelance writers have a kind of inferiority complex that’s been drilled into them over the years–one of many reasons why they don’t negotiate very well.

And why it's time for magazine writers to have agents:

It’s worked pretty well in the book world. It’s worked pretty well in the film world. It’s worked pretty well in just about every other creative field you could think of. So I don’t really know why it wouldn’t work as well here. And an agent can say things that writers are very reluctant to say.

US Circulation Spill Continues Decline
According to a Magazines Canada report, the downward slide of US circulation in Canada continues. The report finds that:

Total US circulation, as measured by ABC, has declined by one-third whereas average circulation per US spill title has declined by one-half over a 25-year period. Average spill circulation is now 13,435 copies per average US issue.

Furthermore;

Only three US magazine titles crack Canada's list of top 100 circulation magazines: National Geographic (35th); Cosmopolitan (61st); and People (97th).

Canadian publishers are reaching Canadians:

Canadian content publishers, launching an average of 60 new magazine titles each year, are effectively repatriating readers from US titles looking for editorial and advertising content that meets unique Canadian needs.

Sources:
www.mastheadonline.com