NORTHRIDGE : The Voice of the ‘Up & Coming’ Generation

Memory Carver is a member of Generation X, but it is another generation that fascinates the Cal State Northridge junior.

Carver, who turned 20 last month, publishes Up & Coming, a bimonthly magazine about teen-age celebrities and issues in teen-agers’ lives. She contends that other youth publications overlook many young actors and ignore serious concerns.

“They treat (teen-agers) like they have a one-track mind, that all they want is entertainment,” Carver said. “But kids like to be intellectually stimulated.”

Up & Coming has questioned young people about violence on television, the environment and how their parents discuss sex with them.

“Kids have some very interesting opinions,” Carver said, even though some of the letters she receives contain “atrocious” grammar. “They’re just not getting the education they need.”

The magazine’s first priority remains celebrity profiles and photos. Each issue spotlights young television and movie actors, many of whom, Carver said, have trouble getting publicity.

“It’s tough to get them into the teen magazines unless you have a large following,” said Carver, the former president of a national fan club for child actress Haylie Johnson of Disney’s “Kids Incorporated.”

Up & Coming serves about 100 subscribers across the country, though another 300 fans have written to request single issues.

Carver has put the word out about her publication on the Prodigy on-line service and hopes to build a solid circulation base through word-of-mouth. She produces the magazine by computer from her Northridge apartment.

Her goal is to earn enough money to help pay her way through CSUN, where she is majoring in radio, television and film. But with mailing and printing, each issue costs about $1,500 to put out, and Carver has yet to turn a profit.

The magazine, however, provides other benefits for the aspiring director.

“I’m learning so much about the business,” said Carver, who has attended about 30 TV tapings. “Other people say they get bored, but I think there is so much happening on the set.”