Jump to content
  • About FOCUS

    Focus respectfully acknowledges that we live and work on the traditional lands of the Lək̓ʷəŋən peoples, known today as Songhees and Esquimalt Nations.

    OVER ITS 35-YEAR HISTORY, FOCUS has brought readers quality, independent journalism focused on the Victoria area. It is our mission, our raison d’etre.

    Back in 1988, though, FOCUS was born as Focus on Women, a monthly print magazine aimed at empowering women through telling the stories of Victoria-area women, along with solid writing on women’s issues. Founded by Leslie Campbell, it ran until 2004, when it became the gender-fluid FOCUS: Victoria's Magazine of People, Ideas and Culture.

    Publisher David Broadland and editor Leslie Campbell re-focused FOCUS towards enhancing dialogue on important local social, political, environmental and health-related issues, as well as covering Victoria’s lively arts scene. The magazine gained a loyal following of curious, intelligent, influential people in the Greater Victoria area and Vancouver Island.

    Victoria is an unusually well-educated and aware community and FOCUS has always reflected its readers’ concerns and interests with intelligent writing by Victoria’s most accomplished writers. FOCUS has won recognition for its journalism, including awards from the Western Canada Magazine Association and the Jack Webster Awards.

    With a strong emphasis on the arts, civic design, political and environmental issues, and interviews with the people who move and shake the city and region, the print magazine was supported by subscribers and local advertisers.

    For 32 years we printed on paper—a.k.a. trees, one of the planet's best carbon storers. When we moved from a monthly to bi-monthly schedule in 2016, it was driven largely by the desire to decarbonize. And then, in 2020, aided by a severe drop in advertising revenues due to the pandemic, we moved our entire publishing online, saving trees, the emissions they store plus the additional emissions caused by shipping truckloads of FOCUS from Vancouver and through the mail system. The move allows us to publish at far less cost to the planet.

    FOCUS has always had to operate efficiently in order to survive. Over our 35-years, we’ve also had to shift gears and directions from time to time—and this is certainly one of those times. But we have every intention of continuing with our core commitment to provide Victoria citizens with quality information about their city, the Capital region and the Province. Our digital magazine aims at being a valued community hub—still dedicated to the type of place-based news, analysis, commentary, and arts coverage for which FOCUS has become known.

    We encourage readers to participate in FOCUS by registering on the site, even if you do not otherwise contribute. We also welcome all readers to comment, respectfully, below any story to further the conversation—or send us your citizen journalism or commentary. You can also email us at focusedit@shaw.ca or through the contact button. 

    A healthy community—indeed a healthy democracy—requires strong media outlets holding the powers-that-be, whether corporate or government, to account. With readers’ support FOCUS can keep Victorians well-informed through original writing on important issues.

    We welcome your comments and inquiries either by phone or through the website’s contact button.

    Leslie Campbell, Editor & David Broadland, Publisher

    FOCUS Magazine

    Phone 250-888-7172

    email: focuspublish@shaw.ca or focusedit@shaw.ca

    www.focusonvictoria.ca



×
×
  • Create New...