After what may seem like an eternity for many publishers, Canadian Heritage has released its new formula for support under the Canadian Periodical Fund (CPF) for the Aid to Publishers (ATP) component.
Funding Based on Circulation
The biggest change is that support is now based on circulation instead of on editorial or delivery costs as in the past. It's no surprise that paid magazines receive the highest funding per copy, but request circ also gets support. Magazines get more funding than newspapers.
The new formula is also aimed to benefit smaller circ mags; mags with 2,500 to 25,000 paid circ are eligible for $3,000 to $31,000, and there is a cap in place of $1.5 million for the largest publications.
Will the New Formula Benefit Alberta Publishers?
While the case remains that few Alberta magazines qualify for any funding at all given our largely controlled circ marketplace, at least this new CPF formula gives publishers with paid or request circ some numbers they can plan around. The new levels of support will be phased in over three years starting with the 2011-12 period.
I'll check in with some Alberta publishers who receive CPF support as this new program unfolds to see if it's helping or hindering. In the meantime, you can read full details about ATP here.
--- Colleen Seto
AMPA Blogger-in-Residence
AMPA Blogger-in-Residence
