Definitions

Aboriginal magazine
See definition of Types of magazines.

Advertising content
Paid pages or fractions of pages of a magazine that are designed to convince people to buy products or services from particular suppliers (manufacturer, distributor, or agent), including advertorial (see definition below) material that is specifically designed to resemble editorial content. Charitable, public service and house ads are excluded and are not considered part of the magazine's advertising content.

Advertorial
A publication considered to be of advertising nature if it promotes or presents the interests, opinions, services or products of an advertiser (manufacturer, distributor or agent) in a similar style, format and layout of an editorial or journalistic report. The purpose of an advertorial is to gain monetary value by selling an opinion, service or product to its reader or consumer. For the purposes of the CMF, the editorial content of an advertorial is considered advertising.

Affiliated companies
For the purposes of the CMF, companies will be considered affiliated if:

one or more employees, officers or directors of another company, in the course of their mandate, control the management and/or policies of another company;
the publications are owned and controlled by the same company; and
the company owns and controls at least 51% of the voting shares or assets of the other companies.

Alternative newsweeklies
Published in a tabloid format, focusing primarily on local news and coverage containing primaril local advertising, and available free of charge in publicly accessible places.

Association magazines
A magazine published for or by an association.

Benefits (Eligible project expenses)
The employer portion (net of payroll deductions from Canadian or permanent resident employees) relating to:

statutory benefits such as Canada Pension Plan/Quebec Pension Plan, Employment Insurance and provincial health plans where applicable; and
non-statutory benefits such as group insurance coverage for medical, dental, disability, life insurance and other items.

Business Plan
A business plan is essentially a document that describes your company, its business environment, and where it is heading. A business plan is a tool that helps you overcome the risks involved while continuously maintaining a clear overview of the road to follow. Business plans can vary in length depending on the level of details included.

Generally, a business plan will:

Describe your concept/perception of your company's business;
identify your company's goals (long term) and objectives (short term);
identify financial and human resources, and describe the manner in which such resources will be employed to achieve the company's goals and objectives;
help prospective investors or lenders understand how the company will be successful; and
provide benchmarks against which you can measure future performances.

A business plan usually includes:

Executive Summary: A one- or two-page summary that describes key elements of the business plan, and briefly identifies the path of your company and where it is expected to be during the period covered by the business plan.
Mission Statement: A statement that concisely articulates the core reason for your company's existence.
Business Description: An overview of the industry that your company is part of, and within which it will compete, including description of products or services that your company will offer.
Goals and Objectives: Your vision of the ultimate goals you aim to accomplish, and the objectives you wish to achieve along the way, including your company's positioning in the market place. The objectives must be realistic, attainable and measurable.
Implementation Plan: Description of the management team, human and financial resources, as well as ways and means of using those resources through the conduct of business operations.
Marketing Plan: Identifying targets markets, advertising and promotion plans, pricing strategies, inventory management, and distribution methods.
Financial Plan/Forecast: Cash flow forecast, pro-forma income statement (profit and loss), and pro-forma balance sheet:
- A cash flow statement identifies sources of cash receipts and payments (expenses/ investments);
- a pro-forma income statement shows revenues, expenses, and net profit (loss) forecasted for a defined period of time, usually a year; and
- a pro-forma balance sheet lists the company's assets (i.e. what it will own), its liabilities (i.e. what it will owe), and shareholder's/owner's equity at a given point in time.

Business, professional, or trade magazine
See definition of Types of magazines.

Canadian editorial content
Editorial content (texts, photographs, graphics, illustrations) authored or translated by a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada within the meaning of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. Canadian editorial content adapted or condensed by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and derived from content created by a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident will be considered Canadian editorial content for the purposes of the CMF.

Canadian ownership and control
An eligible magazine must be owned and controlled in fact by a Canadian. For the purposes of the CMF, “Canadian” means:

a Canadian citizen;
a permanent resident within the meaning of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act;
a Canadian corporation as defined below;
a partnership, trust or joint venture in which a person or any combination of persons referred to in (a), (b) or (c), beneficially owns and controls, directly or indirectly, interests representing in value at least 51% of the total value of the assets of the partnership, trust or joint venture, as the case may be, and of which the chairperson or other presiding officer, and more than half of the directors or other similar officers are persons referred to in (a) or (b) above; or
a not-for-profit organization in which more than half of its members and directors are persons referred to in (a) or (b) above.

