When you first picked up the latest issue of Playback, no doubt you noticed something new.

First, the look of the cover has been totally overhauled. What stands out is the lovely and talented ACTRA Toronto lifetime achievement award winner Wendy Crewson, in a photo stretching the length of the page. The Playback nameplate, meanwhile, has been moved all the way to the top of the page, and shrunk down. Down the right side of the page are graphic throws to more stories inside. What is absent from the cover are the beginnings of any stories.

This redesign, spearheaded by Playback art director Andrew Glowala, is more than merely cosmetic. If Playback’s new-look cover makes the publication seem less like a newspaper and more like a magazine, you will find that philosophy applies to what’s inside as well.

This comment column that you’re reading, which has been dubbed the ‘establishing shot,’ has been moved from its previous home somewhere around page 14 to page four, as we look to make punditry and opinion a more front-and-center aspect of Playback. 

Turn to page two and you will see more changes. Our In the News section provides a roundup of the top industry stories that have been making headlines, culled from Playback Daily, our online newsletter that launched Jan. 22 to strong reader feedback. You can register for a free subscription at www.playbackmag.com, our state-of-the-art, redesigned website, which offers fresh content five days a week, under the watchful eye of Playback associate editor Sean Davidson and staff writer Marise Strauss. It is our best vehicle for tracking evolving stories such as the ACTRA strike and the CTF cash crisis, both of which seem to offer new twists every day. 

Also on page two is a new feature we call The Burning Question, in which we approach various people both inside and outside the industry with a simple query relating to one of the most compelling issues on everybody’s mind. This time, we ask a diverse group how they might resolve the ACTRA/producers standoff.

This issue also marks the official premieres of two new columns: the small screen and the big screen, focused on – you guessed it – the TV biz and the film biz, respectively. 

The small screen is penned by Tamsen Tillson, known for her pieces in Playback and Variety. In her inaugural column, Tamsen examines the philosophy behind scheduling Canadian shows – a topic that won’t ever cease stirring strong opinion from the production sector, and measured response from broadcasters. Another feature on this page is hot, not & next, which points to TV content that is blowing minds as well as some that is falling short, with a nod to what could be the next big thing.

In the big screen, actually soft-launched last issue, Playback senior writer Marcus Robinson gets to the bottom of stats indicating a drop at the Canadian box office in 2006, and he throws in a favorable review of the documentary feature Sharkwater, which came out of nowhere to make TIFF’s Canada’s Top 10 list for last year, and which hits theaters next month.

Playback will continue to offer one or two special reports per issue. This issue features our annual CFTPA Prime Time Primer, which previews the producers’ annual conference in Ottawa – one that stands to be particularly fascinating given the challenges currently facing this group.

In an industry trying hard to catch up to the potential offered by new digital delivery platforms, we will also keep up our coverage of the burgeoning new media and home video sectors. 

As for the rest of Playback, you will see a greater emphasis on feature stories – ones that break down the industry’s most pressing issues, as well as those that put the spotlight on the biz’s most compelling figures – as is the case in this issue with our profiles of Crewson and CanWest MediaWorks’ senior VP of programming and production Barbara Williams, whose inspiration as a mentor to young women in the industry is being justly recognized with an award from Canadian Women in Communications.

As always, we value the feedback from you, our reader, so feel free to share your thoughts on the direction we’re taking. Welcome to the new Playback.