Rogers to Mag Awards: Cancel the show
According to a report in the Globe and Mail, Rogers Publishing CEO Brian Segal has told the National Magazine Awards Foundation to scrap this year’s program honouring magazine writers, photographers, illustrators and editors, because there is “no money for any activities outside of producing magazines.”
According to a report in the Globe and Mail, Rogers Publishing CEO Brian Segal has told the National Magazine Awards Foundation to scrap this year’s program honouring magazine writers, photographers, illustrators and editors, because there is “no money for any activities outside of producing magazines.”
According to the report by the Globe’s James Adams, Segal reportedly urged the cancellation in a letter to the NMAF, copied to other major magazine publishers , in which he indicated that Rogers would not make their customary $5000 sponsorship donation to the event.
NMAF president Patrick Walsh told the Globe that the show will go on as planned, though in a more modest form, given that judging for the event (done by over 200 industry volunteers) is virtually completed, and that more magazines than ever–including many Rogers titles–had already paid their adjudication entry fees. St. Joseph Publishing CEO Doug Knight was reported as saying that his company will help the event by subsidizing food costs. Transcontinental Publishing is reported to be continuing support for the event but at lower levels than in past years.
(Full disclosure: I am a past president of the NMAF, and a former employee of Rogers Publishing.)
