What is the L.A. Local News Initiative?

The L.A. Local News Initiative is a coalition led by Los Angeles organizations and philanthropists that have come together to support local news in L.A. Guided by a community listening effort that included input from nearly 900 L.A. residents, this coalition represents a groundbreaking effort by philanthropy, media, and community organizations in L.A. to work together to fill information gaps, strengthen local democracy, and make L.A. work better for Angelenos.

Why is the L.A. Local News Initiative necessary?

Across the country, an already-declining ecosystem for local news is now undergoing a crisis—with thousands of jobs lost in local newspapers since 2008. We are hearing from people across the country, and in Los Angeles, that their communities are less connected, more polarized, ill-equipped with information needed to advocate for their families, and unaware of decisions being made that affect their daily lives. 

There is a burgeoning movement to change the model for local news, with local philanthropy stepping in to ensure the sustainability of this critical pillar of society. This investment by a coalition of Los Angeles media leaders and philanthropists demonstrates that nonprofit local news models can not only bolster local news but reimagine the way it serves communities. 

The Los Angeles initiative is the latest in a growing movement to revive local news in communities across the country with transformational investments in public service journalism by local philanthropies. Other major initiatives in recent years include Signal Ohio, a nonprofit organization in Ohio that has raised nearly $13 million to date, and Free Press Indiana, a statewide nonprofit local news initiative with more than $12 million in startup capital.

How is the L.A. Local News Initiative tackling the local news crisis?

The new initiative will take a multi-pronged ecosystem approach to ensure all L.A. communities have free access to the information they need to be more civically engaged, to thrive, and to hold decision makers accountable:

• It is investing in expansion of a community-centered, hyperlocal model developed by Boyle Heights Beat, a trusted newsroom serving Boyle Heights and East L.A., so that more communities in L.A. can get quality, independent news relevant to their neighborhoods, produced by people who are rooted in their communities.
• It will facilitate investments to add reporting resources in the region through investments in regionwide beats and state government reporting from the perspective of Los Angeles at LAist and CalMatters, made available to ecosystem partners, and continue to rally philanthropy to advance local news as a mechanism for civic engagement
• It will foster collaboration among ecosystem partners, by coordinating free content sharing, and providing shared resources that will help existing news outlets in L.A. do more reporting and bring more journalism to more people

These strategies were formed following extensive research and community listening done in partnership between local civic leaders and the American Journalism Project, which included input from nearly 900 Angelenos spanning a wide range of ages, genders, races, ethnicities, incomes, professions, and neighborhoods.

Who is running the L.A. Local News Initiative?

The L.A. Local News Initiative will be locally led, and has kicked off a search for a founding CEO and Executive Editor. This executive team will be hired through a public search process shepherded by search committees that represent local and national expertise in journalism, media, community and nonprofit, and which will include community input. Job descriptions and applications can be found at http://localnewsforla.org/jobs, and more openings will be posted in the coming months.

The organization is governed by a board of local journalism, community, nonprofit and business leaders with diverse backgrounds, including former Impremedia CEO Monica Lozano, media executive Kevin Merida, Eli & Edythe Broad Foundation President Gerun Riley and Michael Ouimette, the chief investment officer of the American Journalism Project. The board is still under development and will continue to grow.

The L.A. Local News Initiative will receive incubation support from the American Journalism Project, which conducted the community listening research in partnership with local L.A. philanthropies.

What kind of news organization will the L.A. Local News Initiative launch?

The initiative will launch a robust news organization that will produce accountability reporting and employ innovative community journalism programs that engage residents in setting coverage priorities.

This new, yet-to-be-named organization will be dedicated to local news reporting. Drawing from local successes in L.A. and from innovative nonprofit journalism models around the country, it will employ a community reporting model that equips residents to report on their own communities.

The initiative is an expansion of Boyle Heights Beat in Boyle Heights and East L.A., a bilingual, hyperlocal newsroom that prioritizes community engagement in its approach and community input in its reporting and framing of stories. Founded in 2011, Boyle Heights Beat began as a youth-focused project with high school students trained by professional journalists to report on their community. Three hundred students have been mentored through the program, most of the mentors are returning alumni and many have gone on to careers in journalism.

The news organization has shown again and again that it can provide crucial information and elevate community needs. When neighbors said they needed more reliable news about the pandemic, BHB responded by publishing community resources in English and Spanish. Their profile of an unhoused East L.A. Community College student was picked up by other outlets; the student was ultimately housed by a local nonprofit.

Who is supporting the L.A. Local News Initiative?

A broad coalition of philanthropies has raised $15 million to support the mission. It includes both local and national philanthropies, including anchor funding from The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, the Spiegel Family Fund, and the American Journalism Project, as well as support from The Annenberg Foundation, Weingart Foundation, California Community Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation, The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation, and Jane and Ron Olson.

In addition, the establishment and growth of Boyle Heights Beat has been made possible by some of these above philanthropies, as well as The California Endowment, Elevate Youth California with funding through Proposition 64, Emerson Collective, California Humanities, California Local News Fellowship, USC Good Neighbors Campaign, Stuart Foundation, the Los Angeles Unified School District, and Civic Space Foundation

How can I get involved in the L.A. Local News Initiative?

There are already many ways to get involved! You can share your perspective on what you’d like to see covered, by taking this survey. You can also help by spreading the word, and getting talented nonprofit and journalism leaders to apply for open roles. We’ll be sharing updates along the way, so share your e-mail with us if you’d like to hear about the initiative occasionally. And if you feel your newsroom or organization is ready to join the network and build a movement for local news as well, reach out to us at partnerships@localnewsforla.org.

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More information in the factsheet here.