Series: Spring 2008

Wendy Mesley sits on a couch with Sarah Mulvihill in Brockville, Ontario in February 2005 to interview her for an episode of Marketplace. Mulvihill, 30, has blue eyes and chin-length, feathered blond hair. Six years earlier Mulvihill was one of the first Canadians to be prescribed Diane-35, a pill for severe acne. Mulvihill was told that… Continue reading Killer Smile

It is 4 p.m. on Tuesday, September 18, 2007, in the Queen Street East offices of St. Joseph Media. The fourth-floor kitchen is crowded with Toronto Life magazine staffers who sip Trius Brut sparkling wine and nibble on cheese while Sharon McAuley, the magazine’s publisher, gives a speech. They should be at their Macs working on the… Continue reading You’ve Come A Long Way…

From: brand_x@gmail.com Subject: Need Advice—Should I Invest in Brand Extensions? Date: January 16, 2008, 9:43:12 AM EST To: brandock.stan.shawn@gmail.com Dear Mr. Shawn, I’m the publisher of an 18-month-old bimonthly business magazine targeting young entrepreneurs. I’ve heard a great deal about your experience with creating successful magazine brands, and I was hoping you could help me.… Continue reading Letters to a Young Publisher

This hostile, icy metropolis is exhausting. Every stereotype—the constant military presence, the babushkas begging in the crowded Metro, real fur, stray dogs, dirty slush, the Christmas trees next to statues of Lenin—overwhelms the senses almost instantly upon arrival. Many Moscow buildings carry plaques: this or that historical figure lived here. This land explodes with stories… Continue reading The Russian Enigma

Jen McDonnell was unaware that alerts were bombarding her BlackBerry one Friday night last February. She was with friends at a bar on College Street when she got the call from a colleague. CNN had already caught wind of the news. McDonnell rushed home to cover the story, drafting a news brief on her BlackBerry… Continue reading Addicted!