From The Publisher

By Jeffrey S. Hall

Welcome to the Westside -- home to movie stars, business moguls, political leaders and everyday citizens. Let me take that back. I don’t think we have any everyday citizens here. Everyone is up to something amazing.

From studio chiefs to soccer moms, people here are smart, devoted, energized, and involved. From Beverly Hills to the ocean, Brentwood Media Group publishes six community newsmagazines: Beverly Hills 90210; Bel-Air View; Brentwood News; Santa Monica Sun; Palisades 90272; and our newest, Malibu Beach. We refer to this growing family of publications as "WestsideToday."

With a circulation of 50,000 in all the right neighborhoods, we offer the best of the Westside. Most of our circulation is home-delivered, distributed at the beginning of each month. Though our towns share the common bond of being a part of LA's fabulous Westside, each of these exquisite neighborhoods is unique, interesting, and exciting. We invite you to visit each of our towns via this website.

Our emphasis is on substantive reporting on issues that really matter to people -- crime, traffic, the schools, our environment, local politics. Our slogan, which appears at the top of each front page, is "community matters." That pretty much says it all. It says who we are, what we do, what we believe in.

Welcome to WestsideToday.com

Brentwood Media Group/WestsideToday

Our History

Brentwood Media Group was formed in 1991 by Jeffrey S. Hall, former president of the Valley & Ventura County editions of the Los Angeles Times. Hall, a Stanford grad and a Harvard MBA, had also spent several years at the Kansas City Star, where he started as a cub reporter and worked his way up to vice president of marketing.

In his big newspaper career, Hall heard the same reader lament over and over: that these big papers were simply too big, and people really wanted, more than anything, news about their own community. Hall’s hometown of Brentwood had no community newspaper and so he thought there was an opportunity to fill a void.

The Brentwood News met with a wonderful response. Over time, the Brentwood Media Group added several additional titles and formed a group of newsmagazines servicing the Westside’s upper-end communities of Bel-Air, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades and Malibu.

Even though these communities are world-renowned, the locals still appreciate knowing what’s going on in their own backyards. The company is now evolving. In recent years the company went to an all-magazine, full gloss format.

Our website has been revamped and the company is working with the local cable channel for the purpose of producing a weekly TV show, also called WestsideToday. The company also has national ambitions and is working on an idea for a national magazine.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What’s your total circulation? How is the publication delivered?

A: We have six publications serving Beverly Hills, Bel-Air, Brentwood, Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades and Malibu. We have 50,000 circulation total. 35,000 of these copies are delivered to homes (driveway delivery); 15,000 copies are delivered via newsstands, coffee shops, grocery stores, etc.

Q: What makes you a better advertising vehicle than other local publications?

A: First of all, we’re a magazine. In this town, image really does matter. Newspapers, unfortunately, can’t provide the upscale environment Westside readers and advertisers demand. Secondly, unlike the luxury lifestyle magazines, we cover issues and people readers actually care about, assuring better readership -- and therefore response.

Perhaps most important, we cover the six most exclusive towns on the Westside. With one ad, you can cover a lot of territory at a very reasonable price.As a monthly magazine that offers useful and informative directories and other information, our WestsideToday publications enjoy a long shelf-life.

Q: Do people really read community publications? How do you know?

A: Yes. We receive feedback daily from readers, advertisers and community leaders and others we write about indicating that our publications are very closely watched. We are also very involved in the community, sponsoring events, speakers and the like. We have a very solid relationship with our communities, built up slowly but surely over 16 years. We are a trusted friend, viewed as fair and balanced. We take our role seriously.

Q: How much does it cost to advertise?

A: Figure about $3,000 a page. A half page goes for $2,000; a quarter page goes for $1,100; an eighth of a page costs $650.

This is, as far as we know, less expensive than any other publication in the area on an apples-to-apples comparison. We’re offering more circulation, or more bang for the buck. And our quality is better, in our humble opinion.

There are lots of ways to save even more money: if you sign up for a full year you will get a much better deal than if you sign up for only three months. If you pay in advance, you’ll get a pre-pay discount. We can work with you on your promotional/editorial needs and we invite you to place your message on our website. We offer opportunities to write your own story, not just place an ad. This will help you show up in the search engines better.

Q: Does advertising in your publications really work?

A: Yes. We hear all the time from advertisers how happy they are. Our very first advertiser, who signed up 16 years ago when we first began, is still with us.

To get best results, you need to have a strong message, well presented. Keep your message simple, don’t try to do too much. It helps to offer something people really want and that they will actually respond to -- some great offer, perhaps. If you need help with designing your ad, let us know.

All that said, keep your expectations reasonable. The best way to look at your investment in advertising is to figure if you get one or two new customers a month, you’re probably doing fine. Your business will grow slowly but surely with a good advertising campaign. Advertising is like exercise...it doesn't work all at once, it even hurts in the beginning. But stick with it for six months to a year and you'll see the results.

Q: Who are the people behind your organization?

A: Jeffrey S. Hall, former VP with the Los Angeles Times, started the Brentwood Media Group 16 years ago. Hall, a Stanford grad and a Harvard MBA, serves as Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. He is supported by a very talented team of publishing professionals. See the "team" section in "About Us."

Q: How well does your website do? How many hits per month do you get?

A: We just redesigned and relaunched our website. It will likely take a little while to get up to full throttle. We think our new design is very user friendly and expect it to become the premier portal for those interested in LA’s Westside. Our website is supported by a weekly e-mail blast that goes out across the whole Westside.

Media Kit

For more information about advertising, select the Media Kit button at the top of this page and download a copy. Pretty much anything you might need to know is in there.