Papers point up growth of L.A.'s Russian community.Michael Kira knows the difficulties facing new immigrants from the former Soviet Union he emigrated from the Soviet republic of Moldovia to L.A. in L.A. In is a compilation of studio recording by Various Artists. It was originally released in 1979 as an LP by Rhino Records. Track listing Side One The Kats the 1970s. Today, as publisher of the Russian-language newspaper Contact, Kira sees himself as helping fellow immigrants navigate the twists and turns of a new country. "I got involved in the media because I saw that the community faced a lack of information about life in a new country, on everything from how to find a job to what is new with technology," said Kira, who launched the paper in an office next to his physical therapy practice in the Fairfax District. "That gap is being filled by my paper and my competitors." Indeed, there are at least six Russian-language newspapers based in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County - a number that reflects the large numbers of immigrants coming here since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Figures from the 1990 Census show 123,000 people of Russian descent in L.A. County, but officials concede that those numbers are woefully woe·ful also wo·ful adj. 1. Affected by or full of woe; mournful. 2. Causing or involving woe. 3. Deplorably bad or wretched: out of date because of increased immigration immigration, entrance of a person (an alien) into a new country for the purpose of establishing permanent residence. Motives for immigration, like those for migration generally, are often economic, although religious or political factors may be very important. from the former Soviet Republics over the past seven years. Though no one has firm numbers, Kira and other Russian-language publishers estimate there are up to 500,000 Russian-speaking immigrants in L.A. County, including Armenians. The heaviest concentration of these Russian and Armenian immigrants is in Hollywood, the Fairfax District, the West San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. and Glendale. Besides Contact, other newspapers serving this community include Panorama, We and America, Friday Express, Courier and Fact. The papers contain news of the Russian-speaking community in Los Angeles, restaurant and entertainment reviews, and articles from papers such as Pravda, with accounts of developments in the former Soviet republics. And, of course, advertising. AT&T Corp. runs full-page ads in Panorama and Friday Express. The rapid growth of the Russian-language market over the last couple of years attracted serious attention from the telecommunications giant, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Suzanne Park, an AT&T spokeswoman. Because most of the newspaper readers have immigrated over the last 10 years, they have strong ties to their country of origin and spend substantial sums on long-distance calls. "Our primary purpose in advertising is to establish brand name recognition," Park said. "We don't calculate the direct return on our ad, but the customer group is very good. Since the Russian-speaking community tends to be highly literate, they have strong ties to newspapers and we want to tap into that." Another major advertising segment reflects the ways Russian-speaking families spend their discretionary income Discretionary Income The amount of an individual's income available for spending after the essentials have been taken care of. Notes: Essentials are things like food, clothing, and shelter. . Luxury markets, such as car dealerships This article is about car dealerships. For the indie pop band, see Dealership (band). A car dealership or vehicle local distribution is a business that sells new cars and/or used cars at the retail level, based on a dealership contract with an automaker or , beauty salons and jewelers, are heavy advertisers. "We were introduced to this market by some of our salesmen who speak Russian," said Philip Miller Philip Miller (1691 - December 18, 1771) was a botanist of Scottish descent. Miller was chief gardener at the Chelsea Physic Garden from 1721 until shortly before his death. , vice president of Culver City Culver City, city (1990 pop. 38,793), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a residential suburb of Los Angeles; inc. 1917. It is a center of the U.S. motion-picture industry, whose roots in the city date to c.1915. Its chief manufactures are rubber products and computers. Imports, a car dealership. "Now, Russian-speakers represent an important percentage of buyers, and we're getting a good response from all our ads." The other major contingent of advertisers consists of local doctors, pharmacists This is a list of notable pharmacists.
Most of the papers are published weekly and sell for between 50 cents and $1.35. The exception is We and America, which is geared to the newest immigrants and those preparing for citizenship tests and is distributed for free. Panorama, the oldest Russian-language paper in L.A., has a full-time staff of 30 and has developed a network of freelancers across the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , the Confederation of Independent States (the former Soviet Union) and the Middle East. Kira said Contact's circulation over the last three years has grown steadily and now totals 10,000 a week. Most of the papers are distributed through newstands and racks, with about 300 through subscription in L.A. Other papers report similar growth. Friday Express, which began publication in 1995, has a circulation of 10,000. In response to increased demand, Friday Express plans to increase its print run by 50 percent in January, according to manager Naum Turetskiy. "Our focus is the L.A. community," said Turetskiy. "In fact, we are expanding our coverage of entertainment news as a local industry, and that is what attracts a lot of our readers." Although competition among the papers to attract both readers and advertisers is likely to continue to grow along with the Russian-speaking community, editors like Kira describe it as a more of a friendly rivalry than cutthroat cut·throat n. 1. A murderer, especially one who cuts throats. 2. An unprincipled, ruthless person. 3. A cutthroat trout. adj. 1. Cruel; murderous. 2. competition. "All the Russian-language papers and even our advertisers share a common goal," Kira said. "And that is to help our community to learn and grow." |
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