Gonez Media has finalized an acquisition of Now Magazine’s digital assets, with plans to re-launch the Toronto alt-weekly as a digital-only outlet.

In an announcement Monday, the company said Now would be re-launched on Jan. 17. The major focus in coverage will return to Now‘s roots in art, music and entertainment, but also explore new topics and communication channels, such as content on Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube.

Gonez Media was created in 2021 by former CP24 personality Brandon Gonez to launch a new online news and entertainment program, The Brandon Gonez Show. Last year, when the show struck a sponsorship deal with TD, the company said the show reached one million views by the end of 2021, with an average audience per episode of 20,000 to 25,000 across all of its social channels. Its audience is predominantly (80%) between the ages of 18 to 44.

The company also offers services in influencer marketing, production, social and digital marketing.

Gonez said in a statement that the acquisition “elevates Gonez Media to become a true dominant player in Canada’s digital media landscape,” adding that the “ground-breaking change” the company says to have brought to news in Toronto will also make Now “bigger and bolder than ever.”

An independent publication for most of its 42-year history, Now Magazine was acquired by Media Central in late 2019. Then-CEO Brian Kalish told MiC several months later that the acquisition of Now and Vancouver-based The Georgia Straight were part of a plan to consolidate “hundreds” of alt-weeklies as a way to reach a valuable audience in a more efficient way.

However, the pandemic began shortly after the acquisitions and Media Central was among the media companies that were hit hard financially as advertisers shifted their budgets. Among the changes Media Central instituted as a response to its new financial challenges were to combine both publications’ editorial departments with sales and marketing teams, eliminating the traditional separation most outlets maintain to ensure journalistic independence. Media Central also eliminated coverage of venues and arts – major areas of coverage for any alt-weekly – and instead shifted focus to health, education, finance and esports.

By the end of March 2022, however, Media Central was no longer able to meet its financial obligations and filed for bankruptcy. At the time of the filing, Media Central said that both Georgia Straight and Now, as subsidiaries of the business, would continue to operate as usual, though debt holders sought to sell the publications to recoup some of the debt. However, former and current staff at both newspapers had been open about being owed several back pay, leading many to leave or, especially in the case of Now, continue their coverage without pay.

After Media Central’s struggles began, Now moved to monthly publishing schedule, but in August, acting editor Radheyan Simonpillai tweeted that Now’s August issue would likely be its last in print, though it would continue to publish online. Simonpillai moved on from Now in September. In late December, Glenn Sumi – the magazine’s long-time theatre writer and one of the few remaining editorial staff for much of the previous year – tweeted that his Now email account has been shut down without prior notice, which seemed to signal the official end of Now until Monday’s announcement.

A tweet from Sumi suggested that former and recent Now staff had not been contacted by Gonez Media. In Monday’s press release, the company said news-driven content on social would be powered “by the excellence of [Gonez Media’s] seasoned editorial team.”

A spokesperson for Gonez Media told MiC that it would be hiring a new team that “reflect[s] the diversity of Toronto.” No previous staff will make the move to the new version of the outlet, as the acquisition only included Now’s digital assets, not the governing company.

“As journalists, first and foremost, [Gonez Media] feels for Now Magazine’s former editorial team,” the spokesperson said. “[The company’s] hope and intention in acquiring Now is to help combat this era of hardship and create new opportunities across the Canadian media landscape. Their goal is to reinvigorate hope and life into the city’s media landscape by ushing in a new era for Now, which includes building a whole new editorial team from the ground up.”

Featured image by LexnGer.