"Market Wire's growth reinforces our commitment to bring our clients' messages to the world," said Michael Nowlan, president and CEO of CCNMatthews, parent company of Market Wire. "With our expanded service offerings, additional locations and focus on client service and product innovation, all communications professionals can be assured that when it comes to maximizing the value and impact of their news in the market place, Market Wire is the newswire partner of choice."

Of importance, especially to Market Wire's US-based clients since the acquisition, is the direct access to The Canadian Press (CP) afforded to them via CCNMatthews' unrivaled alliance with the CP (similar in the states to the Associated Press). CCNMatthews is the only newswire that reaches the CP bureaus and CP members via the CP Wire Network. This exclusive agreement gives Market Wire clients the ability to reach the newsroom editorial systems of nearly 700 newspapers, radio and TV stations and websites across Canada. This network, the same that is used to deliver CP's own news copy directly into the newsrooms of their members' media outlets, was "built by the media, for the media," and no other wire service offers such network access.

In addition, the past six months since Market Wire and CCNMatthews joined forces have included the introduction of several new service offerings enhancing distribution options for client news and investor information while expanding operations to service its growing client base. Highlights include:

- The partnership with Rivet Software to add capability for customers to submit financial news in the XBRL(R) (Extensible Business Reporting Language) format for the efficient access, validation and analysis of financial data;

- The industry's first Social Media product designed to quickly deliver news to community-driven online content forums and social media sites like Digg, Del.icio.us and Newsvine; and the participating in the Social Media Club's Media Release Working Group to establish a standard way of organizing, tagging, distributing and sharing "official" organizational communications among blogs and other online communities;

- The addition of a customizable interface to its News Dashboard feature to enable PR and IR agency professionals to brand and tailor coverage reports for clients;

- The enhancement of broadcast services, including an Embedded Video product that allows users to embed video files featuring products, movie trailers and other visuals directly into a press release; and

- The expansion of offices into Chicago and Washington, D.C., resulting in nearly 20 locations in North America, five locations in Canada and offices in London to serve its global customer base.

"The acquisition of Market Wire by CCNMatthews has benefited our clients, and both companies," said VP of Marketing & Media Relations Paolina Milana. "Since the merger, sales have increased nearly 60%, and customer satisfaction in both Canada and the U.S. has hit all time highs."

The experts said the Internet would change everything about the way we communicate, educate and entertain. Instead, all we got was pornography, gambling, lies, theft and terrorism. Also in the issue hitting newsstands today, "Bootleg Lattes," and Canada's opportunity to defeat the Terror of Tehran.

TORONTO - After 15 years and a trillion dollars of investment, just about everything we've been told about the Internet and the information age has come up short. Instead of the promised enlightened utopia built on mutual understanding, we have constructed a virtual Wild West where the masses indulge their darkest vices, pirates of all kinds troll for victims, and the rest of us have come to accept that cyberspace isn't the kind of place you'd want to raise your kids. Maclean's Senior Editor Steve Maich reports that, "The Internet opened the floodgates to myriad forms of petty dishonesty, but real criminals looked upon its shroud of anonymity and saw an even greater opportunity. They made the Net a playground for their kind: hackers, spammers and con men. Stories of Trojan-horse programs stealing your passwords, worms burrowing into your hard drive, and spyware tracking your every move barely raise eyebrows anymore."

The figures are staggering: Consumer Reports estimated that American consumers lost more than US$8 billion over the past two years to various online scams, while mail fraud alone cost consumers US$630 million between 2004 and 2005. Approximately one in three Internet users will fall victim to some sort of cybercrime in the course of a year, ranging from minor inconveniences, like small viruses, to major frauds. "We not only accept them, we expect them," writes Maich. "You can't help but wonder, what else might we have done with all that time and money if we hadn't blown it on the Internet?"

Bootleg Lattes - Stickin' it to Starbucks

We've all rolled our eyes as we pay for an expensive latte - regret, want, and necessity, all rolled into one. But for those of us who feel most guilty a new trend has emerged. Introducing the Ghetto Latte: the use of free milk and other condiments to convert a cheaper latte to a more expensive one. Makers of these counterfeit coffees have caused quite a dust-up, from Wikipedia to chat-rooms to disgruntled baristas. Maclean's Contributing Editor Julia McKinnell investigates the "faux" latte phenomenon.

Terror of Tehran

Only 38 years old, Saeed Mortazavi, Public Prosecutor of Tehran, has a reputation worthy of his Dickensian name. In Iran's revolutionary legal system, he acts as interrogator, prosecutor, judge and jury. He has orchestrated the mass incarcerations of human rights activists, journalists, political dissidents and students. His victims cannot seek redress because Mortazavi is their judiciary. "I don't have any need for the law," he once told a prisoner's family, according to the report. "I am the law." But, as Maclean's Washington Bureau Chief Louiza Ch. Savage reports, on that day in June 2003, when he added Montreal photojournalist Zahra Kazemi to his roster of victims, he created a rare opening for accountability - if the Harper government, unlike its predecessors, makes good on its threats to seize it. They want to extradite him and have him stand trial for torture. They're building a case. But are they moving fast enough?

