About
David Webb: Story. Strategy. Impact. A leading figure in the Canadian publishing industry for 23 years—and counting.
About me
I’m a publishing, media and marketing professional with more than two decades of experience.
My work has won acclaim at the National Magazine Awards, International Regional Magazine Awards, Western Magazine Awards, Newsstand Marketing Awards… and probably some I’m forgetting.
It’s been a wild ride. When I joined the magazine industry we were just a few years into using Quark Xpress, having moved recently from physically glueing-in paper galleys and cropping images with a scalpel. Print was the pipeline to the audience back then; digital was just a fledging idea. Soon, I was learning basic HTML code to write it in-line with my first digital articles. Things changed quickly.
I launched more websites than I can remember; merged publications and then entire publishing companies as the industry rolled through the early 21st century. I opened up Twitter accounts when other publishers barely had websites. I’ve done client work for airlines; produced rogue grassroots independent magazines; and stewarded legacy brands. I’ve had professional relationships with writers and photographers that span decades. I’ve had the privilege of helping to launch dozens upon dozens of careers in this industry. (Just ask around.)
There’s no aspect of publishing and media I haven’t touched—from TV appearances, to film cameos and screenwriting, to podcasts, video production, social media, digital magazines, glossy print, newspaper, live events, judging panels… what’s left, skywriting? It seems like just yesterday I was the young kid in the company and now I’m a certified Canadian publishing icon. Life’s funny, no?
Editorial background
It was never about the awards. But they are nice.
I’ve never done anything else. I studied writing while earning my BFA at the University of Victoria, then jumped into a magazine internship before grabbing one of just a few full-time jobs in Vancouver’s magazine industry in 2003. And I’ve been at it ever since—outdoors, travel, automotive, culture, I’ve covered it all. And in every medium. And I won’t stop anytime soon. Drop me a line if you want to collaborate.
What I do
Magazines
Websites
Podcasts
Video
Social
Live
Strategy
Marketing
As the editor of eight magazines and the current president and publisher of Explore Magazine, Canada”s most-awarded outdoor adventure and travel publication, I’ve seen it all. I have a deep understanding of subscriber-based circulation, newsstand sales, advertising partnerships, bulk sales, impactful storytelling and editorial design.
I published my first digital article in 2003. I’ve seen the rise of websites, pivots, paywalls, SEO, GEO and now AI. I launched multiple magazine-based websites, self-published a industry recognized travel blog for almost 10 years and have personally 10x the traffic to Explore’s in my tenure.
A podcaster since 2019, I saw the rise of this medium before many others. Explore Magazine’s Live the Adventure Podcast enjoys a larger listenership than most other Canadians podcasts in our niche—and we’re growing week-by-week.
From taking Explore Magazine’s Facebook page from 3,500 to 125,000; to launching Explore’s Instagram and hitting 50K in the first year; to broadcast quality video production; sales toolkits and strategies; to leading-edge social media community building on WhatsAPP and other platforms—my insights guide media companies forward.