Just seven months after starting a new six-day daily print publication in Long Beach, Freedom Communications–parent company of the Orange County Register–is readying for its most ambitious venture to date.
On Monday, the Santa Ana-based company announced that it will begin printing the Los Angeles Register, a daily newspaper for Los Angeles County, on April 16 and also will be rolling out more than a dozen community newspapers across the county in the coming weeks. Once launched, Long Beach Register subscribers will receive their paper wrapped in the Los Angeles Register instead of in the Orange County Register as it is delivered now.
The two ventures into L.A. County seem to have different intentions, however. While the Long Beach Register began as a way to compete directly with the city’s 150-year-old daily Press-Telegram, it appears that with the Los Angeles Register, Freedom is aiming for a different subscriber base than L.A.’s left-leaning paper of record.
According to Freedom, the Los Angeles Register will live up to the company’s “libertarian editorial tradition” with coverage that aims to “emphasize constructive debate and civil dialogue on the issues most vital to Los Angeles County.” The Neiman Journalism Lab also notes that while the L.A. Register is claiming countywide coverage, it will especially be focusing on rival cities where other L.A. News Group/Digital First Media papers reside, like Torrance, Whittier and Pasadena.
“The Los Angeles Register will deliver community-building information about local activities, people and issues that impact our lives every day,” said Aaron Kushner, co-owner of Freedom and Register publisher. “Los Angeles Register and our community newspapers will focus on creating deep and meaningful local connections, as it is this type of bond and mission that helps subscribers, advertisers, the community and democracy itself grow and thrive.”
Freedom began its L.A. initiative in January with both the purchase of South Bay weekly Easy Reader and a high-profile commercial which was screened on the video scoreboard at Dodger Stadium before the Kings vs. Ducks game. The Easy Reader aquisition will be the first place that the company’s expansion into L.A. County will be felt, with two new editions–one for Santa Monica and the northern coastel communities and another for Torrance–debuting in late March.
Kushner told a media analyst that the Los Angeles Register will have a dedicated staff of 75, just days after the OC Weekly reported that the Orange County Register had laid off 32 people. Freedom still has 370 content writers, up from 198 a year and a half months ago.
Since purchasing Freedom Communications in July 2012, Kushner and his business partner Eric Spitz have invested millions of dollars into print newspapers in Orange County. Its first foyer into Los Angeles County was the Long Beach Register, which currently has around 10,000 subscribers. It also purchased the Riverside Press-Enterprise last October.
Eds note: A previous version of this story incorrectly listed the launch date of the Los Angeles Register as April 19. The first issue will start April 16.
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