London, UK - This new business change management digital magazine features the latest news and views from leading Business Change professionals, all supported by the latest job hunting tips and job vacancies from large blue chip organisations to recruitment consultancies with advice from career and change experts. It is the only product of its kind in the business change sector and comprises articles, advertising and editorial which can be browsed in the manner of a web site, easily read on screen utilizing cutting edge technology or printed off in the style of a traditional magazine.

Advertisers in Change Jobs the magazine can now promote their products or vacancies directly to this audience without relying on expensive national media options or limiting the impact of their marketing campaigns by relying purely on web advertising. Change Jobs fully supports rich media such as flash, video and sound, so recruiters can make their advert stand out from the crowd.

The digital magazine is produced and distributed monthly to 14,000 business change specialists and 20,000 Human Resource professionals internationally.

Recent research indicates that 8 million households in the UK are now signed up to the Internet with a broadband connection, and this figure increases by 80,000 per week. This means increasing numbers of people can now readily and easily access all the capabilities and functions available in a digital magazine such as flash media, sound and video clips. With the look and feel of a paper publication, the magazine uses the latest digital software to combine the branding qualities of traditional print media with the convenience and interactive potential of the web.

Business Change specialists can contact Change Jobs directly in order to contribute including to submit articles, suggest ideas for discussion, networking possibilities and with any questions to Change Jobs: editor@change-jobs.com

WATERLOO – Wilfrid Laurier University will bestow an honorary doctor of laws degree on Lisa LaFlamme, CTV News national affairs correspondent and Kitchener-Waterloo native, during Laurier’s fall convocation ceremony on Friday, October 27, 2006.

“Honorary degrees are given to those who demonstrate significant achievements in their field of expertise,” explained Laurier president and vice-chancellor, Robert Rosehart. “Lisa LaFlamme is being honoured for her award-winning contribution to journalism as well as her numerous volunteer community service activities.”

According to her nominator, LaFlamme’s “tireless energy, enthusiasm and knowledge of her profession are exemplary, and her dedication and determination make her an admirable and well-respected Canadian.”

A graduate of the University of Ottawa, LaFlamme became known locally as a news anchor at Kitchener’s CFCA AM radio station, and as the news anchor for CTV Southwestern Ontario (then CKCO TV) in the 1990s. She went on to make her mark in various high-profile roles, including a position as political correspondent for CTV News in Ottawa, and as co-host of Canada AM, before becoming the national affairs correspondent for CTV News with Lloyd Robertson.

LaFlamme’s international reporting includes on-site coverage of significant world stories such as Canadian military efforts in Afghanistan, the Iraq war, the 2004 tsunami, Pope John Paul II’s death and one of the first Canadian accounts of 9-11.

She brought the nation to Laurier in early 2006 when she suggested that CTV broadcast its federal election debate reaction coverage from the university campus – giving students and faculty the opportunity to respond to a national audience on CTV News with Lloyd Robertson.

In addition to her journalistic achievements, LaFlamme’s volunteer contributions are many, including promoting Canadian Blood Services’ national blood donor clinics, the Canadian Women’s Foundation, the United Way, and many local charities, including K-W Oktoberfest.

LaFlamme will receive her honorary doctorate during convocation ceremonies at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex on Friday, October 27, 2006 at 1:15 p.m.

TORONTO - CHUM Radio is proud to announce their Kitchener/Waterloo station 105.3 KOOL FM has won an Ontario Association of Broadcasters Award for "Community Service" for their 12th Annual "Poster Boy Campaign." The Award was announced at the OAB Luncheon in Toronto, October 3rd, 2006 and recognizes a radio and a television station which has made the greatest contribution to its community in the calendar year.

The 12th Annual Poster Boy Campaign raised $185,251.00 for the Grand River Regional Cancer Centre in April 2006. Brian Bourke from the KOOL Morning Crew lived on top of a billboard in front of the Grand River Hospital, 24 hours a day for one week, encouraging tri-city residents to visit the billboard and make a donation. In its 12 years of existence, the KOOL FM Poster Boy Campaign has raise over $1.7 million for local charities.

"We're very honoured to receive this award. It recognizes the commitment our listeners and entire staff have for making our community a better place to live" said Paul Cugliari, VP and GM KOOL FM. "I'm proud of our Posterboy, Brian Bourke, for giving a week of his life every year to camp out on that platform, and for the sacrifices our entire staff makes to ensure this event is successful."

The Ontario Association of Broadcasters represents all Ontario private broadcasters at the local, municipal, regional and federal levels.

CHUM Limited, one of Canada's leading media companies and content providers, owns and operates 33 radio stations, 12 local television stations and 21 specialty channels, as well as an environmental music distribution division. Through international format licences and program sales, CHUM's original content is seen in over 120 countries worldwide and is distributed via new media platforms, including interactive television, wireless services and exclusive CHUM-branded Internet properties.

