There is a turning point in each of our lives, a moment when
everything changes either for better or worse. For Pat Means, hers
was for the better, and it happened to be Turning Point.
It's a magazine, a point of view--and for the 49-year-old,
it's a career, a dream fulfilled and a way of life.
Means spent most of her adulthood in product marketing and
consumer promotions. She started her own marketing and promotional
services company in Dallas in 1983 and then continued that line of
work as a consultant when she moved to Los Angeles in 1990.
The initial idea for Turning Point came during the riots
in Los Angeles in 1992, when, for a couple weeks, the world thought
for sure the city would slip into the sea without help from an
earthquake. Means was affected by the crisis and talked with Karen
Hixson, a college friend who also had moved to Los Angeles, about
what they were seeing on TV. Means says much of what they saw in
the news was negative. "We wanted to look at what was right
with L.A.," she says, "the positive things going on, and
the proactive people."
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The two started to think about putting out a newsletter aimed at
middle- and upper-class African Americans--it would focus on
positive things going on in African American culture. Leave the
negativity to CNN, NBC, The Washington Post and the rest of
the media masses, they thought.
The newsletter idea evolved into a full-fledged magazine, with
Means and Hixson each contributing approximately $1,000 to their
new project.
Soon, they began immersing themselves in the world of
periodicals, buying "a ton of magazines to see the layouts and
trends," says Means, who was also studying the concept's
feasibility. She felt there weren't any existing magazines
doing what they wanted to do: "a four-color, glossy local
magazine with a positive focus that would speak on issues of
interest to middle- and upper-income African Americans."
According to Folio, the magazine-industry trade
publication, 400 to 500 magazines begin every year, and every year,
three out of four magazines fail. But that didn't deter Means
and Hixson. They determined Turning Point would be published
quarterly and given away for free.
The magazine debuted in 1993 with a circulation of 50,000 and
brought in $100,000 that year. The first issue, Means admits,
"was a pretty crude little thing." But nobody's
saying that now. By 1998, the circulation hadn't changed, but
the advertising dollars had: The revenue was up to $600,000. This
year, Turning Point expects to make $1 million.
Turning Point can't be found on the newsstands;
it's distributed through churches, social and professional
organizations, and some retail stores. "We were [and still
are] trying to play a positive role in the development of African
Americans," says Means, which is one reason her magazine
isn't carried in liquor stores and doesn't accept
advertisements promoting alcohol or tobacco products.
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