The recent changes in the magazine’s ownership and management have come as an exciting surprise to many in Southern California, but no one doubts that an already good publication is destined for greatness. Most people in Long Beach have heard of husband and wife John and Michelle Molina. John is executive vice president and CFO of Molina Healthcare. Michelle is president of PeacePartners, Inc., an organization that teaches the “Peace Builders” curriculum through federally funded Safe and Drug-Free Schools Act. By now, most people also know that the Molinas recently became Long Beach Magazine’s majority owners, but not everyone knows how that came to pass.

“It was definitely serendipitous,” Michelle said. “No one planned it, but we ended up with a dream team that has to be the envy of media companies up and down the West Coast.”

As most of our readers know, AJ Yager and brothers Adam and Matthew Toren founded the magazine in 2004. Yager described the magazine’s birth and early days: “I was living in Long Beach and getting into some publishing projects but I noticed there was no real magazine to keep people informed about the people, places and events in California’s fifth largest city — a coastal city going through an incredible transformation,” he said. “I had always wanted to start a magazine, and I wondered what it would take to do that here.”

Yager had met the Toren brothers several years before he came to Long Beach, and they had talked a few times about the possibility of working on publications together. He phoned them to see if they might be interested in starting a magazine in Long Beach, and they jumped at the chance. “They already had a successful magazine in Vancouver, British Colombia, and we decided to use that template,” Yager said. “So we put our heads together to create a magazine specifically focused on what was happening in Long Beach.”

With the Toren brothers about 1,300 miles to the north, Yager had to do most of the footwork to get the magazine off the ground — including selling the ad space, designing, and daily publishing tasks. “The problem was I had no magazine to show prospective advertisers, so I had to convince them that they could trust me to produce a magazine that would be read by thousands of their potential customers,” he said. “I remember how good it felt when I signed my first deal.”

At that time, the magazine was called Long Beach View. The first issue — published in November 2004 — was a 32-page saddle stitch (held together by staples) with a total of 14 ads. “When that first issue was printed, all 30,000 copies were delivered to my apartment and we stacked all the bundles on the floor and the outside patio,” Yager said. “Then we had to figure out where and how we were going to deliver them; we really were taking it one step at a time.”

As the months rolled by, and more people joined the freelance staff, their ability to create a good publication kept increasing. Readership increased, too. Within a year, the magazine had a high level of recognition and businesses all over town were phoning or emailing to ask how they could get their ads in the next issue. In August 2005, Yager decided to drop the word “View” from the name and the publication became known as Long Beach Magazine, read by civic and community leaders and thousands of people in the high-income bracket.

As the years passed, the magazine continued to expand, covering a broader range of topics, increasing distribution, and printing on nicer paper. In March 2007, the magazine became an 84-page “perfect bound” style publication — resembling a soft cover book. “Magazines that are stapled together are not taken seriously,” Yager noted. “We were all very pleased when we switched to perfect bound. That let people know that we were the city’s only real lifestyle magazine.”

Eventually, however, Yager and the Toren brothers began having differences of opinion on the direction and vision of the magazine needed to take in order to keep pace with the tremendous transformation of the city. Making the publication 100% locally owned and operated was a major goal for Yager as well. “The articles and the art kept getting better and better, but I felt we had a lot of untapped potential,” Yager said. “On top of that, my responsibilities kept increasing and I knew I needed a bigger management staff.”

That scenario remained in place for several months. During that time, Long Beach Magazine published an issue devoted to the Innovative Minds and Entrepreneur of the Year. “We ran an article on Dr. Mario Molina (Molina Healthcare CEO) and John Molina and that was the first time I met them,” Yager said. “I saw John again, a few weeks later at a fundraising dinner and ended up sitting at the table with him and his wife Michelle.”

“We struck up a conversation and soon discovered that we had both attended Fresno State University,” Michelle added. “That just opened the door to a friendship and by the end of the fundraiser it was as if we had known each other for a long time.”

A few months later, the Toren brothers agreed to sell their interest in the magazine and left it to Yager to find buyers. Word spread quickly through the grapevine, and John and Michelle caught wind of it.

“We saw this as an opportunity to get involved in something we really believed in,” John said. He explained that in the late 1970s and early 80s, he enjoyed reading a magazine called The Long Beach Review, which covered local society and neighborhoods. “I was sad when that magazine ceased to exist, but was very glad to see Long Beach Magazine come on the scene a few years ago,” he said. “It seemed to be filling the same niche.”

“We always loved AJ’s magazine,” Michelle said. “But even before we met him, we shared his desire to see the magazine broaden its depth and scope.”

So with the enthusiasm of children unwrapping their Christmas gifts, the Molinas bought the Toren’s share of the magazine, making them majority owners.

Long before that, however, they had developed a friendship based on mutual trust and admiration with Mark Stevens.

Stevens was vice president of strategic planning & development for the Los Angeles Newspaper Group and publisher & CEO of the Press-Telegram from February 2004 to February 2007. He also had served as publisher and CEO of the Toronto Sun and vice president of finance and CFO at the Houston Post for five years.

Stevens had known the Molinas through his involvement with the Press- Telegram and more than once he had told them of his desire to move into a different kind of publishing venue.

When the Molinas decided to buy into Long Beach Magazine, they knew instantly that Stevens was the missing piece to the puzzle of how to bring the publication to a higher level. “He was a perfect fit,” John Molina said. “Where else could we find someone with an intricate knowledge of Long Beach and so many years of experience in publishing, who just happened to be looking for a new venue?” Stevens was named publisher and CEO of Long Beach Magazine in September, but he was on the same page with Yager and the Molinas long before that. “I always enjoyed reading the magazine, and had great respect for it,” he said. “It’s always been a good product, but I knew that with more resources it could become one of the West Coast’s best magazines.”

The Molinas are willing to invest those resources and Michelle explained why. “AJ is the visionary, the creative genius, and Mark is the one who knows how to make AJ’s dreams come true,” she said. “With these two guys working together, this venture cannot fail.”

John added that he wants the magazine to be an integral part of Long Beach’s culture. “This city has been in the shadows of the City of Los Angeles and Orange County for too long,” he said. “It’s time for it to blossom on its own.” He noted that the magazine will help people understand that Long Beach is one of the most culturally diverse cities in the United States. “We want to capture the diversity and vibrancy of Long Beach and tell everyone, ‘Look, this is your city!” he said.

But the magazine will do more than that, according to Michelle. “We want it to be the source where people go to find out what is happening here,” she said. “If they want to know about the arts, entertainment, coastal lifestyles or fine dining or if they want to read about nonprofit groups, civic leaders and some of our local heroes, Long Beach Magazine is a must read.”

Yager, who still owns a portion of the company — now known as Millworks Media Group — echoed John and Michelle’s comments. “Mark, the Molina’s and I share the same vision and passion,” he said. “There’s an excitement here that can’t be put into words. We all know that Long Beach Magazine is on the cusp of greatness.”

Mark Stevens

Christian Lane-Brown

Jeff Brandvold