The New York Post to California: Kiss your quiet goodbye!
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Even as he built a media empire headlined by Fox News, Rupert Murdoch never gave up his love affair with newspapers. He even once toyed with buying the L.A. Times.
That never happened. But this week the Murdoch family announced another sort of L.A. invasion. The family’s News Corp. said that early next year it will open the California Post, a West Coast version of the New York Post, the tabloid known for screaming headlines, Page Six gossip and right-of-center politics.
An infusion of populism and irreverence
The news provoked groans on the left and cheers on the right. But one veteran Los Angeles editor said that — setting politics mostly aside — L.A. and California will benefit from an infusion of tabloid-style populism and irreverence.
“I grew up in New York with the tabloids, and they just inject this different energy into the media market,” said Maer Roshan, editor of the Hollywood Reporter and previously Los Angeles Magazine. “I think it’s a good thing for L.A. and it’s a good thing for L.A. media.”
The Post comes to the state at a time when the information landscape is in flux. Facing reduced advertising and weak subscription numbers, among other challenges, the Los Angeles Times has slashed its workforce, though it still maintains what is believed to be the largest news staff west of the Mississippi River.
Others, such as radio and web operator LAist, have also cut back, while new players have emerged. The nonprofit L.A. Local News Initiative plans to add more than three dozen journalism jobs, partly by bolstering the ranks of LAist, Boyle Heights Beat and other outlets. Another nonprofit, L.A. Reported, plans to get off the ground in the fall. And Los Angeles Public Press already offers a progressive alternative, with extensive coverage of recent ICE raids and other topics.
The California Post will offer something entirely different. That became clear with the series of mock front pages it presented this week. One showed a gang of minibike riders who took over a downtown intersection in late July. “TAKE BACK OUR STREETS!” the headline roared. Another gushed over actress Sydney Sweeney’s “anti-woke” bluejeans ad with the headline “WE DREAM OF JEAN-Y.”
Roshan said he found during his time editing Los Angeles Magazine that audiences crave a populist take on the issues of the day, including homelessness and crime, in contrast to the “high-minded” L.A. Times.
The editor said that tabloids such as the Post feed on archetypes — the several dozen characters in a city or state whom “everyone knows and talks about.” That formula has helped make the New York Post the eighth most visited news website in the U.S., according to June figures.
Roshan expects the California Post to also feed on “this anti-elite sentiment that is going around now,” with a tone that will appeal to everyday citizens who feel left out.
The Post hopes to reach beyond politics to gain a foothold in one of the nation’s bluest states. Although California went more than 2 to 1 for Vice President Kamala Harris over Donald Trump in 2024, that still leaves millions in the state (and nearly 1.2 million in L.A. County) who voted for the former reality show host. The California Post plans to wow them with its promise of “an antidote to the jaundiced, jaded journalism that has sadly proliferated” in the state, according to News Corp. Chief Executive Robert Thomson.
During News Corp.’s earnings call on Tuesday, Thomson sounded as though he’s relishing the fight. “Soon,” he proclaimed, “all will not be quiet on the Western Front.”
Today’s top stories
Hundreds of deaths may be linked to the Eaton and Palisades fires, a new study suggests
- New research argues that the Eaton and Palisades fires may have been far more deadly than what’s reflected in coroner reports.
- Although the immediate effects of wildfire and other climate-driven disasters are starkly apparent in hard-hit communities, the lingering consequences can be challenging to quantify.
- Toxic smoke exposure and environmental damage stemming from wildfires can linger for months, and even years, after the flames are extinguished.
Tired of waiting for the city, Angelenos paint their own crosswalks
- Angelenos are taking matters into their own hands to improve street safety by painting crosswalks at precarious intersections.
- The city’s transportation department said crosswalks needed to comply with accessibility requirements before permanent installation.
- Sometimes the city removes the paint stripes; sometimes it moves to make them permanent.
