mass influence

There's a little bit of hissing going on over at the Canadian Magazines blog about who's the most influential Canadian fashion magazine editor. No convincing arguments yet, but it got me thinking. Are there truly influential magazine editors on a mass culture level in Canada? Are there any editors with names recognizable to the general population, or even revered in the world/industry they cover? Any editors who are celebrities in their own right? I may be overlooking someone, but no one springs to mind, and my thought is that someone should spring to mind. Where are our Anna Wintours, our Graydon Carters, our Tina Browns? People whose names run alongside D-list actors in the society pages?

If we did a better job of promoting our top dogs, of putting forward a more public presence, perhaps it could benefit not only our brands, but also the magazine industry in general. Maybe, as our people became more recognizable, it would help our brands compete against American publications on the newsstand. Without outright saying, "You should buy Canadian" (not always a convincing reason in and of itself), audiences could grow because they know the brand and want to hear what the magazine and its editor has to say.

Plus, I think it would be a benefit to have more editors as public role models. Once you're immersed in the industry, you needn't look far to find someone to admire, but we shouldn't keep that to ourselves. We need real-life antidotes to the editors we see in The Devil Wears Prada and Ugly Betty.