Los Angeles magazine has a new publisher, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s charting a radical new course.
The 60-year-old news outlet named media veteran Josef Vann publisher last week. The move comes several months after most of the publication’s executive suite departed in the wake of its February acquisition by Detroit-based Hour Media from Emmis Communications Corp.
Vann said the magazine would maintain its current editorial direction despite the recent management upheaval. He revealed that he did significant research on the magazine before accepting the job.
“While they were doing their due diligence on me, I was doing due diligence on them,” Vann said. “The more that I dug, the more I found that this 60-year-old publication was staying the course, and was still being subscribed to for that reason. We’re staying the course with the exact content that our readers like, and therefore can expect.”
Los Angeles reports a circulation of 142,000.
Vann was born and raised in Mexico City, and has held key regional and national publishing positions with Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Cities West Publishing, including a stint as publisher of Phoenix Home & Garden magazine. He also has experience with Niche Media, serving as vice president and group publisher of a number of magazines including Vegas, Atlanta Peach, Art Basel, Inside Out, Ocean Drive’s Dining Guide and Ocean Drive Español.
Vann also founded 37 Second Productions, where he created business development and marketing strategies for media brands such as New York’s Maxim and Televisa in Mexico City, among others.
Hour Media laid off several key staffers immediately after the magazine changed hands, including Publisher Erika Anderson, Editor-in-Chief Mary Melton and Editor-at-Large Amy Wallace. Executive Editor Matthew Segal stepped in as editor-in-chief after Melton’s departure.
The pickup of Los Angeles magazine was part of Hour Media’s acquisition of several Emmis-owned publications that included Atlanta, Cincinnati and Orange Coast in Orange County.
In August 2016, Emmis founder and Chief Executive Jeff Smulyan announced the company’s intention to sell off noncore assets, including its magazine holdings. The Indianapolis company owns a variety of regional publications and radio stations, including L.A. hip-hop station KPWR-FM (105.9).
The collective sale price for Emmis’ four magazines in the Hour Media deal was $6.5 million, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Emmis purchased Los Angeles magazine in 2000 from Walt Disney Co. for an estimated $30 million.
The low price had industry watchers speculating that Hour Media might change the mission of the magazine, known for deep-dive stories and investigations along with lighter lifestyle fare. Los Angeles has won three National Magazine Awards and a 2016 James Beard Award for food coverage in a general interest publication. At that time, Hour Media owner John Balardo denied any intention to change the publication’s editorial direction.
Vann echoed Balardo’s sentiments. Although his appointment was not announced until last week, Vann said he has been on the job since Aug. 18. The announcement was delayed so he could deal with the multiple details of the new job, not for any strategic reason.
Vann described Los Angeles’ mandate as “content for Angelenos, by Angelenos. It gives our cherished readers content that our stakeholders care about, from Best of L.A., to identifying the up-and-coming movers, shakers and chefs, to service journalism.”
He added the key to survival for print publications in a digital landscape is niche content as well as bringing the magazine to life through events and activations. “I’ve seen that done successfully with this new ownership group,” Vann said.
“We’re delighted to have a true media leader at the helm of this amazing brand,” Balardo said in a statement.
Hour Media publishes five Detroit-area magazines as well as other regional publications around the country.
