The Globe and Mail on the latest flare-up in the interest of certain magazine titles -- that appeal to a "psychographic" rather than a demographic -- in charitable status. Current case in point: The Walrus.

Some excerpts:

It's not a new gambit for Canadian periodicals. The Canada Revenue Agency has, on a case-by-case basis, given charitable status over the years to a potpourri of not-for-profit magazines overseen by foundations and deemed by Ottawa to have a strong educational thrust (as opposed to being purely "commercial" or "informational"). Among those so blessed are The Beaver, Opera Canada, Canadian Art, This and Canadian Geographic.

The Walrus was banking on receiving such status months ago, not least because its foundation has promised that, in addition to producing a magazine 10 times a year, it will sponsor educational conferences, seminars, literary evenings, debates and outreach programs. Moreover, Montreal's Chawkers Foundation, established in 1988 by Alexander's father, Charles, had earmarked $750,000 from its reported 2003 asset base of $5.8-million to help with The Walrus's start-up, the expectation being that charitable status was just around the corner.

But since that hasn't happened, The Walrus finds itself, on the eve of its second anniversary, in a quandary typical of many not-for-profit magazines that, as one publisher puts it, are driven by "a psychographic rather than a demographic." It has good but not great circulation, especially when compared to such for-profit, consumer-targeted publications as Chatelaine (715,000 paid circulation), Canadian House and Home (250,000) and Gardening Life (95,000). According to the well-regarded magazine consultant D. B. Scott, "50,000 is barely enough to get you paid attention to by advertisers." Moreover, with federal aid packages such as the Canadian Magazine Fund and the Publications Assistance Program only going so far, The Walrus is experiencing revenue shortfalls -- so much so that this summer Alexander was forced to announce he'd be paying freelancers 30 to 60 days after publication, instead of the usual "upon acceptance" or "upon publication." ...

The publishing mandates of magazines like Geist, Maisonneuve and The Walrus require "a diversity of writing styles, artistic agendas and contributors," he (Stephen Osborne of Geist) added, whereas the Style at Homes and WeddingBells of this country require a more formulaic approach. That diversity, in turn, calls for the availability of an equally diverse range of financial instruments, especially if the country wants sophisticated, well-researched stories written by well-paid contributors and published in readily accessible magazines. As Maisonneuve's (Derek) Webster noted: "It's hard to get a genuine magazine culture going in this country if everything is operating out of a basement."