Century City Magazine Has Affinity for Calabasas

Century City, a magazine about people working in that area, had its inaugural issue last month. But the magazine, owned by Affinity Publishing, isn’t located in Century City. It is written and published in Calabasas.

“I used to be in Century City but the rents were too high,” said A. Henry Shaw, publisher of Affinity.

Shaw, 30, said his company has spent between $50,000 and $75,000 to get the magazine started.

The magazine, which claims to distribute 30,000 free copies a month to Century City offices and residents, was the brainchild of the Century City Chamber of Commerce. Two years ago, the chamber approached Shaw’s company about publishing a magazine on the area. Affinity agreed once it was given complete ownership of the publication and a guarantee that the chamber would endorse it.

Affinity was founded two years ago. Retail specialty catalogues for malls such as the Glendale Galleria and Topanga Plaza in Canoga Park are one of its sources of revenue. “The catalogues you get in the mail and throw away. That’s me,” Shaw said.

Affinity also owns half of Glendale magazine and publishes a number of one-time periodicals such as meeting and event guides. Affinity has six employees and about $1.2 million in revenue. Shaw said the company broke even last year.