Finding work in the world of media was always the goal for Matthew. He devoured Sports Illustrated, National Geographic, and Maclean’s in his teenage years, pouring over the photography and layout details. While attending journalism school at Carelton University and Humber College, the unique voices and perspectives found in publications like Might, Mother Jones, and Adbusters inspired him to pursue magazines as a career path.
In 1995, Matt got his foot in the door as an intern at the Toronto alternative weekly Eye. It was an auspicious start as he was tasked with taking the text from the personal sex ads that appeared on the back pages of the print edition and converting it into a file format that could be uploaded and used on the website (anyone remember ASCII text?). Matt became more discerning in the tasks that he took on and ended up interning as both an editorial and production assistant at The Hockey News from 1996-97 and was hired full-time in 1998 as the magazine’s first art director. Matthew would later transition into a newsstand cover design specialist for the magazine’s parent company Transcontinental Publications.
In 2003, Matthew and a group of colleagues started Spacing, a magazine focused on public space and urban issues in Toronto (see more below on Matt’s work at Spacing). The success of Spacing attracted numerous other magazines to hire Matthew to work with them on their publishing and design endeavours. Matt was the art director of the Canadian literary magazine Kiss Machine from 2000-2008. In 2006, Matt was the art director of Broken Pencil (the magazine about zine culture) and redesigned the publication, a template that was in use for almost a decade afterwards. In 2007, Matt was hired to produce conceptual designs for the launch of the “law and style” magazine Precedent, and in 2009 he led the design for the launch Green Power magazine. Matthew has been a “travelling consultant” since 2006 for Magazines Canada (the national organization representing the industry), crisscrossing the country and helping magazines make decisions on events, editorial, and marketing projects.
SPACING MAGAZINE
In the fall of 2002, Matthew and a handful of friends met at Grange Park to discuss the idea of creating a magazine that would focus on local public space and urban design issues. The group spent the next year conceptualizing the magazine, coinciding with Matthew striking out as a freelance graphic designer in March 2003, making Spacing one of his one his first “clients”. The following December, Spacing magazine was launched with Matthew in the role of publisher and creative director. Spacing emerged as an integral voice that has helped mould the city’s public realm, finding influence with the city’s top bureaucrats, urban planners, political staff, and even within the mayor’s office. Initially, the magazine was published bi-annually, switching to three times a year in 2005, and then to a quarterly in 2011 with the addition of a nationally-focused issue.
Timeline graphic of Spacing’s history, Spacing #65, 2023 — click to enlarge
Under Matthew’s leadership, Spacing has been cited as an industry leader and innovator by showcasing a unique business model and outreach strategy unlike any other that exists in Canada. For his role in shaping Spacing into one of Canada’s top small magazines, he was given the Canadian Urban Leadership Award in 2007 by the Canadian Urban Institute. He was named Editor of the Year for 2007 by the Canadian Society of Magazine Editors, while Spacing has been named Canadian Small Magazine of the Year six times (2007, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015), Best Canadian Magazine Blog (2011, 2012, 2013), and Best Canadian Magazine Web Site (2013, 2014, 2016). Spacing has been nominated for 22 National Magazine Awards since its inception, winning on numerous occasions. In 2014, Matthew led the launch of the Spacing Store, a retail extension of the magazine’s brand. The opening of the shop made Spacing the only consumer magazine in the Canada to operate a bricks-and-mortar shop. Since 2015, Spacing has been publishing books on Toronto with Blackett in the role of editor for each of the publications.
TAKE A DEEPER DIVE ON MATT’S INVOLVEMENT IN SPACING
THE HOCKEY NEWS
Matthew spent much of his early days obsessed with playing, watching, and analyzing hockey. Matthew entered journalism school in the mid-1990s with ambitions of being a hockey writer, but quickly shifted his focus to the production side of journalism and found a quicker route to into the world of hockey. While attending Humber College, Matthew interned for a year at The Hockey News as an editorial assistant to editor Steve Dryden on the magazine’s Top 100 NHL Players of All-Time project. During the following school year, he worked part-time as a production assistant and photo editor. After his teaching contract at Humber expired in 1998, Matthew was hired as The Hockey News’ first art director.
LIFT THE STICK ON MATT’S TIME AT THE HOCKEY NEWS