The new year has barely begun but it’s already clear 2026 will be a time of new beginnings on the local journalism scene. At least five news and information sites are coming to Los Angeles, intent on building audiences at a time when the news industry continues to struggle to find sustainable sources of revenue.
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They run the gamut in terms of business models, funding and audience. Some aspire to be niche players, others are looking for mass audience. And each comes at the task in different ways.
Los Angeles is far from alone in seeing startup newsrooms launch. They typically are a fraction of the size of a big-city newsroom and often attempt to supplement coverage of specific topics or focus on underserved markets. Nationally, some have stood the test of time and others have quickly failed. Locally, they’ve gained footholds in places like Long Beach, San Diego and Orange County.
The track record in Los Angeles has been mixed. With much fanfare, the owner of the Orange County Register launched the “Los Angeles Register” as a general-interest print publication about a decade ago but it did not last long.
Nationwide, advertising on most news sites has collapsed and subscriptions and donations haven’t always proved lucrative enough to fill the gap in order to keep journalists employed.
But this new crop of startups has more specific (and more refined) missions and mandates. Here’s what to expect:
• The L.A. Local is focusing most intently on three geographic areas: Boyle Heights and East LA; Koreatown, Pico Union and Westlake (west of downtown); and Inglewood and South L.A.
The organization will also partner with existing newsrooms, including LAist (previously KPCC), CalMatters, L.A. Taco, and L.A. Public Press to provide more regional sweep to its coverage. The L.A. Local plans to offer access to news free on its website, while relying heavily on $19.3 million in philanthropic investments.
The site’s home page recently offered stories on a teacher’s contract dispute, protests over an ICE raid and a look at why Koreatown and Pico Union have so few parks.
“We’re building newsrooms inside neighborhoods so residents have the information infrastructure they need to participate fully in democracy,” said Kristen Muller, the site’s executive editor and the former top editor at LAist. “It’s not just coverage, it’s connection.”
• The California Post, a West Coast version of the New York Post, promises a daily digital and print publication starting this month. Like its cousins in the Murdoch media empire, it’s expected to take a conservative, MAGA-adjacent view of L.A. and California.
Nick Papps, the California Post editor-in-chief, said in an announcement that the paper will be “fighting for hard-working Californians.”
The Post news crew will operate out of a newsroom on the Fox Studio lot in Century City.
• Golden State is another nonprofit outlet founded by two former L.A. Times journalists — Mariel Garza and Paul Thornton — and later joined by another former Times editor, Susan Brenneman. The site plans to fund itself with a “NPR style” membership model and to primarily focus on “analysis, commentary, think pieces, reviews, criticism and accountability journalism” — as the journalists did when they were at The Times.
Garza left in 2024 after The Times did not publish an editorial endorsing Kamala Harris for president.
• L.A. Reported comes from another former Times opinion staffer, Karin Klein, and a Forbes journalist Scott Woolley. Starting this weekend, the founders intend to initially offer about one article per week. They will be “investigative pieces that are written as fun-to-read narratives,” Woolley said via email.
The founders eventually hope to attract enough paying subscribers to remain in business.
“We believe we can publish stories that both inform and entertain readers,” Woolley said.
• LA Material plans to offer a magazine-style mix of news, culture and muckraking journalism in a digital format.
Two more former L.A. Times journalists are the founders of the site. Julia Turner was the top editor at Slate before becoming a masthead editor at The Times. Julia Wick once wrote this newsletter and helped cover L.A. City Hall and state politics. She is also the former editor-in-chief of LAist.
L.A. Material plans a daily newsletter and a handful of other stories each week.
Today’s top stories 
A man carries a single-use plastic bag in San Francisco.
(Kimberly White / Getty Images)
Very little plastic is being recycled in California as state efforts falter
- California touts itself as a leader on the problem of plastic garbage, but recent developments suggest otherwise.
- A new report issued by the state’s waste agency shows plastic yogurt containers, shampoo bottles and restaurant takeout trays are being recycled at rates only in the single-digits.
- No plastic in the report exceeds a recycling rate of 23%, with the majority reported in the single digits.
Protesters recount bloody attack by Homeland Security agents in Santa Ana
- A 21-year-old protester remains hospitalized after a Homeland Security agent fired less-lethal rounds at a Santa Ana demonstration last week, leaving him permanently blind in one eye.
- Doctors found shrapnel embedded in the man’s skull and metal fragments lodged dangerously close to his carotid artery, conditions that will require lifelong medical monitoring.
- Accounts of the incident sharply conflict: Homeland Security claimed protesters threw rocks and bottles, but police only reported them throwing orange cones.
Supreme Court likely to uphold state bans on trans athletes competing on girls’ sports teams
- More than two dozen Republican-led states say a student’s biological sex at birth should determine who can play on the girls’ or boys’ teams.
- A ruling for the red states will not directly change the law in California and the more than a dozen other Democratic-led states.
What else is going onCommentary and opinionsThis morning’s must readOther must readsFor your downtime 
Yasir Hashim Lafond, 8, plays with animal figurines on a miniature ship inside the newly reopened Noah’s Ark exhibit at the Skirball Cultural Center. The updated exhibit features interactive set pieces, enhanced lighting and a new garden.
(Dania Maxwell/For The Times)
Going outStaying inA question for you: Are you optimistic for the new year? If so, why?
Olivia Vasquez said, “I am working double duty to stay positive as the existential chaos we are experiencing is having an adverse effect on my everyday life. No matter how hard I try to ignore the hate and divisiveness it’s so pervasive that it can be difficult to avoid. I hope and pray that we can be a united nation where we are able to live our lives without the negative interference of our government. In the meantime I am going to keep thinking optimistically about 2026 and beyond for the sake of my children and grandchildren.”
Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.
And finally … your photo of the day 
Sophia Amir reclines on a reformer at FOLM, which offers workouts that align with your hormonal rhythms.
(Dania Maxwell/For The Times)
Today’s great photo is from Times contributor Dania Maxwell at FOLM, a fitness studio in Los Angeles that offers workouts that align with your hormonal rhythms.
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Jim Rainey, staff reporter
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, fast break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, weekend writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
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