Weekend edition of Hoy finds a success story in circulation.

THE Tribune Co.'s Spanish-language newspaper Hoy became part of a scandal in the publishing industry in 2004 when advertisers filed a suit claiming the paper had inflated its circulation figures.

Today, its circulation numbers are drawing more positive attention.

Hoy has expanded distribution of its weekend edition, Hoy Fin de Semana. The publication recently increased its distribution in Los Angeles by 50 percent, to 300,000 homes, making it the largest Hispanic weekend publication in the market, according to the company.

"We invested heavily in research to tell us what Latinos want to read and how they get their shopping information," said Digby Solomon Diez, publisher. "We also listened to our advertising customers tell us they wanted cost-effective penetration with minimum waste."

On the content side, Hoy Fin de Semana focuses on the weekend activities of Latino families, primarily shopping, then electronics, fashion, entertainment and celebrities. The research "found Hispanics spend a significant amount of time shopping, planning for shopping, cleaning the home, and with family" on weekends, said Javier Aldape, editor.

In terms of distribution, the paper has multiple zoning capabilities, allowing advertisers to target local Spanish-dominant families on the weekend, their preferred time to shop.

For Tribune, Hoy represents an attempt to launch a national newspaper within for the U.S. Latino market. The paper publishes and distributes local editions in three cities-Los Angeles, New York and Chicago. Because U.S. Latinos are geographically concentrated, Hoy has a presence in the four states in which about 45 percent of them reside: California, New York, New Jersey and Illinois.

In contrast to the new-launch national approach of Hoy, its biggest competitor--ImpreMedia LLC in New York--has stitched together a syndicate of existing newspapers that includes La Opinion in Los Angeles, La Raza in Chicago and El Diario/La Prensa in New York.

Today, Hoy has an audited national weekday circulation of 185,245. Hoy Fin de Semana has a total circulation of more than 570,000. That's because Fin de Semana doesn't distribute in the paper; it arrives on the doorstep as a freebie.