Thousands of volunteers from the Atlantic to the Pacific to hit the streets for CanWest Raise-a-Reader

WINNIPEG - For the fifth straight year and for the first time in all ten provinces, Canadians will be greeted on street corners and bus stops across the country tomorrow morning and asked to donate money to help raise Canada's literacy rate. CanWest Raise-a-Reader is a national campaign to raise money for literacy programs and awareness about the importance of encouraging family literacy.

On Thursday, September 28th, in 18 cities across Canada, volunteers from literacy organizations, employees of CanWest and its partner newspapers and media organizations, as well as celebrated Canadians will be on the streets "hawking" newspapers in exchange for donations to CanWest Raise-a-Reader. From St. John's where the Telegram employees will be out on the streets for the first time, to Vancouver where a special edition of the Vancouver Sun will be available for the ninth consecutive year.

Among the newspaper "hawkers", will be well known media personalities such as Global Television's Susan Hay and Diane Francis of the National Post in Toronto, Kevin Newman of Global National in Vancouver, as well, Laureen Harper will be joining Leonard Asper, President and CEO of CanWest Global, on the sidewalks in Ottawa.

CanWest Raise-a-Reader day is the culmination of a month long media campaign aimed at raising awareness about the importance of literacy in Canadian society. The campaign featured success stories of people overcoming reading difficulties including hockey legend and Stanley Cup champion coach Jacques Demers, who knows first hand the incredible hardships of trying to function in today's society without being able to read.

100% of the money raised by the CanWest Raise-a-Reader campaign is directed back to literacy organizations in the communities in which it is collected.

CanWest Raise-a-Reader is supported in part by generous donations from General Mills as Presenting Sponsor, Assante Wealth Management, 7-11 stores, Microsoft, Scholastic Books, and many local sponsors.

CanWest Raise-a-Reader day will take place in the following cities: St. John's, Charlottetown, Halifax, Saint John, Moncton, Fredericton, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton, Windsor, Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, and Victoria. If you can read this, please help someone who can't.

“We strongly believe that this will allow us to better take advantage of the prestige and reputation of The Conference Board both in the United States and internationally,” says Joan S. Dargery, Executive Vice President and COO, The Conference Board. “While the name will change, the magazine’s tone and quality will remain the same—highly relevant, sometimes irreverent, questioning and enlightening. The editorial independence of the magazine will also remain unchanged. Besides having its name changed, the publication is being graphically redesigned to make it even more inviting and accessible to readers, and there are plans for a redesigned website exclusively for the magazine.”

The Conference Board Review, which will remain a bimonthly publication, will be introduced to readers through a series of new covers that will clearly link the old and new name. The street date for the debut issue is September 25, 2006.

The first issue of Across the Board was published in October 1976. The magazine’s founding editor was Lewis Bergman, who had been editor of The New York Times Magazine. He was followed by Howard Muson, a veteran editor at Time magazine and The New York Times. Since 1989 the magazine has been under the editorship of A.J. Vogl, who had previously served as editor of Sales and Marketing Management, Next, and Medical Economics.

TORONTO - On September 18, 2006, 22 Canadian universities were served with official access to information requests from Maclean's. This action follows various announcements made in the past few weeks by all of these universities indicating that they would not make public basic, and previously available, information about their organizations and their student bodies. Over the 15-year history of the annual Maclean's university rankings, the magazine has used this information to complete those rankings and has presented that information to its readers and the Canadian public to help students and parents make informed post-secondary educational decisions.

Maclean's believes the requested information must legally be made available to the public under various provincial access to information laws, known as Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Acts. "As public institutions, universities have the responsibility to make this information publicly available," says Tony Keller, Maclean's managing editor, special projects. "Freedom of Information legislation was created to ensure openness and accountability. I am hopeful that most universities, being institutions that are in favour of openness and the free exchange of ideas, will respect the law and make this information public, as they always have in the past."

Maclean's has asked for the following information in its requests to each of the universities: total first-year undergraduate enrolment in the fall of 2005 and the number of international students and out-of-province students in that group; average entering grades of the undergraduate class that began its studies in the fall of 2005; the "retention rate", which is the percentage of students who began their studies in the fall of 2004 who were still enrolled in the fall of 2005; the percentage of alumni who made a donation to their alma mater over the past five years; the percentage of faculty with Ph.D.s; and the percentage of classes taught by tenured faculty. Among the universities that today received these access to information requests: the University of Toronto, York University, Queen's University, McMaster University, Carleton University, Ryerson University, the University of Ottawa, the University of Windsor, Concordia University, the Université de Montréal, Dalhousie University, the University of Manitoba, the University of Alberta, the University of Calgary, the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University. Universities in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia are all subject to provincial Freedom of Information legislation. Maclean's has not filed requests with two universities that have refused to make data public: the University of New Brunswick and the University of Moncton. New Brunswick's Freedom of Information law does not cover universities.

The 2006 Maclean's University Rankings issue will arrive on newsstands across the country starting Nov. 2.