Toronto’s NOW magazine has been sold, will re-launch digitally later this month
Every city needs some kind of alternative weekly that covers politics, culture, and the arts in ways mainstream newspapers can’t or won’t. For decades, Toronto had NOW magazine (est. 1981). Every Thursday, issues were available around the city for free and were a source of not just plenty of information and opinion, but concert listings, reviews, and interviews. At its peak, 60,000 copies hit the street every week.
But like so many print outlets, NOW fell on hard times. Costs increased while circulation decreased. Advertising revenue collapsed. Staff went unpaid. New ownership didn’t help, either, and late last summer, the last print edition of NOW hit the streets. It looked like the end.
Good news, though. An online media company called Gonez Media has acquired all the assets of NOW and will re-launch it in a digital-only format later this month.
Yes, NOW had already transitioned online–the website remained after the print edition stopped–but without meaningful resources (i.e. money to pay staff), it struggled. Updates to the site were few and far between.
According to a statement from Gonez “NOW will become a more prominent, trusted and defining voice in the news and culture space of Toronto.” Expect stories and features to be published on both Instagram and TikTok.
No word on what will happen to the remaining staff.
(Via Andrew)
