Publishing Industry Los Angeles County

James Thomas grew up in the 1970s, working at his uncle's record stores and meeting most of the black entertainers of the era. Currently, he publishes Black Entertainment Magazine (BEM), which distributes 10,000 copies a month through record stores and special events in Southern California. Thomas has never let scarce start-up funds prevent him from pursuing new enterprises and he now gives seminars on how to build a business on a shoestring. Thomas was interviewed by freelance writer Karen E.

The folks at Animation Magazine here work with what is arguably the most colorful collection of characters imaginable--most of them figments of someone's imagination. Each month, the 14-year-old magazine publishes upward of 80 pages of news and feature articles about the animation business, which in recent years has grown by leaps and bounds worthy of a cartoon superhero.

Times Community News, a unit of Times Mirror Co., said it signed a letter of intent to acquire the Pasadena Weekly, a community newspaper with 35,000 free circulation that serves Pasadena and surrounding communities. Terms of the deal, which must be approved by both parties, were not disclosed. "The Pasadena Weekly is a highly respected community newspaper with a fiercely loyal local following," said Robert G.

Publications aimed at Latino consumers are springing up in record numbers, and revenues are growing even faster as advertisers ramp up efforts to tap Latino buying power, now estimated at more than $340 billion, according to statistics released at a National Assn. of Hispanic Publications convention this week. So strong is the trend that Latino market analysts refer to it as a "revolution in Hispanic print."

Publications aimed at Latino consumers are springing up in record numbers, and revenues are growing even faster as advertisers ramp up efforts to tap Latino buying power, now estimated at more than $340 billion, according to statistics released at a National Assn. of Hispanic Publications convention this week. So strong is the trend that Latino market analysts refer to it as a "revolution in Hispanic print."

Frank Dobrucki says he got into the business of publishing magazines for parents because he thought it was "safe"--non-controversial and, as he puts it, "wholesome." But now Dobrucki, editor and publisher of Valley Family Magazine and L.A. Family Magazine, says that his biggest rival, L.A. Parent Magazine, has made the business anything but safe for him and his C.D. Publications Inc. in Encino.

A small band of street vendors will fan out across Los Angeles today hawking a new monthly with a smiling Jack Nicholson--photographed with a London street person--on its cover and this teaser line: "What the Hell Is the Big Issue?" Those who fork out $1 will find inside a message from founder / editor in chief John Bird, explaining the Big Issue's mission: Help the homeless help themselves. Sixty cents of every $1 goes to the vendors, most of whom are homeless.

Susan Martin has been a publicist for 20 years and always nurtured a small fantasy that someday she'd get a client who would say, "Please keep my name out of the press." "You know, like the first family, or someone really famous," she said. "I wondered what that would be like." Now she knows. A month ago such a client walked through her door. Actually, it was a group of clients, although Martin will not be specific about the size.

Raymond Roker is an unusual magazine publisher. He's 28, and his head is shaved. He's an ex-graffiti artist who failed 12th-grade English. He admits to enjoying a night of drug-induced raving now and then. And he keeps two turntables and a mixer next to his desk for those evenings at the office when he needs to let off steam by deejaying breakneck techno for no one else to hear except maybe the night janitor, a familiar face. He is an unusual magazine publisher.

The folks at Animation Magazine here work with what is arguably the most colorful collection of characters imaginable--most of them figments of someone's imagination. Each month, the 14-year-old magazine publishes upward of 80 pages of news and feature articles about the animation business, which in recent years has grown by leaps and bounds worthy of a cartoon superhero.

Susan Martin has been a publicist for 20 years and always nurtured a small fantasy that someday she'd get a client who would say, "Please keep my name out of the press." "You know, like the first family, or someone really famous," she said. "I wondered what that would be like." Now she knows. A month ago such a client walked through her door. Actually, it was a group of clients, although Martin will not be specific about the size.

Times Community News, a unit of Times Mirror Co., said it signed a letter of intent to acquire the Pasadena Weekly, a community newspaper with 35,000 free circulation that serves Pasadena and surrounding communities. Terms of the deal, which must be approved by both parties, were not disclosed. "The Pasadena Weekly is a highly respected community newspaper with a fiercely loyal local following," said Robert G.

A small band of street vendors will fan out across Los Angeles today hawking a new monthly with a smiling Jack Nicholson--photographed with a London street person--on its cover and this teaser line: "What the Hell Is the Big Issue?" Those who fork out $1 will find inside a message from founder / editor in chief John Bird, explaining the Big Issue's mission: Help the homeless help themselves. Sixty cents of every $1 goes to the vendors, most of whom are homeless.

James Thomas grew up in the 1970s, working at his uncle's record stores and meeting most of the black entertainers of the era. Currently, he publishes Black Entertainment Magazine (BEM), which distributes 10,000 copies a month through record stores and special events in Southern California. Thomas has never let scarce start-up funds prevent him from pursuing new enterprises and he now gives seminars on how to build a business on a shoestring. Thomas was interviewed by freelance writer Karen E.

Raymond Roker is an unusual magazine publisher. He's 28, and his head is shaved. He's an ex-graffiti artist who failed 12th-grade English. He admits to enjoying a night of drug-induced raving now and then. And he keeps two turntables and a mixer next to his desk for those evenings at the office when he needs to let off steam by deejaying breakneck techno for no one else to hear except maybe the night janitor, a familiar face. He is an unusual magazine publisher.

Frank Dobrucki says he got into the business of publishing magazines for parents because he thought it was "safe"--non-controversial and, as he puts it, "wholesome." But now Dobrucki, editor and publisher of Valley Family Magazine and L.A. Family Magazine, says that his biggest rival, L.A. Parent Magazine, has made the business anything but safe for him and his C.D. Publications Inc. in Encino.