Federal agents use a Penske rental truck as a ‘Trojan horse’ to raid an L.A. Home Depot
- Border Patrol agents raided a Home Depot in Westlake as a top federal agent warned, “We’re not leaving.”
- The raids revived fears of more widespread sweeps that organizers had hoped would ease with a federal judge’s order that Immigration and Customs Enforcement cannot racially profile people or use roving patrols to target immigrants.
- Even with the most recent Home Depot raid, the number of undocumented immigrants arrested around Los Angeles has dropped significantly, according to new data.
Homeowners say the Army Corps botched L.A. fire cleanups. The agency’s internal documents concur.
- Survivors of the Eaton and Palisades wildfires whose homes were destroyed feel they have been shortchanged by the Army Corps of Engineers cleanup.
- More than 800 complaints obtained by The Times detail sloppy and inconsistent work by federal contractors.
- Even as elected officials have praised the Army Corps for the rapid pace of work, the grievances submitted by disaster victims have called into question whether federal workers are sacrificing quality for speed.
What else is going on
- Millions of Californians may lose health coverage because of new Medicaid work requirements.
- Homeland Security removed age limits for ICE recruits to boost hiring for Trump deportations.
- UC said Trump’s grant suspensions at UCLA total $584 million, a “death knell” for research.
- A California court ruled that the UC must reconsider a policy barring undocumented students from jobs.
- Trump officials are reopening old immigration cases — even for dead people.
- Thousands were left without water in Granada Hills and Porter Ranch as the DWP made emergency repairs.
Commentary and opinions
- Columnist Michael Hiltzik asks: Why are America’s most powerful institutions capitulating to Trump?
- Columnist Gustavo Arellano says L.A. should pull out of hosting the Olympics.
- Newsom vows Texas will be “neutered” by California. Columnist Anita Chabria asks: Will voters let him do it?
- L.A.’s Azusa Street revival remade democracy once. Its lessons apply today, writes guest contributor Cori Tucker-Price.
This morning’s must reads
Family and neighbors said the family appeared to live a quiet life. Yet hundreds of court records reviewed by The Times, including sworn declarations, surveillance footage images and an autopsy report describe a strained marital relationship and contentious divorce.
Other must reads
- ‘Infinite potential’: This L.A. dance company is advancing disability inclusion.
- They snagged an L.A. dream rental with parking and nice neighbors — then made it better.
For your downtime
Going out
- Bookstores: Feeling literary (or lucky)? Here are eight swoon-worthy L.A. spots to celebrate Bookstore Romance Day.
- Music: In case you were on the fence about heading up to Fresno today for Shakira’s last California date on her tour, here are the 10 best moments from her show at SoFi Stadium.
- Dining: A Palestinian home kitchen reopens in Watts with falafel and fundraisers for Gaza.
- Plants: A free plant stand aims to help Altadena regrow.
- Downtown: Macy’s is out in DTLA. Coming in? A chic social club with pickleball and cold plunges.
Staying in
- Books: “Vulture” is a provocative satire about a clueless scoop seeker in Gaza.
- Children’s TV: Disney Jr. is expanding its preschool universe with “Marvel’s Avengers: Mightiest Friends.”
- Music: Colombian hitmaker Feid spoke with De Los about HARD Summer and teases new upcoming music.
- Movies: Spike Lee’s new Denzel Washington movie is much more than a Kurosawa remake.
- Recipes: Here’s a recipe for vegan lentil and fennel salad.
- ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.
A question for you: How do you shake the summer doldrums?
Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.
And finally ... from our archives
On Aug. 7, 2018, the Mendocino Complex fire in Northern California became the biggest ever recorded in California at the time, eventually burning nearly 500,000 acres. Only two years later, it was surpassed in size by the August Complex fire, which was the state’s first — and, to date, only — million-acre fire.
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Jim Rainey, staff reporter
Diamy Wang, homepage intern
Izzy Nunes, audience intern
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, Sunday writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
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