Magazines are wonderful things. They can explore their particular area of interest in more detail than any other media outlet. The city of Toronto, in Ontario, Canada, is often referred to as TO by locals. Canada’s largest metropolis is fortunate to have a number of excellent traditional and digital magazines. The Toronto magazine market includes a men’s magazine, a sports magazine, a travel magazine, and several TO Entertainment magazines.
A men’s magazine can tell stories in words and pictures on topics of interest to men. Bright photos of scantily-clad women are only a possibility for men’s magazines. Sports, men’s fashion, business, entertainment, cars, and other gadgets are suitable topics. But of course scantily clad women help.
Magazines are portable. It’s one thing to bury yourself in your smartphone when you’re lucky enough to get a seat on the morning commuter train. In Toronto, the commuter train is called the GO train. It runs from Oshawa, 60 kilometers east of TO, to Oakville, about the same distance east of the city. There is something about pulling a travel magazine out of your briefcase and reading about Caribbean vacation destinations that is much more in tune with the vacation mood than looking for the same material on your laptop.
Good travel magazines are hard to come by. Some of the best are seasonal inserts in major newspapers. In fact, including a free monthly glossy magazine in the folds of a daily newspaper is quite common in the Canadian newspaper business. While a men’s magazine is not the type that is inserted into a newspaper, it is a widely used forum for travel or business magazines.
The most purchased genre of magazines are celebrity gossip rags. The second place is for those who focus on the fashion and beauty of women. These magazines are usually mostly advertisements. In fact, it is because of the ads that are often bought. Travel magazines present detailed reports in person and are invaluable to those who use their vacations to travel.
Men’s magazines have come a long way. The revolution started in the sixties. It was in 1960 that the British High Court in the Chatterly case redefined obscenity. This opened the door to the incorporation of explicitly sexual photographs. Today there are numerous men’s magazines on the market that combine in-depth investigative reports, fashion articles, car reviews, and political and sports stories with beautifully photographed glossy spreads of gorgeous glossy spreads.
A sports magazine is a pleasure for sports fans. Where else can you get the backstories sports fans crave? Knowing a player’s backstory creates emotional involvement in a game even when their favorite team is not playing.
The Toronto magazine market is excellent. TO is the home of the Canadian magazine industry. It is to Canada what New York City is to the United States magazine industry. For people who make Toronto their home, there are magazines about the city’s nightlife, its housing market, sports teams, women’s magazines, men’s magazines, and everything in between.