“Canadian corporation” means:

a corporation that is incorporated under the laws of Canada, a province or a territory;
a corporation whose principal place of business is in Canada;
a corporation whose chairperson or other presiding officer, and more than half of the directors or other similar officers are Canadian citizens or permanent residents within the meaning of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act;
a corporation, in the case of a corporation with share capital, of which Canadians beneficially own and control, other than by way of shares held only as security, directly or indirectly, in the aggregate at least 51% of all the issued and outstanding voting shares representing more than half of the votes; and
a corporation, in the case of a corporation without share capital, of which Canadians beneficially own and control, directly or indirectly, interests representing in value at least 51% of the total value of the assets.

For the purposes of the CMF a person who is controlled in any manner by a person or entity that is not a Canadian that results in control in fact, whether directly through the ownership of securities or indirectly through a trust, an agreement, an arrangement or otherwise, is deemed not to be a Canadian.

Circulation (average)
Number of copies of a magazine distributed per issue through various distribution methods (e.g. newsstands, mail).

Circulation (controlled)
A magazine distributed on a regular basis to consumers selected by the publishing firm. It is free of charge and in general, audited.

Circulation (paid)
A magazine's total copies sold over a 12-month publishing cycle through paid subscriptions, single copy sales and newsstand sales.

Circulation (total)
Number of copies of a magazine distributed over a 12-month publishing cycle through various distribution methods (e.g. newsstands, mail).

Contribution agreement
A contribution agreement is an undertaking between a donor department and a prospective recipient of a contribution that describes the obligations of each.

Edited in Canada
The commissioning of editorial material and artwork; directing writers, illustrators, and photographers regarding the final form of the material; as well as laying out, copy editing and proofreading, and otherwise preparing the contents for printing; must be done in Canada.

Editorial content
The space in a magazine, excluding advertising and non-revenue pages, which consists of texts, photographs, graphics, and illustrations.

Entity

a Canadian citizen;
a permanent resident within the meaning of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act;
a Canadian corporation as defined in the Applicant's Guide;
a partnership, trust or joint venture in which a person or any combination of persons referred to in a), b) or c), beneficially owns and controls, directly or indirectly, interests representing in value at least 51% of the total value of the assets of the partnership, trust or joint venture, as the case may be, and of which the chairperson or other presiding officer, and more than half of the directors or other similar officers are persons referred to in a) or b) above; or
a not-for-profit organization in which at least 51% of its members and directors are persons referred to in a) or b) above.

Ethnocultural magazine
See definition of Types of magazines.

Farm magazine
See definition of Types of magazines.

Financial statements (Financial statements of the
publishing firm)

Financial statements generally comprises:

a report from an independent public accountant;
a balance sheet;
statements of income/profit and loss;
a cash flow statement; and
notes to the statements.

The financial statements required must be at one of the following levels:

audited;
review engagement report;
notice to reader; or
non-audited financial report.

The following are definitions of the different engagement levels acceptable to the SBDMP for financial statement:

a) Audited financial statements
A certified accountant has performed auditing/ verification activities in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards. An auditor's report, without any qualifications or reservations, will generally include three paragraphs:

an introductory paragraph identifying what statements have been audited, that the financial statements are the responsibility of the entity's management and that it is the auditor's responsibility to express an opinion on the financial statements based on the results of the audit;
a scope paragraph indicating that the audit was conducted in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards that require planning and execution of auditing activities to provide reasonable assurance that the statements are free from material misstatements and the nature of audit activities performed; and
an opinion paragraph stating whether the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position, results of operations and cash flows of the entity in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

b) Review engagement report
The review engagement report differs from the audit report in that the scope of a review is less than that of an audit; therefore the level of assurance provided to the reader of the financial statements is lower. A review engagement report will generally include three paragraphs:

an introductory paragraph identifying what statements have been reviewed, that the review was conducted in accordance with generally accepted standards for review engagements, consisting primarily of enquiry, analytical procedures and discussion related to information provided to the certified accountant by the entity;
a statement that a review does not constitute an audit and that the certified accountant is not expressing an audit opinion on the financial statements; and
a conclusion indicating whether anything has come to the certified accountant's attention that causes the accountant to believe that the information being reported on is not, in all material respects, in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

c) Notice to reader
The notice to reader report indicates that a certified accountant has assisted the publishing firm in compiling data for preparation of the financial statements but has not audited, reviewed or otherwise attempted to verify the accuracy or completeness of the information.

d) Non-audited financial report
The financial report should be prepared by the person authorized to keep the financial records of the publishing firm. The following information should be provided for the two (2) most recent financial years:

a) Revenues:

advertising (net of agency commissions and cash discounts);
single copy or newsstand sales;
subscription revenues (irrespective of source and pricing);
back issues and reprints;
list sales or rentals;
Web site/e-commerce (net of agency commissions);
ancillary products;
all other revenues related to the magazine (including transfers from central services or an affiliated organization);
government grants and contributions, including the Canada Council for the Arts, and other federal, provincial and municipal sources;
private-sector donations; and
membership dues.

