Do you have a story tip for LAist? Here's how to reach us

Here at LAist, it’s our job to deliver news that holds powerful people and institutions to account, and we can’t do that without your help.

Some of our best reporting comes from tips and sensitive information from members of the community.

Here are just a few examples:

• Hidden city report finds LA council’s signature anti-encampment law is failing: The report, which said a key homelessness enforcement policy was failing, was provided to us by a trusted source. We were able to authenticate the report and publish the findings. 
• Setting up a fierce debate, city-commissioned report recommends changes that would lower LA rent hikes: Information from a source allowed us to specify exactly where the record could be located in our public records request.
• ‘We f***ing started a fire’: Orange County records document missteps by officials leading up to devastating Airport Fire: We requested these text messages based on a tip from the community.

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What should you send us?

Like the examples above, we’re looking for leads for stories and information not previously reported that are important for the public to know. In order to tell these kinds of stories, we need specifics. That means we need documents, communication or other pieces of hard evidence — or leads on who to ask or where to look. The more specific the better.

We’re looking for facts, not opinions.

What will we do with your lead?

A member of our news team reviews every tip that comes to us. Follow up may take weeks or even months. If the information you provide is time sensitive, be sure to mention that in your tip. We may not be able to speak with everyone personally. If you don’t want to be contacted further or named in our reporting, make sure to tell us that in your initial communication

How to reach us

Let's break some news.

For general feedback, get in touch with us here.

You can always send tips to tips@laist.com. If it’s newsworthy, an editor will pass the tip on to a reporter.

That’s the easiest way, but not necessarily the most secure.

If you have information for us and you’re worried about security, we take that seriously and can help.

Here’s how you can reach us discreetly:

Signal

I edit our watchdog journalism team and you can reach me on Signal. My username is: Jbennett.18.

For instructions on getting started with Signal, see the app's support page. Once you're in the app, you can type my username in the search bar after starting a new chat.

Many of our reporters have listed their Signal usernames on their bios. Find them here.

Encrypting email

Using encryption allows you to pass us information that you don’t want read by other people. No one but us can read the contents of the email, but people can see that you’ve sent us a message.

Snail mail

Often the most secure way to get information to us is good old fashioned physical mail. Send us printed documents or files on a storage device such as a thumb drive, DVD or memory card. You can leave off the return address, but don’t forget to include how we can reach you with more questions inside the package.

Mailing address:

LAist

Attn: Jared Bennett
474 S. Raymond Ave.
Pasadena, CA 91105