Toronto, February 19, 2010 - Hey…did you hear? Paton Publishing has just launched the new whoamagazine.com—a safe, fun site driven by kids and tweens eager to share their opinions on the latest news in youth culture.

Our continually growing roster of youth bloggers is on the pulse of what’s happening in the world of music, movies, sports, video games and fashion. If there’s something trending right now, you can bet that whoamagazine.com’s got it covered—and our ‘blurbers’ are always quick to comment.

“It used to be that we were telling kids what’s exciting in the world of entertainment,” said Erin Ruddy, Editor of Whoa! magazine. “Now, thanks to up-to-the-moment sharing capabilities, kids are the ones telling us what’s cool, what’s hot, and particularly what’s not. So if a topic or celebrity generates enough buzz at whoamagazine.com, then it’s considered feature-worthy in print. Nothing gets in the magazine unless our panel of kids approves.”

The new Whoa! magazine—Canada’s Fast, Fun Entertainment News Mag for Kids—was launched in December of 2009, after undergoing a major overhaul that effectively putt the readers in charge of the magazine content. Each issue takes the best of both worlds—print and web—and meshes them into an awesome combo of entertainment reading and interacting.

“Media is changing and kids are on the pulse of it all,” said Heather Garand, Director of Sales. “They’re actively reading, blogging, sharing, and communicating their own opinions and cultural interests rather than passively receiving information about it. And, we’re proud to say, whoamagazine.com is THE place to go!”

"From an advertising perspective, we provide our clients with a communication package that builds off the merging of online and print,” said Anne Lovegrove, Associate Publisher. “Our advertisers can have access to our youth bloggers, participate in our online polls, wow kids through our WebTV and solidify their message through the permanency of print. It's a great package that allows our advertiser to build a relationship with our engaged reader."

Advertisers who are participating in the new integrated Whoa! are Stoneridge Cycle, Elmers, Disney Interactive and Pizza Hut. Features of whoamagazine.com currently include youth blogs, movie trailers, previews of video games, music downloads and videos.

Paton Publishing, a division of Metroland Media Group Ltd, is Canada's largest youth magazine publisher, as measured by CCAB. In addition to WHOA!, Paton publishes POP!, POP! JR, Hockey Now and What’s UP! - Canada’s Family Magazine.

For more information, contact Heather Garand at (416) 503-4576 x233 or Danijela Grbavac at (416) 503-4576 x232