Hope springs eternal

There are a number of magazine categories in which, despite many false starts, there is a perennial belief that the problem is simply not finding the right formula. Canada is a hard place to start certain kinds of titles. Sports is one. Men's fashion is another. As Samuel Johnson said of second marriages, it is a triumph of hope over experience. The impending launch of Sir, as a spinoff from Fashion Quarterly by Kontent Communications is the most recent example. But it may be the exception that proves the rule. It is being started cautiously as a twice-a-year line extension of FQ, it is being done by people who have a track record (Geoff Dawe and Shelagh Tarleton), and perhaps the market is now ready to support such a book.