By Karen Fish
In the two weeks following the September terrorist attacks in the United States, local magazine and newspaper retailers experienced a dramatic rise in sales.
“We couldn’t get enough of any particular newspaper to keep up with the demand,” says Sebastian Amato, store manager of Maison de la Presse Internationale on Bank Street. “Same thing with the magazines. A lot of magazines put out special issues and they were sold out as soon as they were coming in.”
Planet News on Sparks Street, International News on Albert Street and Mags & Fags on Elgin Street also reported an increase in sales, particularly magazines with extensive coverage of the terrorist attacks.
“We had to order extra magazines like Newsweek, Maclean’s and Time,” says employee Anita Nasrallah from International News. “A lot of people actually wanted me to save certain magazines for them [such as] the Time special issue.”
Retailers also reported selling more New York City newspapers such as the New York Times and the New York Post after the September attacks.
Amato says Canadians probably bought newspapers from New York City because “that’s where the event happened.”
Carleton University journalism professor Catherine McKercher says magazines allow society to commemorate and keep track of key events.
“People do want a record (of the attacks in the U.S.) because this is going to be for many people the defining event of the year . . . or the defining event of their lives,” she says.
McKercher says magazines make good souvenir items because they store easily, preserve well and offer readers a printed record of the past.
“If you look through old magazines that you’ve kept, it’s kind of a way of recapturing the feelings of the times in addition to the story,” she said.
St. Pius X high school teacher Carol Lo Mascolo intends to use the special issue of Time magazine as a teaching tool in her world issues class.
“Now that terrorism has hit close to home, it’s something that is on the lips of all students,” Lo Mascolo says. “The more information I can provide through in-depth reading, the more informed my students will be.”
Although magazine and newspapers sales also rose at Globe Mags & Cigars on William Street, co-owner Simon Leclair said business has actually dropped about five per cent.
“(The attacks) are probably the main reason,” he said. “People are afraid, people are spending less money.”
McKercher adds major news events attract more readers because they have greater impact.
“(The attacks) certainly had impact because they hit the sense that the world is not safe.”