‘Everybody talks about traditional media versus new media, and everybody wonders how we can get young people to go back to traditional media. Well, we think our magazine may be the beginning of answering those questions,’ says Dan Reitzik, president of Vancouver’s DY Mobile Inc., a division of Digital Youth Network.

Next Monday, 250,000 copies of Dialed In magazine, which he describes as ‘Canada’s first entirely interactive print magazine’ – and says is meant to be read with cellphone in hand – will hit 1,600 high schools nationwide. Because literally every article and every ad in the edgy and colourful publication contains a URL link for entering contests and downloading images, ringtones and other youth-oriented items, Reitzik contends that ‘this is the first magazine in history where every single page generates revenue. An article about the Black Eyed Peas, for example, would enable readers to easily acquire images of the band members’ or other fan-favourite features.

M2 Universal president Hugh Dow is definitely optimistic about the viability of the Toronto Star‘s new downloadable afternoon edition as a profitable venue for marketers. He’s already signed on one of his major clients – General Motors of Canada – to appear during this week’s debut of the initiative, which is being touted as the first of its kind by a major North American newspaper.

Dow’s reasoning? ‘First, they’re providing exclusivity in each of the specific categories they’ve identified. And second, this is something that’s instantly measurable in that we can track how many downloads there are on a daily basis instead of waiting for weeks or months or even years to get a fix on (the ROI).’ He adds that he thinks ‘this is a very interesting venture by the Star into unexplored territory where I believe there’s considerable opportunity. The commuter market is obviously very well served in the morning, but the return commute has been somewhat devoid.’