Spank!

Youth Culture Online. Hmmm. When you drop in on Spank! for the first time, you may have trouble deciding if it’s some kind of commercial sucker play calculated to pitch ads at the youth of Canada, or just an exceptionally slick and well-written monthly e-zine put together by talented people who actually give a damn. The September issue features articles on Eva Braun and the Formaldehyde Fetuses, Damhnait Doyle, and Tim Howar, star of the Canadian touring version of Tommy. Besides the monthly features there are regular sections for reviews of CDs, books and movies, a spot where readers can post their own fiction, poetry and art, and a couple of variations on the post-your-own- comment page. It’s all good stuff, and the site looks and runs silky smooth. Now to drop the other shoe. Spank’s editorial board is made up of volunteers aged 14 to 28, but they get some kind of unspecified help from “publishing professionals.” There are a few ad banners sprinkled here and there. You can request the Spank! marketing package with just a click of the mouse. They’ve teamed-up with Alliance Films to give away some free movie passes. These are moves which whisper, “we’re in it for the money.” But maybe not. Hmmm.

http://www.spankmag.com

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