Niche Publications Target Ethnic Communities

The cover model on this month’s Vogue is slim, doe-eyed - and white. The women on the Vanity Fair and Town & Country covers are blond, sexy - and white. On Newsweek and Travel & Leisure, the male and female models are toned, tanned and once again - both white.

To glance at many mainstream magazines, it can appear as though Latinas don’t wear makeup, blacks don’t exercise, Asians don’t care about trends, and none of them buy magazines.

The reality, of course, is very different - and one that niche publications targeted at ethnic communities are increasingly tapping into and depending on for their success.

Although unsure of the number of niche magazines in the United States, organizations that track publications said they are on the rise.

“When we started, there weren’t many magazines out there focusing on ethnic groups, not to mention Asian-Americans,” said Tin Yen, creative director of Yolk magazine (circulation: 50,000), created about two years ago “for the new generasian” by four twentysomething Asians. “In the last two to five years, though, I’ve noticed a lot more magazines targeted to various communities on newsstands.”

Last month, Latina magazine - a bilingual publication for Latinas - was launched by 27-year-old lawyer Christy Haubegger, who grew up in Texas reading fashion magazines but rarely saw herself reflected in their articles or glossy pictures.

After a teacher told her and fellow students that they should start a business based on a passion, Haubegger, a Latina, approached Essence magazine with her idea to start a bilingual periodical for Latinas. Focus groups told Essence executives what Haubegger already knew - that Latinas wanted to see someone that looked like them staring out from a newsstand - and they backed the idea.

The first issue hit newsstands May 30. Actress and Latina Jennifer Lopez, who starred in “Money Train” with Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson, appeared on the cover. The magazine also included dozens of articles geared to its Latina readers, including “Latinas and sex,” “cropped cuts perfect for Latinas” and “teaching children how to deal with prejudice.”

“It was extremely important for me to have people walk by a newsstand and see this woman looking stunning next to Claudia Schiffer,” Haubegger said. “I want to change what we see of ourselves. … I want to change how people sometimes see us. I want them to see us, to see our beauty right out there, which I never saw before now. I walk by newsstands now and I just want to cry.”

Haubegger said the magazine is already selling out at some newsstands and said if the focus groups prove to be right, she expects it to be successful.

But that’s not all she has to go on.

At the very same time that Haubegger has her fingers crossed, she is targeting the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. population. The Census Bureau estimates there are some 27 million Latinos in the United States and they estimate that number will grow to 36 million by the year 2000.

And although in the past decade several Latino publications such as La Familia De Hoy (Today’s Family) folded, the recent buying binge after Tejano singer Selena’s death, many believe, proves that now is the time for such specifically targeted publications.

In defense of more mainstream publications, creators of various niche publications said they have seen an attempt by traditionally mainstream periodicals to address issues concerning ethnic groups. But at best, they said, the effort is sporadic.

“A lot of the information is so generic that it ends up being irrelevant to us,” said Teresa Lyle Holmes, publicity manager for Heart & Soul (circulation: 260,000), a health and fitness magazine started about two years ago for black women.

As with any new publication, the magazines reported some difficulty in attracting advertisers, but not always for the same reasons as other new and more mainstream publications.

Advertisers, they said, are often uncomfortable, fearful and even uninterested in spending their money on publications targeted to limited readerships.

“It doesn’t make any sense for sneaker advertisers to be so uncomfortable with putting their money in a black magazine when black men probably spend the most money on sneakers,” said Holmes.