Woodland Hills : Entertainment Fields May Fill Jobs Gap

Growth in entertainment-related fields could erase the huge numbers of jobs lost in the aerospace industry in recent years, the chairman of a coalition of San Fernando Valley government and business leaders said Thursday.

Large aerospace employers, such as the giant Lockheed Corp. which left the Valley in the early 1990s, are being replaced by smaller companies that are working together in networks, Benjamin Reznik, co-chairman of the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley, said at a breakfast meeting with the Valley Jewish Business Leaders Assn.

Reznik, an Encino lawyer and former chairman of the Valley Industry and Commerce Assn., prefaced his talk by admitting that he is not an economist but said he has “seen what other experts are saying about the Valley.”

In a 45-minute talk, Reznik went over preliminary figures from a $350,000 study by SRI International of Menlo Park that was commissioned by the Economic Alliance. The firm looked at the Valley’s economic strengths, weaknesses and trends.

The figures contained in the study--first released in April--included the obvious drop in aerospace industry but also showed surprising growth in the entertainment industry, especially in movie studios and amusement parks.

The remnants of the defense industry have also left a lot of high technology potential, he said. Reznik said he sees a natural union between technology and entertainment, leading to possibilities in multimedia companies.

The Economic Alliance is putting together clusters of industry representatives to study specifics about the Valley and help come up with a strategy to help the economy, Reznik said.

“When the study is done, the work is just beginning,” Reznik said.