b) Expenses:

editorial, design and assembly;
mechanical;
circulation;
advertising;
distribution (excluding costs for copies distributed by Canada Post);
distribution costs for copies distributed by Canada Post;
general expenses and administration;
Web site/e-commerce; vancillary products; and
other expenses (specify).

c) Balance sheet:
Statement of what an organization owns (assets) and its debts or pecuniary obligations (liabilities) at a given date:

assets (e.g., cash on hand, accounts receivable and capital assets);
liabilities (e.g., accounts payable, bank indebtedness); and
cumulative profit/deficit.

Financial year
Refers to the publishing firm's financial year consisting of an accounting period of twelve (12) consecutive months.

Fiscal year
Refers to the federal government fiscal year, which starts on April 1 of a given year and ends on March 31 of the following year.

Foreign editorial content
Editorial content is considered non-Canadian if the author of the text, photograph, graphic or illustration is non-Canadian or if the authorship cannot be established. For example, texts and images obtained from graphics sites or CD-ROM where authors are often unknown or unidentified are considered, for the purposes of the CMF, non-Canadian editorial content and must be treated as such in the page count.

Guide
A publication which exists primarily for information purposes, that is to say that it is primarily comprised of listings, enhanced listings, maps, schedules, timetables or calendars, or a combination thereof.

In-kind contribution
The contribution by an individual, business or organization of materials, goods, services or time to the project that would otherwise be a necessary incurred expense. To be eligible, the in-kind contribution must be essential to the project's success, and otherwise would be purchased and paid for by the applicant.

Listings

Basic listing
A simple listing of information, with no added content whatsoever. Examples would include stock listings, sports scores, sports rankings (e.g. the top twenty skiers in the world), television listings (show x is on at time y, with no other information provided). Any publication which is made up of more than 50% basic listings is to be considered primarily a listing for the purposes of the CMF, and would thus be ineligible under program criteria.

Enhanced listing
Unlike basic listings, enhanced listings will include explanatory text (e.g. product descriptions, restaurant descriptions, a program description in a TV guide). Despite the fact that editorial work is involved in selecting and preparing such enhanced listings, they are not considered original editorial content for the purposes of the CMF, as they do not add analysis, opinion or other value-added material.

However, in recognition of the fact that additional editorial work is required, the threshold for being called primarily a listing is different for enhanced listings. Any publication that contains more than 66% enhanced listings will be called primarily a listing and will not be eligible.

Magalogue
A printed publication that primarily combines the style, format and layout of a magazine and/or catalogue in order to sell, promote or present a product or service from a company (manufacturer, distributor or agent). A magalogue may include informative articles, pictures, high-end graphics, product descriptions, and entertainment in the style of a magazine, but all for the purpose of gaining monetary value.

Magazine
A magazine is a printed publication that is commonly recognized as a magazine and appears in consecutively numbered or dated issues, and is published under a common title at regular intervals, not less than twice a year and not more than 52 times a year. For the purposes of the CMF, the Magazine category does not include newsletters, comic books, newspapers, community newspapers, weekly community newspapers, alternative newsweeklies, directories, guides, financial reports, catalogues, magalogues, schedules, calendars, timetables, or listings.

Market research
For the purpose of the Support for Business Development for Magazine Publishers component, market research will consist in collecting, analyzing and presenting information to assist a company in problem-solving and decision-making. The data should be recent and collected from reliable sources (e.g. market and sales analysis, consumer and advertising research, knowledgeable/expert opinions, industry research, previous experience) and used to support a specific course of action aimed at improving advertising, circulation or editorial content in the magazine applied for, and as stated in the project proposal.

In other words, market research:

specifies the information required to address marketing objectives (areas/issues that thepublisher wishes to address);
designs the method for collecting information (also identifies the source of the data, the person responsible for collecting it, and the collection period);
manages and implements the data collection process;
analyzes the results; and
communicates the findings and their implications.

Marketing plan
A marketing plan defines the parts of the marketing strategy of a business, addressing the details of market analysis, sales, advertising, and public relations campaigns. A marketing plan usually includes the following points:

strategic issues (information on the current business environment, internal and external issues which are affecting or could affect the business, the marketing plan or opportunities – or lack thereof – in the coming year);
market research;
marketing objectives (measurable results to be achieved);
marketing strategies (information on the chosen course of action to meet the marketing objectives); and
marketing budget (financial information showing the past three (3) years of marketing and sales expenditures plus the forecast for the coming year, including analysis of results and returns on investment in marketing).

