The Times of 'Distinction'

Tongues were already wagging down at the L.A. Times on Tuesday morning over the Patt Morrison column in which she proudly accepts an invitation from councilman Tom LaBonge to do the honors and preside at his swearing-in ceremony. Then came the memo from ad honcho Ray McCutcheon announcing details of the new Distinction magazine, which L.A. Observed reported the existence of last week. Every other month, Distinction will "go inside the world of Los Angeles society and focus on the business and cultural leaders, philanthropists and creative visionaries who have built Los Angeles into a vibrant, world-class city. " One can argue whether L.A. needs another one of those, but the point is it sounds like an editorial product, no? Think again. Distinction will report to the Times advertising department. (No cracks about the Staples Center snafu -- this is different. For one thing, editorial is not involved at all -- right?)

The magazine will have its own publisher -- reportedly Jane Kahn, last seen on the masthead as publisher of Richard Riordan's Los Angeles Examiner prototype. Read on for the entire memo:

Employee Bulletin

July 1, 2003

TO: Times Employees
FROM: Ray McCutcheon, Senior Vice President of Advertising
SUBJECT: Distinction Magazine

I am pleased to announce that Distinction magazine, a new luxury lifestyle magazine showcasing the world of affluent and socially minded Angelenos, will premier in September. Distinction magazine is the product of one of the company’s 2003 strategic goals: To create a niche publication division that will generate revenue by developing publications that reach specific niche markets.

Distinction magazine is the first product of Angeles Publications, a new division of Los Angeles Times Communications, LLC, which is responsible for developing or acquiring publications geared toward specific target markets. Distinction magazine is a separate and independently written and edited publication from the Los Angeles Times newspaper and will report to the advertising marketing department of the Los Angeles Times.

The vision of the magazine will be to go inside the world of Los Angeles society and focus on the business and cultural leaders, philanthropists and creative visionaries who have built Los Angeles into a vibrant, world-class city. A very talented team with backgrounds in luxury lifestyle publications has been assembled to create the new publication.

The bi-monthly magazine will be mailed directly to about 50,000 affluent households in Los Angeles and an additional 5,000 will be sold at select newsstands and distributed to upscale retail locations, spas, hotels and cultural events.

RAY MCCUTCHEON