Shameless Magazine: Making It To 10 Years And Beyond, Revenue Strategies For Small Magazines

Shameless magazine is a Canadian magazine for teen girls and transgender (“trans”) youth. Its first issue was published in June 2004 with the aim to be an alternative to what was offered in the mainstream media for young women, to fill a perceived gap in the magazine racks. Shameless is entering its tenth year of publishing in June 2014. It hangs by a thread financially, and even though its editorial voice has grown and flourished over the years, the mechanics of funding and financing the publication have not. This report summarizes the history of Shameless magazine, and is the only account on paper to date. It identifies the need for more revenue as a major and immediate need, and surveys four main sources of revenue for magazines: circulation, advertising, grants, and donations, with discussion on how each of these applies, or does not yet apply, to Shameless magazine. The result of this analysis and reflection on the history of the magazine is a set of nine recommendations to guide the magazine in building and maintaining financial stability. Shameless contributes an important voice to Canadian media, and with careful focus on the most suitable revenue streams it will continue to publish for years to come.