What do you get when you make-over a Walrus?

J-source has the answer, via a Globe and Mail article.

Changes at the Canadian general interest magazine include a redesign, some staffing cuts, and making sure the cover art reflects the editorial content. This last bit threw me a little...we used to subscribe to the magazine and I never questioned the weird cover art. But of course it should match what's inside the magazine: how do you attract someone to buy your mag if you can't visually hook them with the content? I remember one issue with a really striking rainbow swirl on the cover. When I looked at the headlines on the cover page they were completely boring. The cover had nothing to do with the content.

J-source also points out that the new editor wants content driven by the editors themselves, not pitches from freelancers; that should help the magazine's content hang together better. You never knew with the old Walrus what you'd get when you opened the magazine, even based on the text on the cover page. It was unpredictable, I don't think in a good way.

We let our subscription lapse because we had subscribed after a particularly good issue but been entirely underwhelmed with the subsequent 10 issues. It was incredibly hit and miss. In a way I wanted to keep subscribing just to be able to support what seems like a good idea. I support well-paid journalism; I support Canadian magazines; I support an outlet for good writing. But most of it just wasn't interesting to me, and much of it was far too long. Maybe it's just not my style of magazine. I will check in over the next few issues though, just in case there's a reason to pick up the subscription again.