The Los Angeles Times announced today that it will expand Times Community News (TCN) coverage into Aliso Viejo, Laguna Niguel and the Orange County arts community beginning Aug. 26.
If part of that sounds like deja vu all over again, it is–with a twist.
A June 30 memo from Times Media Group to newsroom “colleagues” announced the expansion of the Laguna Beach-centric Coastline Pilot into Aliso Viejo and Laguna Niguel was to begin Aug. 12.
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See, I already told you so:
Perhaps
it took 14 more days for the Times to figure out where the hell Aliso
Viejo and Laguna Niguel are. Here's a tip, intrepid Spring Street
journos: Aliso Viejo is that cluster of stucco that spoiled the upper
part of Laguna Canyon. Yes, with Lagunas Beach, Woods, Niguel, Seco and
Return to the Blue, it is admittedly difficult to know which Laguna you
are in at any given time. Just know if a real estate agent is telling
you the house you're looking at is in Dana Point, you're actually in
Laguna Niguel.
The totally new part of today's Times announcement
concerns “OC Arts,” an entertainment section that will be tucked into the
Coastline Pilots of Laguna Beach, Aliso Viejo and Laguna Niguel, the
Daily Pilot of Irvine, Costa Mesa and Newport Beach and the Huntington
Beach Independent of Surf City and I want to say Fountain Valley,
although I'm not positive about that last slice of municipal paradise.
A TCN press release that follows on the next page explains the changes in Orange County as well as in the Pasadena area . . .
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Times Community News Announces Second Expansion of the Year
Los Angeles Times Media Group portfolio increases reach in San Gabriel Valley and Orange County
August 4, 2011LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles Times Media Group's Times Community
News (TCN) today announces the addition of both a new weekly
title and a Sunday edition serving the San Gabriel Valley and
increased circulation in Orange County. The roll-out is as
follows:
- The Pasadena Sun, a new Friday publication, will
feature political, sports and public safety news for Pasadena,
South Pasadena and San Marino, beginning August 5th.
- The Sunday Valley Sun will debut August 7th and
bring together coverage from the Pasadena Sun and La
Cañada Valley Sun in a new Sunday edition.
- The Coastline Pilot will add Laguna Niguel and
Aliso Viejo to its existing coverage of Laguna Beach, beginning
August 26th.“Community news is at the heart of journalism, and over the years
TCN has proven itself to be uniquely qualified to cover the local
beats,” said TCN North Editor, Dan Evans. “Pasadena, South Pasadena
and San Marino are fascinating, vibrant places, and we cannot wait
to get started.”In addition, TCN's Sunday News-Press & Leader and Sunday Valley
Sun–collectively serving Glendale, Burbank, La
Cañada and the aforementioned San Gabriel Valley communities–will include “Marquee,” a new arts and entertainment
section with a guide to local restaurants, nightlife and culture,
beginning August 7th. Similarly, TCN's Orange County publications–the Huntington Beach Independent, Daily Pilot and
Coastline
Pilot–will begin featuring “OC Arts,” a new Friday arts
and entertainment section, on August 26th, effectively serving the
entire county.
“Aliso Viejo and Laguna Niguel have strong ties to Laguna Beach and
broadening our coverage to include those southern Orange County
communities is a natural extension for the Coastline Pilot,” said
TCN South Editor, John Canalis. “There is an appetite for local
news and information in these engaging cities that we are
well-positioned to deliver, digitally and in print.”
The
Sunday Valley Sun will be distributed in combination with more
than 24,000 copies of the Los Angeles Times with an additional 2,300 copies
via area news racks. The Coastline Pilot's expanded circulation
will encompass more than 23,500 copies distributed via The
Times, private carrier and area news racks.
“TCN can now better provide solutions for advertisers looking to
reach the San Gabriel Valley and Orange County,” said
Scott Pompe,
Senior Vice President of Advertising & Targeted Media for the
Los Angeles Times Media Group. “This expansion is a logical
development of our community portfolio and will enable us to
deliver a broader spectrum of local advertising opportunities.”
TCN includes the Glendale News-Press, Burbank Leader, Sunday
News-Press & Leader, La Cañada Valley Sun, Pasadena Sun,
Sunday Valley Sun, Huntington Beach Independent, Daily Pilot (Costa
Mesa, Newport and Irvine) and Coastline Pilot. TCN newspapers focus
exclusively on in-depth local coverage of their respective
communities. For more, visit www.latimes.com/tcn.
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.