Mediaboss Marketing

Near the intersection of Pico Boulevard and La Brea Avenue is a hodgepodge of Los Angeles culture, shared by Lucy's Mexican drive-in restaurant, Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles and an Asian nail salon.

It's now also home to a media upstart with ambitions to reflect the city's ethnic diversity.

Meruelo Media sprang to life 2 1/2 years ago with the acquisition of a pioneering Los Angeles Spanish-language TV station, KWHY Channel 22. Last month, Meruelo agreed to pay $15 million to buy another L.A. fixer-upper, radio station KDAY-FM (93.5).

ON LOCATION: Where the cameras roll

The acquisition has particular appeal for Alex Meruelo, principal of the parent company, Meruelo Group.

The son of Cuban immigrants started his career in the late 1970s running the tuxedo business in his parents' bridal shop on Broadway in downtown L.A., and he knew KDAY during its glory days when it was an early promoter of hip-hop music.

"I grew up listening to KDAY," said Meruelo, 51. "KDAY is part of L.A., and we think it could become a substantial radio station once again."

The station was once identified by its African American audience, but now more than half its listeners are Latino.

The rising importance of U.S. Latinos more than 50 million strong, flexing a spending power that has been estimated at $1.3 trillion a year has attracted media interest. Walt Disney Co., Comcast Corp. and Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox have launched networks in the last 18 months to appeal to young Latinos. By some estimates, 50,000 U.S. Latinos turn 18 every month.

Those media owners are looking to Los Angeles because of the city's large population of Mexicans and Mexican Americans. Those groups make up about two-thirds of the Latinos in the United States.

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Meruelo Media, buyer of KDAY, prizes L.A.'s diversity