In Los Angeles, a news outlet ‘superbloom’ is emerging
This week, Los Angeles residents browsing newsstands might have noticed a new paper tucked in among the usual copies of the Los Angeles Times and national dailies.
The California Post — the New York Post’s new West Coast venture — launched Monday, becoming the fifth local news initiative to pop up in Los Angeles in as many months. Since September, the city has seen the start of two outlets hosted on Substack, a newsletter, a digital startup and a tabloid. One more, a digital outlet, is expected to launch in the coming months.
“In the last year, we’ve seen this really delightful explosion of new startups and new models,” said Scott Woolley, the cofounder and editor-in-chief of one of the Substacks, L.A. Reported.
Related Knowledge Center: State of the business model
The traditional journalism business model has long since collapsed, and news organizations have shrunk or disappeared entirely. While a number of promising experiments are under way, the public has not shown a willingness to buy what news organizations are selling.
Related Knowledge Center: Local media
The hollowing out of the local news ecosystem has been well documented; in some communities, efforts are underway to reverse the growing news desert.