Millions Raised for L.A. Local, But Black Media Still Underfunded and Overlooked
Leimert Park, Calif. — The Los Angeles Local News Initiative, also known as L.A. Local, held a community listening session at KAOS Network this evening to discuss its plans to establish hyperlocal newsrooms across Los Angeles. The initiative, funded by the American Journalism Project (AJP), aims to build partnerships with about 20 media organizations, including LAist, CalMatters, and Boyle Heights Beat, to expand local coverage across diverse neighborhoods such as Boyle Heights, Inglewood, and South Los Angeles.
While the initiative has raised more than $17 million to strengthen local news coverage, concerns have surfaced among community journalists and media leaders about the lack of outreach and inclusion of Black grassroots media — particularly those already doing the work L.A. Local says it intends to build.
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The listening session, attended by fewer than a dozen community members, included staff from Boyle Heights Beat and new editors assigned to South L.A. and Inglewood. However, there was no visible presence of local Black media organizations that have long covered and served these same communities. The Voice of Black Los Angeles attended the session but was not formally invited.
The L.A. Local website currently lists only one Black person — former L.A. Times editor Kevin Merida — in any leadership or advisory role. The editor assigned to oversee coverage in South L.A. and Inglewood reportedly has no direct ties to the community, raising additional questions about how authentically the initiative will represent local voices.
Despite the project’s stated commitment to “community listening,” no formal introductions or invitations have been extended to grassroots Black media platforms. Many of these outlets — such as The Voice of Black Los Angeles — have been producing consistent, community-centered coverage for years.
This exclusion highlights a longstanding issue: Black media outlets continue to be underfunded, even as philanthropic organizations and major news initiatives direct millions toward new ventures attempting to replicate work already being done in the community. The American Journalism Project, which launched L.A. Local as part of its national effort to rebuild local news ecosystems, describes itself as a “venture philanthropy” investing in nonprofit journalism. AJP’s partnerships include organizations such as City Bureau in Chicago and Capital B, a national Black-led newsroom and LA Public Press.
However, in Los Angeles — a city with a rich history of Black journalism — AJP’s investments have not adequately reflected that legacy or the present-day realities of Black-led local newsrooms. The Voice of Black Los Angeles have been doing similar work in Black neighborhoods that Boyle Heights Beat has done in Latino communities, yet with a fraction of the funding and institutional support. Despite limited resources, we have cultivated loyal audiences, documented community voices, and built trust within and beyond Black Los Angeles.
