[THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED] Earlier this week John Macfarlane, editor and co-publisher of The Walrus, spoke with Masthead about his magazine’s tenth anniversary, which it is celebrating throughout 2013 but in particular with its special anniversary issue coming out later this month.
After discussing things like the new issue, the magazine’s first decade and talk of his retirement, Macfarlane sounded an optimistic note at the end when asked about where The Walrus will be in another ten years:
Right off the bat, I’ll say I think The Walrus will be here 10 years from now doing what it’s currently doing. I also think there will still be a print edition, although some of the print audience might have migrated to other platforms. It’s hard to say at the moment because we’re all in this fog and finding it difficult to see into the future very clearly. I think and hope that paid circulation will have increased, on whatever platforms. I hope that The Walrus continues to become a better and better magazine, and I don’t see why that won’t happen, since that’s what we come in here every day to do. I don’t see that culture changing.
Read the entire interview here.
Since it was founded in September 2003, The Walrus has won 99 National Magazine Awards (64 Gold, 35 Silver), more than any other Canadian publication.
UPDATE: This past Saturday’s Globe and Mail had a good article on The Walrus reaching the 10-year mark in the context of its evolving business model.