Goodbye Cut & Print - Hello Free Time

Wow, talk about a lack of updates. Sorry, I’ve been busy! Or have I?

No not really. In fact, I’ve done a whole lot of nothing for the past couple of weeks. Sort of like a mourning period getting over the fact that Cut & Print Magazine, the print version, has seen its final days.

Why the untimely and seemingly random closing up shop of the magazine? Well, money. It’s always money, isn’t it? Things were sort of going okay for a while but the magazine got stuck at a certain point and could never get past it. It’s fine to break even on the magazine for awhile (not counting the debt that was built over the first year of the magazine’s two year shelf live) but after awhile, it’s just not enough. It’s not enough reason to spend so much time on a project that is seemingly getting you nowhere. It also doesn’t help that in the final two months we started losing money.

With new owners taking over the Acme Food Co. we lost that crucial back page advertisement that pretty much kept us afloat. No, really. I try to explain to people that it’s that key ad that keeps a magazine running but nobody ever seems to believe me. Still, it wasn’t because they weren’t happy but because of the situation the restaurant was in.

The one thing I’m really proud of, when talking about the magazine, is that advertising in the magazine worked. Feedback every month was that the businesses in the magazine were seeing an influx in business. While one might contribute that to other forms of advertising, I know two businesses where we were the only ad they had placed all month. That says a lot about the people that read the magazine.

So, yeah, Cut & Print Magazine is over but that doesn’t mean the blog is going to die. After a recharge period, I’ve decided to keep the ramblings of a film fan alive and well. While it won’t be as essay driven as random thought driven, it’s still around and it’s still going to be fun to do. If nobody reads it anymore, well, tough. I still like writing.

Back to the demise of the magazine, though.

At the end of the day, I’m going to take an experience to heart that taught me a lot about life, myself and what I can accomplish. When the magazine was started, I knew nothing about design, selling ads (I still don’t, although the sales pit at the radio station is certain that I’d make a bundle if I went over to the dark side) or even what putting a magazine together was all about. Now I know a little.

The true talent was the people who supported me. You know, like Daniel, would single handedly saved cover after cover. Kimberly, who taught me a whole lot about design in the beginning of the process. Then there was Jason Whyte, who you could count on for movie reviews, interviews or whatever else you needed. Family helped out – Garrick kicked ass with the Dusty from the Shelves feature. I don’t think any single column, from a comedy/serious stand point topped that A-team expose in the second to last issue. Thomas and Sarah McKenzie really stepped up to help the magazine get some good non-movie related content with CD reviews and book reviews. Candice saved me from many a blank page in the magazine and really got the artsy people involved in the magazine. Chris brought a new angle to mainstream DVD reviews and Elizabeth, who really was the one who originally came up with the magazine, ruffled a lot feathers with her Elizabeast column.

And then there was Laura, my lovely girlfriend who came to bat when I really needed a couple of crucial articles. She's now picking up the slack on the web site, writing reviews and just being awesome overall. Hey, she's my girlfriend, she's great!

What ride it was.

But, all good things must come to end and Cut & Print Magazine is just another one of those things. I hope anybody that reads this still logs onto to the blog, the web site and follows everything else we do. It was fun ride and there’s no reason that the spirit of this endeavor can’t live on.

Until the next post,

Jakob Brzovic
Former editor of Cut & Print Magazine
www.cutandprint.ca