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This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
LAist: Year One
Tom Berman, LAist's original editor, launched this site, a year ago today, with the following words:
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.
Since becoming editor, We I have found what a daunting task "focusing on the city itself" really is. Few of us look at Los Angeles from the same perspective or experience the city in the same ways. I'm an "industry" guy who has spent his entire LA life living in the Valley. How do I know what's important for people living and working south of the 10 or in the beach communities or downtown for that matter? It is quite the challenge. We're bursting with a staff of nearly twenty semi-regular contributors and every day I see at least four or five different stories that we could've covered but didn't.
As we move in to LAist: Year Two, our goal is to write about even more of the neighborhood specific stories that don't get much media notice; to continue to be a place where you can come to find out about everything interesting going on in the city every night of the week; to give our own perspective on those events; to examine how LA is presented in fictional media and perceived by the world; to get you into even more events with our giveaways and contests; and, to drink more, preferably more often with all of you.
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After the jump, our most popular posts from the last year...
- LAist's "You Left A Note On My Car": Happy Holiday Edition
- The LAist Interview: Heather Havrilesky
- Fashionable Crackdown
- The Area Code Class System
- Ashton Kutcher: Hollywood Maverick?
- Live from SXSW: Hollywood in Austin
- The LAist Interview: Xeni Jardin
- The Best in LA Sports Talk Radio
- The Lindsay Lohan Guide to LA
- The Coffee Buzz
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.
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