1 of 1- RadioActive
- Moderator
Offline 
Former CP24/CTV Reporter/Anchor Has Big Plans For NOW Magazine
I remember when NOW Magazine first came out. The freebie newspaper was something of a sensation when it hit the stands, with concert and other listings. There were copies of it all over our newsroom.
NOW eventually declined in both quality and spread, as the Internet took over and physical copies of it all but disappeared. What you may not know is that a former CP24/CTV reporter/anchor took it over and is planning not only to keep it going but expand its reach.
Brandon Gonez left traditional broadcast media for the web, starting his own company. He acquired NOW in 2023 and is now expanding the brand out west, where NOW Vancouver is about to come online. And it's likely to be just the first of many cities to come.
“What we have proven in Toronto is that audiences are looking for media that feels relevant, local, and authentic,” said Gonez, in a company announcement. “Now Canada and Now Vancouver allow us to take that model nationwide, creating new opportunities, amplifying Canadian voices, and telling our stories on a much larger scale.”
Gonez Media to expand with launch of ‘Now Canada,’ ‘Now Vancouver’
- torontostan
- Member
Offline
Re: Former CP24/CTV Reporter/Anchor Has Big Plans For NOW Magazine
I have big plans for my blacksmith shop
- Shorty Wave
- Member
Offline
Re: Former CP24/CTV Reporter/Anchor Has Big Plans For NOW Magazine
NOW magazine was a great, somewhat leftie magazine which I picked up every Thursday I believe. I used it mostly for entertainment, like upcoming gigs etc., but did read their articles. It is now a shadow of its former self, whereas the online issue isn’t that good IMO, but it must be doing well if Gonez plans on expanding it! I also remember copycat magazines like The Eye, also a free Toronto weekly, good times!
- mace
- Member
Offline
Re: Former CP24/CTV Reporter/Anchor Has Big Plans For NOW Magazine
Now was probably best remembered for the back pages filled with ads for "Dates" that guaranteed a happy ending for a nominal fee.
- Shorty Wave
- Member
Offline
Re: Former CP24/CTV Reporter/Anchor Has Big Plans For NOW Magazine
mace wrote:
Now was probably best remembered for the back pages filled with ads for "Dates" that guaranteed a happy ending for a nominal fee.
There’s that too! A former colleague of mine met his wife through the NOW classifieds, and I bought a multitrack using their classifieds as well, and it still works! So it served several purposes, happy endings included!
- Walter
- Member
Offline
Re: Former CP24/CTV Reporter/Anchor Has Big Plans For NOW Magazine
Somewhat radio-related, former NOW editor Susan G. Cole used to be a regular panellist on Oakley's 640 morning show decades ago. She was a pink and green-haired raving gay lefty, and drove the old, white male conservative listeners nuts with her views on current events and politics. Back when talk radio was entertaining.
- AspectRatio
- Member
Offline
Re: Former CP24/CTV Reporter/Anchor Has Big Plans For NOW Magazine
NOW magazine was a great, somewhat leftie magazine which I picked up every Thursday I believe. I used it mostly for entertainment, like upcoming gigs etc., but did read their articles. It is now a shadow of its former self, whereas the online issue isn’t that good IMO, but it must be doing well if Gonez plans on expanding it! I also remember copycat magazines like The Eye, also a free Toronto weekly, good times!
Yes, "NOW" and "Eye Weekly" both emerging on Thursdays. (Eye later replaced by "The Grid" in 2011. There was the freebie "Dose" as well, though that was more a competition to the freebie "commuter papers", "Metro" and "24 Hrs.")
Before Gonez's purchase was announced in January 2023, there were some dark times for "NOW" with employees not being paid since earlier in 2022. Its longtime theatre critic Glenn Sumi wrote a moving blog entry about it here:
- Chrisphen
- Member
Offline
Re: Former CP24/CTV Reporter/Anchor Has Big Plans For NOW Magazine
The Onion tried a local AV Club publication back in the late aughts - it folded in about a year.
The demise of the alt-weekly papers as a whole was unfortunate. They were vital for concert listings and did some good journalism in their day. I hope this new incarnation works out.
- Shorty Wave
- Member
Offline
Re: Former CP24/CTV Reporter/Anchor Has Big Plans For NOW Magazine
The demise of the alt-weekly papers as a whole was unfortunate. They were vital for concert listings and did some good journalism in their day. I hope this new incarnation works out.
I agree with you Chrisphen, the alt-weeklies provided tons of entertainment info, some decent journalism, entertaining classifieds and let’s not forget their comics like Matt Groening’s “Life in Hell”! Now’s annual Christmas shopping guide was a favourite of mine, found some unique gifts through it!