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About LAist
Mission
The mission of LAist is to strengthen the civic and cultural bonds that unite Southern California's diverse communities by providing the highest quality news and information across multiple platforms. We are a public forum that engages its audiences in an ongoing dialogue and exploration of issues, events, and cultures in the region and in the world. We seek to provide greater understanding and new perspectives to the people of these communities and their leaders.
LA•ist
noun \ 'el-'ā-ist \
Definition:
1. A person who champions Greater Los Angeles — its people, stories, and spirit.
2. The people who celebrate, question, and uplift the region we call home.
LAist is powered by you. We are an audience-funded nonprofit news organization, and the home of LAist.com and LAist 89.3 FM. Our mission is to help people make sense of life in Southern California through reporting that is useful, thoughtful, and deeply connected to our communities.
Every day, we showcase the people and neighborhoods that make Greater LA work. With us, you don’t just get the news — you get clear context and next steps to understand SoCal, connect with it, and help change it.
We report on the biggest challenges facing the region today: housing and homelessness, climate and environmental concerns, education, immigration, and public safety. At the same time, we never lose sight of what makes SoCal the envy of the world, including its food, arts, and culture.
Today, LAist connects with people across the region every day on 89.3 FM as LA’s largest NPR station, online, in inboxes, on social media, and through news stories and guides designed to help Angelenos and Southern Californians navigate their communities. (Longtime fans may have known us for years as KPCC — and we’re grateful to all who have supported us across our rebrand.)
How we cover news
It all starts with a commitment to transparency, credibility, accuracy, fairness, relevance, and trust. Our goal is simple: We want you to leave LAist.com and LAist 89.3 FM feeling caught up on what’s happening and better equipped to handle your day.
Here are a few of our guiding newsroom principals
- We talk to you like a friend. We believe local news should make life easier by connecting you to your community and guiding you toward ways to create change.
- Our stories get what it’s like to live in SoCal — the energy, the hustle, the weird weather, and all the in-between.
- We break things down so you know why it matters, why it’s worth your time, and what happens next. We know your time is precious. We won’t waste it.
- We love a good explainer that makes sense of our region or a guide that helps people navigate life in SoCal.
- We serve our community best when our staff, sources, and partners reflect the diversity of this region. We believe Southern Californians thrive because of this vibrant mix of voices, cultures, flavors, and perspectives.
- We believe in government accountability. We follow up, connect the dots, and track whether elected officials are doing what they promised with your tax dollars.
And we never forget that you’re part of this, too. Your questions, feedback, and curiosity shape what we cover. We invite you to reach out: contact a writer, email our tipline, slide into our DMs on IG, or listen at 89.3 FM and call in when the AirTalk lines open. We also send out surveys twice a year to better understand the issues that are top of mind in the region, and to give you a chance to let us know what’s keeping you up at night.
We strive to stay connected to what matters through community callouts, surveys, events, and collaborations. Our Regional Advisory and Next Generation Councils also help keep our work grounded in the voices of our community.
There’s one thing you won’t find at LAist.com: opinion journalism. LAist is committed to fact-based reporting because we know you have your own point-of-view, and our coverage respects that.
Reflecting the communities we serve
LAist’s mission is to help Southern California feel more connected. We serve you best when our staff, sources, and partners reflect the diversity of this region.
As of 2023, the Greater L.A area, which includes L.A., Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties, is 47.3% Hispanic, 28.2% white, 14.1% Asian, 5.9% Black and 3.6% two or more races. People here speak English, Spanish, Armenian, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Persian, Arabic and many other languages.
This place thrives because of its vibrant mix of voices, cultures, flavors, and perspectives. We’re committed to making sure our newsroom reflects that same energy.
Here’s how we’re putting that commitment into practice:
- We reflect the people and experiences of Southern California in our coverage, newsroom staffing, and choice of partnerships.
- We provide spaces that are accessible, welcoming, and open to respectful conversation. We host year-round events that do just that. Follow us online — we’re @LAistOfficial on TikTok, YouTube and Instagram. And check out our ever-changing community Events calendar.
- LAist works on the homelands of the Gabrieleno Tongva. Our primary facility in Pasadena sits within their ancestral village of Hahamog’na. We honor the Tongva and other Indigenous caretakers of these lands and waters, the elders who came before, Indigenous peoples who live here today, and the generations to come. This acknowledgment is one step in an ongoing commitment to relationship, listening, and coverage that respects names, language, and place.
- We offer programs that bring communities together and inspire meaningful dialogue. AirTalk, hosted by Larry Mantle, tackles the hottest topics from all vantage points, while news programming like The L.A. Report and Imperfect Paradise goes deep on the issues. One of our most recent podcasts, Inheriting, examined Asian American and Pacific Islander families and explored how a single event in history can ripple through generations.
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