Now, also known as NOW Magazine, is a free alternative weekly newspaper and online publication in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was first published on September 10, 1981 by Michael Hollett and Alice Klein. NOW is an alternative weekly that covers news, culture, arts, and entertainment. NOW is published 52 times a year. The publication can be picked up in subway stations, cafes, variety stores, clothing outlets, restaurants, alternative movie venues, and in its green and red newspaper boxes. NOW is published every Thursday. NOW has been online since 1993, first as now.com and then as nowtoronto.com since 2000. The Toronto Star launched Eye Weekly in 1991 as a competitor to NOW, although NOW consistently remained the more widely read publication and Eye Weekly folded in 2011. It is also a central sponsor and its owners held an ownership stake in North by Northeast, a major annual music festival in Toronto. NOW was privately owned by Hollett and Klein until 2016, when Hollett sold his share of the company to Klein and left the newspaper to focus on North by Northeast as the festival's president and founder. In 2019, Klein's NOW Communications sold NOW to Media Central Corporation for $2 million. Klein remained with the newspaper as "Chief Editorial Strategist". A few weeks later, Media Central Corporation also announced a deal to acquire the similar Vancouver publication The Georgia Straight.
Content
Syndicated content in NOW includes Dan Savage's "Savage Love" sex advice column and Rob Brezsny's "Real Astrology". Notable writers and editors include Susan G. Cole, Adria Vasil, Glenn Sumi and Norman Wilner. NOW publishes several comprehensive guide issues every year. Some of these include:
Green efforts
Some of these efforts include the construction of the Green Roof in 2006. The roof helps to keep the building temperature regulated while using less energy which aids in keeping pollution low. The plant life, which is a sedum species, helps to purify the air. The green roof also reduces stormwater runoff - which can cause sewage backup during periods of deluge. NOW implements a 100% recycled paper policy and uses only vegetable-based dyes for print. This effort, each year, saves over 28,000 living trees, reduces greenhouse gases - the equivalent given off by 534 cars, eliminates 7 swimming pools of waste water and saves 79 garbage trucks worth of solid waste. Now also partners with Green Enterprise Toronto and Canopy. Both companies are dedicated to responsible business and green initiatives. NOW is a certifiedB Corporation.
