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Editor’s note: Exciting news on LAist’s role in new local news initiative
A new local news initiative will expand reporting in L.A. County, including three new jobs in the LAist newsroom.
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At a time of intense pressure on local journalism, it’s extremely nice to have good news to share.
A new $2.4 million grant will fund three new watchdog roles in our newsroom over the next five years. We plan to use those positions to expand our accountability journalism — work that holds powerful people and institutions responsible for their duties — even as many local newsrooms continue to shrink.
About the funding
The positions are funded by The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation and the Spiegel Family Fund. We also want to thank The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation for additional funding to support this initiative.
And LAist is excited to be working with other local newsrooms on this effort to revitalize news in a county that’s home to nearly one in 30 U.S. residents. Under this $15 million American Journalism Project initiative, the goal is to decrease siloes and work more collaboratively with other like-minded newsrooms and universities focused on serving Angelenos. We’ll be working even more closely with CalMatters, a longtime partner who will add two L.A.-based positions as part of the initiative.
As Monica Lozano, chair of the new L.A. Local News Initiative and former editor, publisher, and CEO of La Opinión, says so clearly: “Without local journalism, we lose accountability, history, and a connection to our communities.”
We’ll also continue to work closely with another longtime partner, Boyle Heights Beat, and a new local affiliate of the Documenters Network by City Bureau, as well as more newsrooms, including L.A. Taco, La Opinión and Zócalo. More than three dozen local journalism jobs will be added under this initiative. Our commitment is to share our stories and to feature the work of these hyper-local newsrooms.
LAist headquarters in Pasadena.
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What's next
So what’s next? We’re hiring!
LAist is looking for journalists with a strong commitment to local journalism and a track record of uncovering news and helping to foster needed change.
About the jobs
- Take a look at our three new watchdog team roles. We’re hiring a senior editor and two correspondents focused on accountability in L.A. County.
- We also encourage you to take a look at CalMatters’ openings and the open roles at the L.A. Local News Initiative.
We’re ready to get going on this next chapter. As a nonprofit newsroom funded largely by our members, we are always grateful for the support that makes this work possible. Even with this investment, we continue to face financial headwinds. Everyone who gives, from our biggest to smallest donors, makes a difference. If you’re able, please give now in support of local journalism and LAist.
Ashley Alvarado, Vice President, Community Engagement + Strategic Initiatives
Megan Garvey, Executive Editor
Kristen Muller, Chief Content Officer
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
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