Sydney-based media company Local Publishing Co. has launched a high-end lifestyle magazine for the city’s eastern suburbs called Local East.
The editor and publisher of the title is journalist Elizabeth Meryment.
It will focus on people, food, travel, lifestyle, design, homes, beauty, sport and more.
Printed in high gloss in B5 size (180mm x 250mm), the magazine is a free monthly that will have an initial print run of 50,000 copies per month.
The first issue goes out today with the majority of copies home delivered throughout the eastern suburbs. The rest will be bundle dropped into cafés, libraries, council chambers, real estate agencies and other places of interest from the CBD to Watsons Bay.
The suburbs in the distribution catchment include Sydney CBD, Elizabeth Bay, Potts Point, Rushcutters Bay, Surry Hills, Paddington, Edgecliff, Darling Point, Woollahra, Queens Park, Centennial Park, Randwick, Kensington, Maroubra, Coogee, Clovelly, Bronte, Tamarama, Waverley, Bondi, Bondi Junction, Dover Heights, Watsons Bay, Vaucluse, Rose Bay, Bellevue Hill and Double Bay.
Contributors to the launch (August) edition of the magazine include high-profile journalists and media identities Leila McKinnon, Derek Rielly, Neil Breen, Alexia Biggs and Fiona Gillies, chef Lennox Hastie and photographers Elise Hassey, Parker Blain, Nikki To and the late Rennie Ellis.
The launch edition of the magazine is 52 pages and includes advertising from Racing NSW, McGrath, the SCG Trust, Bannisters Hotel Port Stephens, Smeg, Merivale, the Fink Group, Woollahra Council and Cambridge Markets. It also has a 12-page insert from Hello Fresh.
Local Publishing Co will independently produce Local East in association with content agency Edible Ink Media & Content. Edible Ink Media & Content launched recently and is the sister operation of Local Publishing Co. The former offers services such as writing, photography, design and custom publishing.
“I never imagined going back into print media when I left newspapers 18 months ago,” Meryment said. “But when I started toying with the idea of doing some kind of high-end local product, I talked to a lot of top-end businesses about it. They all seemed enthusiastic. Then, when I had the designs and concepts ready to go, those businesses who had initially expressed an interest in advertising in the magazine actually went ahead and bought advertising.
“Advertisers feel very strongly that this is a population they wish to engage with and that this is a medium they feel can deliver the messages they want to transmit. They like the look, feel, size and reach of the product and are prepared to give it a go.”
A linked website – local-mag.com.au – and social media channels will launch next month.