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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.
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.
Support for LAist comes from
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!
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.
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