Inside Entertainment, FQ and Sir magazines have been put up for sale by Geoffrey Dawe, president and owner of the Kontent Group. "We are suspending business for Inside E, FQ and Sir until we find an owner for the titles," Dawe said. "In this climate, it's difficult for small publishers and the responsible move is to suspend publishing at this time."

If he cannot find new ownership, Dawe says he will permanently close the magazines.

“While the first half of 2009 has been promising and our titles show strength for this coming fall, the best hope for continued success and growth rests on new ownership,” Dawe said in a statement.

Dawe is also a partner on International Architecture & Design magazine, which was launched last year by Global Luxury Publishing. Both Dawe and publisher Eithne McCredie said IA&D is alive and well. Production of IA&D was outsourced to Kontent, but the two companies were otherwise completely separate, McCredie said.

Dawe founded Kontent in February 2002, when he bought the rights to launch Inside Entertainment magazine from the National Post. FQ was launched the following year.

Up until last year, the company was co-owned by Dawe and New Zealander Michael King, but King sold his 50% stake in July 2008.

In April 2009, Dawe laid off the majority of Kontent's staff and announced that he would primarily be using freelancers to produce the company's magazines.

Back in 2004, Masthead ranked Inside Entertainment as the 31st largest magazine in the country by revenue, with estimated earnings of $6.5 million. By 2008, according to the same methodology, the magazine's revenues were down to $2.3 million.