Newsletter (association or commercial)
Printed document, sheet, report, periodical, manuscript or publication (4 to 16 pages) containing information, news or reporting on the activities of an organization which is sent regularly to the members or an organization, group, club or association. A specialized periodical news report, published on a regular cycle, aimed at a special set of audience interest having similar concerns or written for members of an organization having a common interest.

Newspaper
A publication that is commonly recognized as a newspaper due to possessing a number of characteristics common to newspapers (i.e. produced in a tabloid or broadsheet format regardless of its frequency, unbound, self-identified as a newspaper). In all cases where there is disagreement as to whether the publication is a newspaper or a magazine, a scale will be applied (refer to Part I, section 3), and all publications showing more than a minimum number of characteristics common to
newspapers will be considered newspapers for the purposes of the CMF.

Non-revenue pages
All pages other than paid advertising, contra or in-kind, or editorial content. They can include selfpromotional pages, pages donated to local charities or business with no payment, delivery of in-kind services or other consideration, etc. Blank pages are considered to be non-revenue pages.

Official-language minority magazine
See definition of Types of magazines.

One-time promotion
A special promotion done on a timely basis, the purpose of which is to boost the paid circulation of a magazine (newsstand, subscriptions and other copy sales). A marketing tool sometimes used by new magazines, smaller circulation magazines or magazines wishing to reach an additional targeted market. One-time promotions which are repeated or become part of the business model of the magazine will be considered to be unpaid circulation.

SBDMP will allow this one-time promotion in order not to penalize a magazine that normally has a 50% paid circulation base. One-time promotions that become part of the business model of the magazine will be considered to be unpaid circulation.

Overhead (Eligible project expenses)
Expenses directly related to the project, for example, long-distance telephone charges, photocopying, couriers (occupancy costs such as rent or mortgage are not eligible).

Print run
Total number of copies of a publication printed at a given period.

Professional/consultant fees (Eligible project expenses)
Payments for services rendered by an individual who is not an employee of the publishing firm, or by an organization that is separate from the publishing firm.

Publisher (publishing entity)
The publisher is the entity responsible for the publication of a magazine (see definition of entity).

Publishing firm
The legal entity responsible for the publication of a magazine.

Religious magazine
See definition of Types of magazines.

Salaries and wages
Gross earnings and taxable benefits (including overtime) of Canadian or permanent resident employees on the firm's payroll.

Scholarly magazine
See definition of Types of magazines.

Special interest magazine
See definition of Types of magazines.

Special issues
In the context of project funding under the SBDMP component of the CMF, a special issue is an additional issue to the regular publishing cycle of a title to be used as a promotional tool, e.g. if a magazine publishes six issues a year, a seventh issue published to focus on an event, theme or topic will be considered a special issue. Special issues are not considered to have increased the frequency of the magazine for the purposes of eligibility. The special issue must meet all other applicable eligibility criteria of CMF/ SBDMP. Please note that special issues published with a different title, volume number or ISSN number will not be considered as an eligible issue.

Specialized software (Eligible project expenses)
Software required for the specific needs of the project, such as fulfillment system, project management or desktop publishing software.

Staff training (Eligible project expenses)
Costs for staff to attend workshops, training courses, seminars and conferences directly related to the project.

Travel costs (Eligible project expenses)
Economy class transportation and accommodation for related project activities include:

transportation: airline, taxi, vehicle rental, parking and mileage costs;
accommodation: hotel or other; and
meals.

Types of magazines

Aboriginal
A magazine with content primarily for or about Aboriginal, Inuit or Métis peoples.

Business, professional or trade
These magazines deal with processing, manufacturing, management, sales or operation of industries or of a specific industry, occupation or profession. They are published to interest and assist persons actively engaged in the sector.

Ethnocultural
A magazine that is primarily serving and/or primarily concerned with a commonly recognized specific cultural or racially distinct community, or specific linguistic groups using other than Canada's official languages. Ethnocultural magazines may be in English, French, a third language or a combination of official and non-official languages.

Farm
These magazines deal with the farming industry, including animal farming.

General consumer
These magazines are aimed at the entire market or at a large portion of that market for the purpose of informing and entertaining the reader.

GLBT
A magazine that is primarily serving or primarily concerned with the gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered communities.

Official-language minority
A magazine that is published in English or French in a region of Canada where the language and content of the publication primarily serves and is concerned with an official-language minority community.

Religious
These magazines are primarily religious in purpose and content.

Scholarly
These magazines present results of research or advanced knowledge in a specific field. They are aimed at specialists and are mainly published by universities, research institutes and learned societies.

Special interest consumer
These magazines are aimed at a special interest market and inform and entertain the reader.

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