A number of local magazine staffers are developing a new “go-to guide” for culture in Hamilton, three years after a similar publication was shut down.
Co-founder and publisher Jeff Martin says the whole point of Hamilton City Magazine is to fill a void for a “hard copy” of all things evolving in Hamilton’s food, music, sports and arts scene.
The vision will be to celebrate all things Hamilton through print with stunning photography, illustrations and world-class writing.
“We’ve had huge, unbelievable support from across the city, from businesses, retailers, artists, musicians, the city itself,” Martin told 900 CHML’s Good Morning Hamilton.
“So we think it’s going to do well … and it is tough putting a new magazine together in this era of technology, but we’re going to offer both print and digital.”
The new journal will take a similar view that the community Hamilton Magazine had provided for decades, prior to being shutdown by Postmedia Network Inc. in 2019 due to profitability issues.
Hamilton’s historic cotton factory in the city’s former industrial hub is the new home of the periodical which Martin hopes will grow into a bustling office down the road.
Aside from typical business expenses, like corporate, distribution, writer and photographer fees, soaring paper costs amid the latest surge in inflation is another complication.
“Paper over the last two or three years, like everything else, has just been soaring in costs,” Martin said.
“We’ve seen paper go up 30, 40 per cent over the last three or four years.”
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Going all digital was something the publishers considered but Martin says looking across the landscape in North America, the most successful city magazines still publish hard copies.
“One of our goals is to increase our print subscriptions, too,” Martin remarked.
“Also … we will be using them for tourism and in hotels across the Greater Hamilton area.”
The completely independent publication is in the final week of a crowdfunding campaign which organizers hope will generate something in the neighbourhood of $125,000 to cover launch costs.
A 32-page preview edition is now online.
The magazine will work off of traditional yearly mail-out subscriptions but perks, like T-shirts and contesting, will be available for those who pick up their copies on the weekend of July 9-10 at 270 Sherman Ave. N.
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