Star Media Group has suspended publication of Sway magazine, a lifestyle publication aimed at African and Caribbean Canadians.
The news, announced by Toronto Star publisher and Star Media Group president John Cruickshank in a memo to staff, will impact one Star Media Group full-time employee and several contract contributors. The July 2012 issue was the last one.
Cruickshank said the decision to halt publication of the quarterly magazine was made “due to economic conditions that have resulted in weak advertising revenues.”
Bob Hepburn, director, community relations and communications at the Toronto Star, added that it’s a tough time in the advertising market for all publications, including smaller publications like Sway. The magazine has had weak advertising revenues “for some time, so it was a business decision to suspend publication,” he said.
The Sway website will only remain up temporarily.
Launched in 2005 to serve the Greater Toronto Area, Sway was distributed to locations including retail outlets and had a circulation of 50,000.
In the memo, Cruickshank said Star Media Group “remains committed to providing in-depth news and information of specific interest to the black community in the Greater Toronto Area.” He cited examples of the group’s recent coverage of Scotiabank Caribbean Carnival and a special section in June in the Toronto Star that centred around the 50th anniversary of Jamaica’s independence.
The Onion, the print version of the satirical website printed and distributed by the Toronto Star since 2011 also recently fell victim to “economic pressures.”
The Toronto edition marked the first time a print version of The Onion was distributed outside the U.S. It is still available in 13 markets including New York, Chicago and Denver.
