The Press: Citizen Coppola

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At first, distribution will be mostly through street sales, and the press run is only about 50,000. The first issue contains a few modest surprises. The cover story is an investigative piece about a recent police raid on a local brothel. The issue also includes a letter from Fugitive Timothy Leary, but Coppola will disclose neither what it contains nor how City acquired it. The front part of the magazine is divided into departments on crime, business news, San Francisco history and other local topics. The middle part contains feature articles, and the back is devoted to entertainment listings. One of the issue's most notable traits is its squarish, Sunday-supplement size (11 in. by 13 in.). "I predict that Rolling Stone and New York will switch to our large, stapled format," Coppola says. "I predict a trend."

Coppola says he is committing $1 million to the rebuilding of City, in addition to the $500,000 he lost in its previous manifestation. He promises to keep the magazine going for a year and then reassess his commitment. "If it's a total turkey, I'll close it," he says. But for Coppola, who also owns a San Francisco theater, FM radio station and various other local enterprises and real estate, City is a reaffirmation of both his affection for San Francisco and his imaginative megalomania. "I don't know if all my ideas for City will work, but they're worth trying," he says. "In publishing, the margin of error is small, and people are frightened to try anything new, to tamper with the formula. But I find the frequency of a magazine exciting. With a movie, the whole process is so slow. Publishing City is going to be like making a movie a week."