FFWD to Ten Years of Arts and Culture Coverage

Ian ChicloReading, writing, reviewing, and experiencing Calgary’s music scene, its restaurants, theatre, and films, it’s all in a day’s work for Ian Chiclo (BA’91), who is the publisher of the city’s most popular weekly, FFWD. It’s no wonder he’s still with the publication he helped found 10 years ago as editor.

Chiclo says he was both terrified and excited at the launch a decade earlier. That, and he was already planning the future. “When you put out the first one, all you can really think about is how to make the next one better.” A determined attitude that obviously helped the weekly to survive and flourish despite early naysayers.

There had been two failed attempts at weeklies in Calgary, so people told Chiclo and his team that it couldn’t be done. “A year in, a business owner said why should he advertise with us when we’ll be gone within a few more months. His business is actually the one now closed,” says Chiclo. He adds that what set FFWD apart was a long-term vision. “It’s been a long, slow process. We planned that it would take five years to establish ourselves, and 10 years to really get going.”

At 10 years on, the weekly has certainly hit its stride. It’s the most read local publication in the city after the two daily newspapers, and it reaches about 113,000 readers a week. Initially it was a pub that focused largely on pop culture, but FFWD has picked up more readers over the years by growing its news coverage and viewpoint columns. It’s added more feature stories as well.

Moving from editor to publisher in September 2001, Chiclo admits that the grind of putting out a weekly newspaper can be tiring, but it’s the variety that keeps him coming back. “Every Monday when the phone starts to ring, it’s always something different.”

The next ten years will continue as the first: “Reliable, slow, steady growth,” he says. “It’s not the most exciting 10-year plan, but it’s the backbone for the success we’ve had so far.” It’s a success that has culminated into FFWD becoming part of the cultural fabric of Calgary. No small feat for a city full of newcomers and busy, fickle readers.

By Leslie Strudwick