Santa Clarita Magazine Planned

When Claritaville magazine debuts in the Santa Clarita Valley in August, publisher Andrew Ansoorian is relying on what will set it apart is that it will be readership focused. He said the start-up monthly publication will combine interesting stories with what he calls world class graphics and layout to represent the community the way he wants to see it represented. “We didn’t feel there was a publication in the valley built for readers,” said Ansoorian, who is launching the venture along with his wife and brother. “We felt that was important because our community values education, we invest in education and have an affluent educated community.” The state of print media in general, with declining circulation and ad revenue, was not a deterrent to the eight-year Santa Clarita resident because the stories to be printed in Claritaville will not be time sensitive, Ansoorian said. “We do feel there is a need for people to have information about their community,” Ansoorian said. “People still like to interact with print media and get engaged with it, especially if they can identify with it.” For advertising, Ansoorian is reaching out to the local business community and its car dealerships, retail and dining establishments, home improvement stores, and professional services. His intent is to have page volume integrity with the publication, limiting it to 80 pages, so that ads are not being lost among “a sea of ads,” Ansoorian said. “We feel our advertisers should get as much exposure as they can get and that we can afford,” he said. The Santa Clarita Valley is one of the fastest growing areas in the Los Angeles metropolitan region, having added 50,000 people over a 15-year period to the City of Santa Clarita and a total Valley population of over 250,000. The Signal is the daily newspaper serving the Santa Clarita Valley, but the area also supports The Magazine of Santa Clarita, which is distributed to 79,000 homes every month; Elite magazine, a quarterly that is mailed to nearly 50,000 single family homes and to all businesses; and Inside SCV, which is direct mailed to 50,000 homes and 1,000 businesses. Whether a new publication will be successful is up to the market and to advertisers, Ansoorian said. Larry Mankin, president of the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce, added that the existing publications are all surviving. “We don’t have the traditional kinds of electronic media here television and a mass of radio stations so a good way to reach an audience is through print publications,” Mankin said. Claritaville will be distributed for free to 63,000 homes and distribution racks will be placed at 10 businesses in the city. “We hope that distribution channel grows quite rapidly once we get recognized in the community,” Ansoorian said. The publication also has a website at which three to five stories will be available.