Los Angeles Times to Launch Equity Reporting Initiative
The two-year project will include dedicated news coverage of the economic equality divide in California and virtual community events funded by the Irvine Foundation
The Los Angeles Times is launching an equity reporting initiative focused on the extremes of poverty and wealth in California. It will explore the challenges facing low-income communities and efforts being made to address the economic divide. The two-year program will include dedicated coverage of socio-economic issues, such as access to employment and housing, and will examine the human toll of systemic poverty. It is being funded by the James Irvine Foundation.
Through the initiative, The Times will hire a full-time journalist who’ll be dedicated to covering the economic divide across the state.
“The reporter will work collaboratively with other journalists in The Times newsroom and in the field to produce original, independent coverage that includes research and real-life stories to bring this complex subject into sharp relief,” said Hector Becerra, the Times deputy managing editor for California and Metro. “Over the course of two years, we’ll be able to profile people and organizations and develop explanatory reporting to increase the public’s understanding of the fundamental issues that contribute to these extremes.”
The Times will begin recruiting for the position immediately. The journalist hired for the initiative will be a Los Angeles Times employee and, as with any newsroom partnership or initiative, The Times’ newsroom will retain complete editorial control.
“The Irvine Foundation’s singular goal is a California where all workers in low-income jobs have the power to advance economically,” said Don Howard, president and CEO of the James Irvine Foundation. “We’re proud to support this reporting project from the Los Angeles Times because we understand the important roles fact-based information and community engagement play in raising awareness, sparking dialogue, and inspiring action to address the economic and racial inequity facing so many of California’s workers.”
As part of the initiative funding, the Irvine Foundation will sponsor the stories, making them free to read without a subscription. The project will also engage the community in discussions about the economic divide and in exploring a range of solutions through virtual public events based on the coverage.
The Times equity initiative is being funded through the support of the James Irvine Foundation, an independent foundation based in Los Angeles and San Francisco, whose mission is to expand opportunity for the people of California with a focus on increasing the power to advance economically among low-income workers.
The Los Angeles Times administers community-funded journalism projects and community resource development and engagement initiatives through its Public Affairs group. The Times retains complete editorial control over all journalism produced by its newsroom, including community-funded journalism initiatives. More information and the latest announcements from The Times can be found at latimes.com/companynews.
