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Thursday, April 18, 2013

Mike Holmes Magazine Twofer

Mike Holmes has been making some news amongst magazine readers this week. First, according to numerous sources, including the makeitright.ca website, Mike will be releasing a special edition Make It Right magazine to honor the 10th anniversary of Mike Holmes on television. The magazine will be in newsstands across Canada and the US on April 22.

Secondly, Mike Holmes was voted amongst Reader's Digest subscribers as the 2nd most trusted Canadian. This is Mike's second time in that coveted second place spot. Quite an achievement!

Oh, and by the way, I'll get to that CanadianContractor Video 7 commentary soon. Lots of new things happening.

Here's some articles about the Make It Right magazine.



A newswire from the Sacramento Bee:
Mike Holmes launches Make It Right

By The Holmes Group
The Holmes Group
Last modified: 2013-04-17T18:02:14Z
Published: Wednesday, Apr. 17, 2013 - 11:02 am
Copyright 2013 . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

TORONTO, April 17, 2013 -- A special limited-edition magazine celebrating the 10th anniversary of Mike Holmes on HGTV

TORONTO, April 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ - The Holmes Group, in partnership with TC Media, is pleased to announce the release of a new limited-edition magazine, Make It Right, in honour of Mike Holmes' ten years on television.

The Holmes Group partnered with industry leader, TC Media for this new magazine. TC Media is Canada's leading provider of media and marketing activation solutions, reaching 24 million consumers in Canada alone.

"We were honoured that The Holmes Group came directly to us to produce this magazine," said Caroline Andrews, Vice President and Group Publisher, Consumer Solutions, Toronto and Vancouver, TC Media. "This was a unique opportunity for us to work with such an iconic TV personality and we are confident that fans everywhere will enjoy this exclusive insider look at Mike and his life beyond the TV show."

The publication is a balance between entertainment and education. It provides Mike Holmes fans with a retrospective and a behind-the-scenes look at the man behind the overalls, including personal details on how he went from local contractor to international celebrity.

"It seemed to us that Mike's Ten Year Anniversary was the perfect time to come back with a new publication," says Liza Drozdov, Vice-President of The Holmes Group. "After HOLMES magazine ceased publication in 2011 we stepped back and regrouped. We took the time to research and evaluate the market and we made sure to find the right partners in TC Media. We already know that people really like Mike. They want to know more about him, as well as how he does things—the right way. So that's exactly what did—we gave them more Mike."

Staying true to Mike's focus on education, the special edition also contains information that will help support homeowners with renovations and home maintenance, as well as tips related to important home issues.

Mike Holmes Make It Right is available for $9.99 and will be on newsstands across Canada and the United States on April 22, 2013.

About TC Media

Canada's leading provider of media and marketing activation solutions, employing about 4,000 people, TC Media reaches 24 million consumers in Canada through its integrated multiplatform offering that includes print and digital media, the production of magazines, newspapers, books and custom content, mass and personalized marketing, interactive and mobile applications, TV production and door-to-door distribution.

TC Media is a brand of Transcontinental Inc. (TSX: TCL.A, TCL.B, TCL.PR.D), which has about 9,500 employees in Canada and the United States, and reported revenues of C$2.1 billion in 2012. www.tc.tc

About The Holmes Group

The Holmes Group is an international brand with operations in independent media production, new home building and home inspection, as well as expansion into product development. The Holmes Group is entirely owned by Mike Holmes and responsible for developing and managing all HOLMES branded entities, including HOLMES Approved Homes, MIKE HOLMES Inspections, HOLMES Workwear, Make It Right Releasing Inc. and The Holmes Foundation.

SOURCE The Holmes Group



An interesting perspective from Canada.com:
Mike Holmes tries to get his magazine idea right
New special edition comes over a year after subscribers were left hanging

Celebrity handyman Mike Holmes’ first attempt at a print magazine didn’t end well. But now he’s going to try to make it right with a second incarnation.

A one-off edition of Make it Right will reach newsstands by April 22 with a cover price of $9.99.

Subscribers were previously in the lurch when Holmes: The Magazine to Make it Right closed, after a two-year run, in October 2011 due to a dispute between The Holmes Group and Dauphin Media Group.

Later, it was calculated that as many as 40,000 people were owed a total of $500,000 of magazines they already paid for front when Dauphin closed its doors. Promises to fulfill subscriber obligations were never kept, as the publisher vacated its office.

“Mike feels terrible about it,” Holmes Group communications director Liza Drozdov told the Toronto Star at the time. “But it’s not his fault … he didn’t get any of that money.”

A three-year, 30-issue subscription to Holmes Magazine was being offered for $60.50 at the time that it closed.



Comments about the debut issue of that first endeavour — as posted on the Canadian industry website Masthead – were critical of its amateurish design, content that seemed to be aimed at people in the home renovation industry more than consumers and content that was aimed primarily at men rather than acknowledging his female fans.

A claim that 75,000 issues circulated across Canada also raised suspicion.

About a year after the publication launched at the end of 2009, contributing writers started to publicly complain that they hadn’t been paid, which led to criticism of Holmes. After all, his pecs and overalls were prominently featured on every cover of the publication graced with his name.

The new Make it Right magazine is being promoted in conjunction with the 10th anniversary of the Holmes Make it Right show on HGTV.

“We already know that people really like Mike,” Drozdov, — still his spokesperson — explained in a press release. “They want to know more about him, as well as how he does things — the right way. So that’s exactly what did — we gave them more Mike.”

This time around, the venture will be published by TC Media, the publishing arm of Transcontinental Inc. whose publications include Canadian Living, Elle Canada and The Hockey News.

TC has come under fire in recent years from freelance journalists who expressed great displeasure with contracts that gave the company unlimited rights to any material it paid to publish. Concerns were raised over the degree to which the work could be exploited with no benefit to writers. And the national organizations that represent freelancers initiated a boycott.

Recently, it was indicated that the company has made amendments to its contributor agreements in response to the backlash.

When the original Holmes Magazine was discontinued 18 months ago, the company set up a website that invited inquires from anyone burned by the Dauphin deal, although it also indicated that readers would have to re-subscribe to any new incarnation.

“Once Holmes Magazine is set to re-launch under the new publisher,” read the notice, “we will make every effort to make it right for our readers.”

In this case, it’s not entirely clear what that was supposed to mean.



And here's some information about Reader's Digest awarding Mike with the #2 most trusted Canadian (for the second time).



Trust Issues: Results of RD's 2013 Trust Poll

The results of our 5th annual trust poll are in. Who do you trust?

From Reader's Digest, May 2013






2. Mike Holmes During the time he’s been on our screens (nine years and counting, thanks to his reno-reality shows), the contractor-turned-TV star has exposed a vast catalogue of shoddy handiwork and shady business practices—all while wearing bib overalls.

Proof of Trust: First rewired his family home (under his father’s supervision) when he was a kid.


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