Advertising forecast too unstable, Marble pulls plug on national paper

JANUARY 31, 2001

(TORONTO, Ont.) – Effective immediately, Marble Publishing Inc. in Toronto has stopped production of Canada’s national fishing newspaper, The Fishing News.

The Fishing News was entering its third year of publishing and despite substantial growth over its first two years, analysis of the 2001 and 2002 forecast showed less-than-anticipated advertising support.

"Until the publishing environment improves in the industry, we cannot produce a national newspaper every two months," said James Pugsley, President of Marble Publishing. "The news is not something you can just publish once or twice a year, so our choices were limited to all or nothing."

Since October of 1998 there have been 16 issues of the paper (eight issues in 1999, six issues in 2000 and one issue in both 1998 and January, 2001. Over that period, the paper had developed an impressive editorial staff, an informative Web site, and a growing readership from coast to coast.

"We are proud of the goals we accomplished and the tremendous work that was done by writers, photographers, artists and editors across the country," said Pugsley, who was the creator of the publication and the editor-in-chief for 15 issues.

In November of 1999, Marble signed a landmark distribution agreement with Canadian Tire that placed the paper in the fishing section of 250 stores, and established a solid connection to a national retail giant. The move brought a increased readership and sparked immediate growth in ad sales, which translated into a profitable year for the paper in 2000. However, management declared in 1999 that without continued positive outlook for 2001, the paper would be put on hold indefinitely, which is what has happened.

"This product was developed to fill an editorial void at a national level, and provide the industry with a worthwhile alternative for advertising every two months," said Pugsley. "All of our editorial, Internet and distribution objectives were met, but the advertising forecast didn’t show enough optimism."

Pugsley said the company chose to shut the newspaper down in January to allow its scheduled advertisers enough time to book their ads elsewhere, and to avoid misleading potential subscribers at outdoor shows this spring.

"We felt The Fishing News was a valuable information tool for Canadian anglers and a useful political tool as well. It’s unfortunate that this shutdown had to happen."

The Fishing News Web site will continue with existing content and the features developed exclusivley for the web, Ask A Pro, Bulletin Boards, Fishing Today, and several other sections of the site will not be effected in any way. 

SUBSCRIPTIONS
PAID subscribers will have a choice:

Upon request until June 1,
Marble will refund the remainder of your subscription (Note: 6 issues were valued at $10.70, which means Marble will refund $1.78 for each issue owed.)
OR
Upon request until June 1, Marble can transfer the remainder of your subscription to Real Fishing magazine or The Canadian Fly Fisher magazine
OR
Any remaining subscribers who have not contacted Marble before June 1 will have their subscription to The Fishing News fulfilled by Real Fishing magazine

IF YOU QUALIFY FOR A REFUND OR WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THE REMAINDER OF YOUR SUBSCRIPTION FULFILLED BY EITHER REAL FISHING MAGAZINE OR THE CANADIAN FLY FISHER MAGAZINE, PLEASE CALL 416-488-9645 EXT. 2 OR FAX TO 416-485-5218. NO E-MAILS PLEASE.

Tidbits about The Fishing News

– The newspaper was published and printed in Toronto.

– By January of 2001, The Fishing News had assembled a freelancing staff of 50 reporters and contributors, with at least one columnist in every region.

– The Fishing News hired reporters from major Canadian newspapers like the Vancouver Sun, Calgary Herald, Toronto Star and Saint John Telegraph Journal.

– At the time of closure, The Fishing News had a circulation of 30,000 papers with 800 subscribers.

– The Fishing News has earned the respect of Canada’s top fishing minds and has been quoted in the House of Commons.

– The paper was read by Canada’s top fisheries politicians, environmentalists, television and radio celebrities, conservation organizations and major manufacturers, and was well respected by retailers.

– In its first full year, the paper was bilingual.