Robert J. Armband Says Adios to La Raza Newspaper and Opens Venado Consulting, LLC

After sixteen years as the driving force behind La Raza Newspaper in Chicago, Robert J. Armband has stepped down as Publisher and CEO. “My decision to move on was based on the desire to spend more time with my family and my interest in pursuing exciting new opportunities. I’ve accomplished what I set out to do at La Raza and now under the banner of Venado Consulting, LLC, I look forward to continuing to serve the Hispanic community by orchestrating creative initiatives that will be both commercially viable and poised to positively impact the quality of life for US Latinos,” stated Mr. Armband.

John Paton, CEO of ImpreMedia said, “Robert has been an integral part of La Raza’s success in transforming from a small urban weekly to the No. 1 Hispanic weekly in the U.S. in terms of revenues. He has been an innovator not only for La Raza but also to the Hispanic publishing industry. We are very grateful to Robert for his efforts and leadership over the past 3 years following ImpreMedia’s acquisition of La Raza. We thank Robert for his contributions, hard work and dedication and wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”

Mr. Armband pioneered many successful initiatives at La Raza and is responsible for successfully creating the Hispanic Total Market Coverage program which is now imitated in other communities. Robert was also one of the first in Hispanic publishing to bring his newspaper to the Internet.

During his tenure, La Raza received scores of publishing awards including: one of the “Ten That Do It Right” from Editor& Publisher, the “Print Vision Partnership Award” from Newspaper Services of America, and “Best US Spanish Language Weekly”& “Best Newspaper Web Site” from the National Association of Hispanic Publications.

“While Robert is stepping down from his role as Publisher and CEO of our Chicago division, he will remain a consultant and advisor to ImpreMedia, as well as, a shareholder in both ImpreMedia LLC and ImpreMedia Digital,” stated John Paton.

Mike Cano will serve as interim Publisher of La Raza effective November 1, 2007. Mike has been a leader in Hispanic media for more than 20 years and brings enormous energy and talent to La Raza. He is well known in the industry and widely respected.

About La Raza Chicago, Inc.
La Raza Newspaper is the leading Spanish language newspaper in Chicago with an audited circulation 198,191 according to Certified Audit of Circulation (June 30, 2007). It is also among the largest Sunday Hispanic newspapers in the United States. La Raza has been recognized by the National Association of Hispanic Publications as the “Best Spanish Language Weekly” five times over the past decade and was named by Editor & Publisher as one of “Ten That Do It Right.” La Raza also provides content to the Sun-Times Network Group (STNG) Wire Service, which enables Chicago broadcasters to gain information on the Hispanic community. La Raza Chicago, Inc., is a subsidiary of ImpreMedia LLC.

About ImpreMedia
ImpreMedia is the #1 Hispanic news and information media company in the United States in print and online. The company’s online news and information sites are the No. 1 online network for Hispanics in the U.S. in Spanish. ImpreMedia is also the nation’s largest Hispanic newspaper publisher with publications reaching 23 cities representing 72% of the U.S. Hispanic population. Those publications include El Diario La Prensa, Hoy and Fin de Semana in New York, El Mensajero in the San Francisco Bay area, La Opinión and La Opinión Contigo in Los Angeles, La Prensa in Orlando and Tampa and La Raza in Chicago, each the leading Spanish language newspapers in their respective markets. ImpreMedia’s titles also include La Vibra, the premier weekly entertainment publication for young urban Hispanics, with a circulation of 534,000 in six key Hispanic markets, and Vista magazine, the dual language magazine distributed in 31 newspapers with one million copies across 23 U.S. markets. ImpreMedia provides marketers with effective multi-platform solutions in print and online to reach the rapidly growing and influential Hispanic market. For more information, visit our website at: www.impremedia.com.ImpreMedia is the No.1 Hispanic news and information company in the United States in online and print. Its network of online news and information websites is the premier destination for US Hispanics. Its newspapers and magazine publications are distributed in 23 markets, representing more than 70% of the U.S. Hispanic population.

About Venado Consulting, LLC
Venado was recently founded by Robert J. Armband. The vision of Venado is to develop commercially viable properties (both real & intellectual) that will positively impact the quality of life for US Latinos. Venado offers turn-key Hispanic marketing and promotional solutions to select clients and will create, acquire and develop content for Internet, TV and motion picture application. Venado is also engaged in a major Latino themed commercial real estate development project. Venado can be reached at 773-960-5336. “*

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