AAN News

Legal Dispute Over Control of the Santa Barbara Independent Continues

Santa Barbara Independent publisher Randy Campbell will appeal a judge's decision which ordered him to sell his shares of the paper to editor-in-chief Marianne Partridge. (FULL STORY)
Santa Barbara Independent  |  12-01-2011  10:47 am  |  Legal News

Judge Grants Injunction Sought by Santa Barbara Independent Editornew

Judge Denise deBellefeuille has granted an injunction sought by Independent co-owner and editor-in-chief Marianne Partridge in her contract dispute over the paper's sale with publisher and majority owner Randy Campbell. The injunction effectively bars Campbell from selling or distributing his shares of the Independent until the conflict with Partridge over the sale of his shares is finally resolved, the paper reports.
Santa Barbara Independent  |  03-25-2010  12:11 pm  |  Industry News

Santa Barbara Independent Editor Sues Publisher Over Proposed Salenew

Editor-in-chief Marianne Partridge has sued publisher Randy Campbell in Santa Barbara County Superior Court for breach of contract in a legal dispute that Independent reporter Nick Welsh says "could have major ramifications for the ownership structure" of the paper. Partridge, a minority shareholder, claims that Campbell -- who owns 51 percent of the company -- is in violation of contract language that requires him to offer to sell his stock to Partridge or one of the other two minority owners before selling to anyone else. The dispute stems from Campbell's apparent desire to sell his share of the Independent to Valley Printers, which prints the paper and is owned by Southland Publishing, the parent company of four Southern California AAN member papers.
Santa Barbara Independent  |  02-16-2010  1:39 pm  |  Industry News

Pasadena Weekly Celebrates 25 Years

This week's issue includes columns by former owner Jim Laris and current editor Kevin Uhrich, who has been with the paper since 1996. There's also a timeline and a series of short reminisces from a number of alumni, including former LA Reader owner James Vowell and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Steve Coll, the paper's first editor.
Pasadena Weekly  |  08-03-2009  4:17 pm  |  Honors & Achievements

Los Angeles CityBeat Shuttered

Southland Publishing president Bruce Bolkin announced this morning that the alt-weekly's March 26 issue will be its last. "For 6 years, the Los Angeles CityBeat has offered a fresh perspective to the readers of Los Angeles, and Southland is extremely proud of its writers and entire staff who have contributed to the paper," says Bolkin. (FULL STORY)
Southland Publishing Press Release  |  03-27-2009  12:47 pm  |  Industry News

Charles Gerencser Leaves Southland Publishing for the Obama Campaignnew

The executive publisher of Southland's Los Angeles CityBeat and executive vice president of sales for the chain's other AAN papers announced yesterday that he's leaving on Oct. 17 to join the Barack Obama campaign as a fundraiser and committee leader for California and Nevada. "As a life-long Republican I am seen as a crucial leader in the fight to win votes and raise money for the Senator amongst undecided Republicans and Independents, particularly in the States of Nevada and Colorado which are key Western battleground states," he wrote in an email to colleagues. Gerencser was also a member of the AAN Marketing Committee. As for life after the campaign, he notes that he's applied to two doctoral programs for admission as early as Spring 2009.
LA Observed  |  10-09-2008  11:15 am  |  Industry News

Southland Publishing Adds a Glossy Monthly to the Mixnew

The publisher of AAN members San Diego CityBeat, Los Angeles CityBeat, ValleyBeat and Pasadena Weekly announced today that Los Angeles New City Monthly will debut in June. The magazine will "celebrate the intellectual and cultural 'renaissance' of LA's Eastside" and will largely be distributed via direct mail, according to a Southland press release. Nikki Bazar, who previously freelanced for Pasadena Weekly, will be editor. The design and production will be handled by the art and production team at CityBeat and ValleyBeat.
Southland Publishing Inc. Press Release (PDF)  |  03-21-2007  10:56 am  |  Press Releases

Southland Publishing Buys Inland Empire Weekly

The sale of IE Weekly was announced yesterday; the 21-week-old California publication serves a large market in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. Publisher Jeremy Zachary, editor Stacy Davies and managing editor Rich Kane -- all former employees of OC Weekly -- will continue in their positions. "In today's merger climate it makes sense that we join the Southland Publishing family, allowing us to better serve our advertisers locally, regionally and nationally," Zachary says. (FULL STORY)
Southland Publishing Press Release  |  08-31-2006  5:12 pm  |  Press Releases

Southland Publishing Launches New Magazine

Arroyo Monthly is direct mailed targeting affluent San Gabriel Valley residents (FULL STORY)
04-13-2005  2:06 pm  |  Press Releases

Southland Won't Compete Head-to-Head With LA Weekly

In an area as large as Los Angeles, there are plenty of opportunities to serve niches, says Group Publisher David Comden, who recently launched two new weeklies in the market. Southland has assembled an all-star cast of alternative journalism veterans at LA CityBEAT and ValleyBEAT, and with the company's paper in Pasadena, now circulates 140,000 papers each week in the L.A. basin. Comden says he'll offer low-price options to advertisers and an "alternative to the alternative" for LA's younger readers. (FULL STORY)
John Ferri  |  07-01-2003  9:23 am  |  Industry News

LA CityBEAT, ValleyBEAT Debutnew

"You need this," claims the debut editorial as Southland Publishing launches two new alternative papers in the Los Angeles area after buying the assets of New Times L.A. "In recent years local readers have experienced their own pain when two local weeklies -- the Los Angeles Reader and the New Times L.A. -- were prematurely shuttered for no reason other than financial expediency," the editorial states. "They mattered, and then they were gone." For their part, the mantra of LA CityBEAT and ValleyBEAT is "to explore, to challenge, and to celebrate the substance and irreverence of our vast city."
LA City Beat  |  06-13-2003  12:44 pm  |  Industry News

LA Weekly Dissects Competitorsnew

Howard Blume says no "upstart" among the "lower-budget alternatives" springing up in the LA Basin will challenge LA Weekly citywide. The paper has fired Valley Business Printers, owner of its newest competitor, Southland Publishing Co., Blume reports. Southland purchased the assets of the closed New Times LA, plans a summer launch of weeklies in L.A. and the Valley, and has hired Editorial Art Director Dana Collins away from LA Weekly. Plus former LA Weekly Publisher Michael Sigman is consulting with Southland, Blume writes.
LA Weekly  |  04-17-2003  2:08 pm  |  Industry News

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