"Yet the county has the equivalent of just 3.6 local journalists per 100,000 people, making it "dramatically undercovered," according to the Local Journalist Index released by Muck Rack and Rebuild Local News this summer - and "by relative California standards, a news desert in terms of news personnel," said Matt Pearce, director of policy for Rebuild Local News and former Los Angeles Times reporter."
"The Los Angeles Times has suffered a series of body blows - round after round of layoffs; public criticism of its billionaire owner's decisions; a reported $50 million lost in 2024. Last month, its remaining journalists had voted to authorize a strike before reaching a tentative deal on a contract after three years of negotiations. (Patrick Soon-Shiong has said he plans to take the news org public within a year.)"
Los Angeles County contains more than 100 local news outlets but only about 3.6 local journalists per 100,000 people, creating significant understaffing. The Local Journalist Index and local experts characterize the county as undercovered or a personnel news desert by California standards. The Los Angeles Times has experienced repeated layoffs, leadership controversies, reported financial losses, and a recent labor authorization vote, weakening its historic dominance. New media ventures and philanthropic initiatives have multiplied, including Latino Media Collaborative’s CALÓ News launched in 2022 to cover Latino communities for English-speaking audiences, signaling a reshaping of the local news ecosystem.
Read at Nieman Lab
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]