The Report Chokes on Own Bile, Dies Unlamented Death

Edmonton - A conservative magazine that was a fixture in the province and across western Canada for three decades is shutting down.

The Report, after stints as Alberta Report and Western Report, has put out its final issue.

Ya know, I remember when Alberta Report actually had status in conservative circles. Everybody knew the name Byfield, and the magazine provided ammunition for the right-wing side in many a fierce barroom debate during my undergraduate years. More, than once, Alberta Report was deemed significant enough to be satirized by The Gateway, the U. of A.'s student rag.

But it didn't last. People moved on, the issues changed, but the content of Alberta Report didn't, and its readership shrank as a result. Dwindling readership was accompanied inevitably by dwindling standards at the magazine, and, after unsuccessful attempts to re-brand itself as a national conservative publication, all that was left was the mouthpiece for a handful of disgruntled cranks - sort of a journalistic equivalent of the old guy on the porch screaming at the kids to get off his lawn. And so it has now passed away, and law of averages indicates the general tone of debate in this province should actually increase dramatically.