Nova Scotia's Frank magazine ceases publication
The Halifax-based satirical magazine Frank has announced its demise after more than three decades of publication.
A notice on the publication's website says the publishers "regret to announce the death of Frank Magazine Atlantic ... which occurred on September 14, 2022."
A photo montage depicting the cartoon figure who appeared on the magazine's masthead, lying in a coffin with his eyes closed, accompanies the announcement.
The website says the publication, which is distinct from the Ottawa-based magazine of the same name, had operated for 35 years.
It was widely sold at supermarket checkouts and was available online for a subscription fee, and the announcement says subscribers will be reimbursed.
The editor of the publication, Andrew Douglas, was not immediately available for comment.
The magazine has received praise and criticism over the years for its journalism, with some commentators noting that in the past it would break stories that other media then followed.
Stephen Kimber, a faculty member at the University of King's College school of journalism, writing and publishing in Halifax, said he used to frequently purchase the magazine, regarding it as something of "a guilty pleasure."
"It had a heyday when they were satirical, they were nasty, and they would uncover things people didn't want uncovered, but they had a focus on politicians, businessmen and media stars," he said in an interview on Thursday.
"There was a period when they were breaking stories," he recalled, referring primarily to the 1990s.
"They did some of the first stories about (former premier) Gerald Regan's issues with women, they did stories about (former premier) John Buchanan's trust funds. They were an important journalistic publication in this province for a period of time."
More recently, the publication was the first to publish a story revealing that senior members of an internal RCMP team tasked with providing information to Nova Scotia's mass shooting inquiry were married to two top female officers involved in the response. The two Mounties on the team were subsequently replaced due to conflict of interest concerns.
However, Kimber said in recent years he felt the emphasis often shifted too far away from knocking the powerful off their pedestals. "Many of those being exposed were ordinary people who had nothing to say in terms of public policy or business or anything else," he said.
"I stopped making it a regular thing to buy."
In 2017, the magazine came under criticism for a cartoon that depicted El Jones, an African Nova Scotian poet who was attending a demonstration, as having a jutting chin and sloping forehead.
The magazine modified the image after critics described the image as racist and launched campaigns to remove the magazine from stores. Douglas also apologized to readers, saying, "In our mind, we didn't use (a) racist character, but having said that we also understand that can be totally subjective."
Jones, who is now the Nancy's chair in women's studies at Mount Saint Vincent University, said in an interview at the time she viewed the image as a throwback to racist images in magazines in the 1800s that depicted African men and women as having features closer to primates than Caucasians.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Federal funding finally comes through to replace one of Canada’s worst hospitals in the Far North
The federal government is providing $1.2 billion to help build a new hospital complex on the James Bay Coast, easing residents’ fears that construction wouldn’t start this year.
The cooking method you need to learn to get excited about vegetables this fall, expert says
'Eat more vegetables,' doctors and dietitians say over and over. But for many people, it’s hard to do, because they aren’t excited about veggies or just don’t like them.
British leader Starmer's chief of staff quits over reports about salary
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's chief of staff quit on Sunday, citing concerns that growing news reports about her role 'risked becoming a distraction to the government.'
Tropical Storm Milton could hit Florida as a major hurricane midweek
People across Florida were given notice Sunday that Milton, for now just a tropical storm off the coast of Mexico, could intensify rapidly into a major hurricane before slamming midweek into the storm-ravaged Gulf Coast.
Officer arrested after allegedly stealing alcohol from store: TPS
A Toronto police officer has been arrested after allegedly stealing three bottles of alcohol from a store.
Frequent drinking of fizzy beverages and fruit juice linked to an increased risk of stroke: research
New data raises questions about the drinks people consume and the potential risks associated with them, according to researchers at Galway University in Ireland, in partnership with Hamilton’s McMaster University.
Liberal, Conservative MPs to speak at Oct. 7 march to Parliament Hill
A Liberal MP and a Conservative MP will be part of a team delivering speeches at an event in Ottawa commemorating the one year anniversary of the attacks on Oct. 7.
Son charged with mother's murder on Vancouver Island
Police on Vancouver Island have made an arrest in the case of a 78-year-old woman found dead in her home almost two years ago.
opinion Tips on managing your financial stress
Financial strain can be an uncomfortable burden to bear, especially if you feel that you're doing as much as you can and are barely managing to stay afloat. Personal finance contributor Christopher Liew shares some tips for managing financial stress and digging your way out of debt.