Our Impact: Building A Stronger Los Angeles Together
At The LA Local, we measure our success with community – by covering stories that matter, strengthening civic engagement, connecting residents to each other and lifting up the people that make LA unique. We’re proud to be a part of a growing movement focused on bringing Angelenos together and making the place we love stronger.
We believe in journalism that serves and strengthens communities. Some recent ways our collective reporting has led to real change for Angelenos:
Bryan Bostic’s death inspires 2 police accountability ballot initiatives in Inglewood
Activists and Inglewood locals announced initiatives Thursday to govern police body-worn camera use and relaunch Inglewood’s defunct police commission.
Phone lines restored at East LA Sheriff’s Station after 2-month outage due to copper wire theft
The update comes one week after Boyle Heights Beat reported on the issue, and residents raised concerns about difficulty reaching the station.
Your rights, your community: Resources for immigrant families
From restaurant workers to street vendors, students to small business owners — this guide is a reminder that our city still cares for you.
Teachers say they’re being bitten, headbutted and bruised while trying to manage classrooms
More school staff members are suffering more severe injuries, according to data from hundreds of workers’ comp claims reviewed by the Long Beach Post.
Community-Centered Reporting
We report with and for communities. We believe the best stories begin with listening. Our reporters build lasting relationships in the neighborhoods they cover, ensuring our award-winning journalism is rooted in the real needs, interests and concerns of Angelenos.
1.15M
People in our coverage areas
24
Media and university partners
27
Journalists added to LA
Current top stories
With school set to start before the Lineage cleanup is done, these parents and teachers want LAUSD to act
Eastman Avenue Elementary School is less than a mile away from the warehouse, where rotting food and remnants of the fire remain.
A Boyle Heights crash left her mother without legs. Her daughter won’t give up.
Gabriela Vargas and her 82-year-old mother were struck outside Los 5 Puntos. Now, Vargas is focused on helping her mother heal.
Crenshaw Chamber of Commerce wants small business owners to know about a new 100% forgivable loan program
JC Lacey, the president of the chamber, told The LA Local it’s their goal to make sure small businesses get info on the World Stage Ready Forgivable Loan Program.
Some critics in LA say FIFA sponsors ‘sportswashed’ the World Cup and betrayed the city’s values
At a demonstration in downtown LA last week, advocates rallied against a number of high-profile sponsors of the tournament.
Neighborhood Coverage
LA Documenters
Holding power accountable, one meeting at a time.
Our Documenters program trains and pays community members to cover local government meetings. The result? More informed and engaged residents, building community power:
- Documentation of Boyle Heights Neighborhood Council meetings resulted in unspent community funds being distributed to residents.
- Responded to community crises: Organized distribution of ‘Know Your Rights’ flyers during ICE enforcement across the region and identifying other opportunities to engage Documenters in The LA Local’s community engagement efforts.
- Univision LA featured the program’s collaboration with Boyle Heights Beat and its consistent coverage of LAPD community meetings.
- Documenters regularly originate news coverage, powering stories in our own newsroom and across the region, including recent reporting in LAist and the LA Sentinel. Their work has informed coverage on key local issues across the city, demonstrating how resident-generated civic reporting strengthens Los Angeles’s entire news ecosystem.
150+
Residents have signed up to be an LA Documenter.
160
LA City and LA County meetings covered.
Youth Journalism Program
A pathway to college, careers, and community leadership.
For 15 years, Boyle Heights Beat has demonstrated what’s possible when young people lead the storytelling of their own communities. Today, that legacy has expanded across Los Angeles through The LA Local. We operate three cohorts in Boyle Heights; Koreatown, Pico-Union, and Westlake; and South LA and Inglewood. Students produce powerful journalism rooted in their neighborhoods, and alumni often describe the program as foundational to their confidence, their voice, and their civic engagement.
300+
Alumni spanning 15 years, many of whom have pursued journalism as a career.
1000+
Stories published by youth journalists since program began.
100%
Class of 2026 admitted into a college or university.
Community Engagement
At The LA Local, community engagement is at the heart of the editorial process. We don’t just cover our neighborhoods, we connect them. We start by listening, building real relationships and letting residents guide what we provide.
Separate from resident engagement, we’ve met with community leaders at over 100 community organizations, including key organizations that have been supporting our work like Community Coalition, Brotherhood Crusade, the Koreatown Youth and Community Center (KYCC) and others.
In the past two years, we held and listened to:
45+
Community engagement events
1,800+
Resident input points
Community testimonials
Being able to write and serve my community is truly a gift. I sincerely believe that organizing, writing, documenting and note-taking can start a revolution of community wellness and change.
-Jaimé Korima Rodriguez, LA Documenter
Boyle Heights Beat gave me more than skills- it gave me a voice. I learned to listen deeply, ask the right questions, and write stories with my community in depth and dignity. Today, I’m a DOJ Accredited Representative for the LA LGBTQ Center, where I practice immigration law as a non-attorney, fighting for vulnerable community members. BHB is training journalists who will be leaders in this community. I’m proof of what BHB can do.
-Ricardo Diaz, 2012 BHB Alum
Ways to get involved
Donate
Support our nonprofit newsroom and help us build a more connected and informed Los Angeles.
Sponsor or advertise
Reach an engaged local audience while investing in the future of community-centered LA news.
Become a mentor
Guide the next generation of storytellers by sharing your skills and experience with our student journalists.
Become an LA Documenter
Get paid to keep your community informed by attending and holding accountable local public meetings.
Apply to the Student Journalism Program
Join other high school students in our after-school and summer education programs.
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