Rogers Media reduces Maclean’s, Chatelaine publication schedules and takes four magazines online only

FLARE, Sportsnet, MoneySense, and Canadian Business will only be available online and on apps starting January 2017. By H.G. Watson, Associate Editor Rogers Media is reducing the print schedule for its flagship magazines, and making four magazines digital-only properties starting in 2017. Maclean’s, a weekly current affairs magazine that was officially launched under its current…

FLARE, Sportsnet, MoneySense, and Canadian Business will only be available online and on apps starting January 2017.

By H.G. Watson, Associate Editor

Rogers Media is reducing the print schedule for its flagship magazines, and making four magazines digital-only properties starting in 2017.

Maclean’s, a weekly current affairs magazine that was officially launched under its current name in 1911, will print monthly starting in 2017. Chatelaine, a monthly women’s lifestyle magazine, and Today’s Parent, a monthly magazine aimed at parents, will both reduce publication to six times a year. The company will also publish digital editions on their app Texture.

FLARE, Sportsnet, MoneySense, and Canadian Business will only be available online and on apps starting January 2017. Hello! Canada, which features news about celebrities and royalty, is the only publication unaffected–it will continue to publish weekly.

According to a Rogers Media press release, the company will focus on their English-language properties centred around five “content pillars”—Entertainment, Lifestyle, Parenting, News & Current Affairs, and Sports. As a result, the company is divesting its interests in its business-to-business publications, as well as their French-language properties—Châtelaine, LOULOU, and L’actualité.

In January 2016, Rogers Media announced it would be cutting four percent of its workforce, according to The Canadian Press. In February, employees were laid off from Rogers publishing and radio divisions. At the time, the Huffington Post reported that Canadian Business was in danger of closing. However, Globe and Mail reporter James Bradshaw reported later that there were no plans to shutter the magazine.

Update, Sept. 30 at 3:53 p.m.:

Rogers spokesperson Andrea Goldstein told J-Source in an email that today’s announcement is about investing in the future. “We are doubling-down on digital to grow our magazine business, and have committed more than $35 million in capital and marketing to create and promote digital content. We believe we’ve struck the right balance in navigating the shift to digital from print.”

She said that the print area of the business will be wound down by the end of 2016. “These decisions are never easy, and we will take our time to ensure this is done in a thoughtful manner.”

H.G. Watson can be reached at hgwatson@j-source.ca or on Twitter.

H.G. Watson

H.G. Watson was J-Source's managing editor from 2015 to 2018. She is a journalist based in Toronto. You can learn more about her at hgwatson.com.