Welcome To LAist

My name's Tom Berman and I'm the editor of LAist. Thanks for the visit.

The purpose of this website is to present an interactive daily news source for the city of L.A. As we see it, our town has always had a funny relationship with the media. The rest of the world knows a refracted vision of Los Angeles - it's been bent and twisted by the exhaustive (and often ridiculous) degree of attention that Hollywood attracts. This tendency even afflicts our own local media, as various papers and magazines race to offer the newest and dishiest tidbits of industry news. And what gets lots in the shuffle? The most vibrant and varied big city in the world.

So we've decided to try something novel: focus on the city itself, and leave that Hollywood stuff to everybody else. We love this place, and we think it deserves a news source that covers its news with all the energy of the people who inhabit it. We'll be commenting on local news, media, sports, and arts on a daily basis.

Full disclosure! As my profile explains: I spend a good deal of my time in New York (certainly, more than I'd prefer). So think of my posts as something of a celebration of the city - and an exercise in homesickness prevention - when I'm on that other coast.

We've got a pair of fantastic contributors rounding out the LAist team. Phil Wallace - L.A. sports fan nonpareil - will be covering our local teams with a sense of devotion that you've never seen in your life. Marleigh Riggins, who fields a tremendous blog at Hyperkinetic.org, is taking on arts, the local music scene, and other general news stories. We're still looking for 1 or 2 more contributors to round out the squad - if you're interested, write me.

We hope that you'll be back regularly. Enjoy the blogging!