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Observing the Observed
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| Journalist Kevin Roderick runs the blog L.A. Observed from his home near Santa Monica Airport. The site draws about 5,000 readers a day. Photo by Gary Leonard. |
Kevin Roderick's Widely Read Website Hits Its Second Birthday
by Chris Coates
Kevin Roderick knows Los Angeles. He grew up here and went to college here. He worked for two decades as a reporter and editor for the Los Angeles Times, writes routinely for Los Angeles Magazine, and has authored a book on the history of the San Fernando Valley, with a Wilshire Boulevard tome on the way.
While Roderick's writing endeavors have netted him praise (at the Times, he was part of teams that won two Pulitzer Prizes, for coverage of the 1992 riots and the 1994 Northridge earthquake), he is most known these days for his weblog, L.A. Observed. This Friday, May 13, marks the two-year anniversary of the site that has become a routine stop for thousands of people, many employed in the local media and political fields.
Roderick has been the one-man force behind L.A. Observed since its launch. He has posted thousands of items to laobserved.com, mostly short observations or comments that include links to local publications (among them Los Angeles Downtown News). Along the way, he has uncovered and posted leaked memos from newspapers (often the Los Angeles Times) and written copiously about the mayor's race.
The fact that he has been at it for two years makes L.A. Observed stand out in a field of mostly abandoned blogs. Roderick, 52, is the first to admit he never thought it would last this long. "I've been figuring it out as I go along," he says. "I never had a model."
His readership, like many blogs, is rising. In April, it received nearly 184,000 visits. Roderick estimates he has about 5,000 readers a day (many visit the site multiple times). He said that his "core readership" has increased about 20% since January.
The audience is a mix of media types, fellow bloggers and political operatives, including both campaigns in the mayoral race. "I know it's read in the mayor's office, the governor's office and all of the city council members' offices," Roderick said.
David Gershwin agrees. A former deputy to City Council President Alex Padilla, Gershwin said L.A. Observed is keenly read within City Hall. "It is one, if not the, place to go to for L.A. political gossip," he said. (Gershwin should know; when he left Padilla's office in February for a job at MWW Group, Roderick posted the move on his blog). He added that the site gives politicos a chance to see how the media is handling an issue. "It's become one of the must-read websites at City Hall," Gershwin said.
It serves a similar need for journalists, who say they use it as a quick digest of a variety of news outlets.
"[L.A. Observed] really highlights things that are going on in town," said David Ehrenstein, a blogger (ehrensteinland.com) and freelance journalist for publications such as L.A. Weekly. "It brings up things that are being discussed."
"It's a one-stop shop if you want to know what's going on," said Ron Fineman, a former radio reporter who runs the local media watchdog site On the Record at ronfineman.com (which is occasionally mentioned on Roderick's blog). "It's a valuable site," continued Fineman. "His opinions are worth something."
'A Part-Time Thing'
L.A. Observed's operational base is an unassuming home on a quiet cul-de-sac near Santa Monica Airport where Roderick lives with his wife and teenage daughter. Inside a book-lined office, the tools of L.A. Observed are a flat-screen computer and a telephone. Roderick estimates he spends about 20 hours a week on the site, updating it frequently while doing projects for other publications.
"It's a part-time thing, a side gig," says Roderick, who along with almost monthly pieces for Los Angeles Magazine contributes to Smithsonian Magazine and the Los Angeles Times Magazine. "I think of myself as more of a journalist than a blogger."
The blog started quietly, around the time Roderick began working at home two years ago. After two decades at the Times, he took a job as Los Angeles bureau chief for the Internet and tech publication The Industry Standard. When the magazine folded, Roderick became a freelance writer. The blog formed because he "wanted to stay connected" with the media.
Those first posts included entries about Jayson Blair's plagiarism at The New York Times, news that Men's Fitness was leaving Woodland Hills and alleged liberal bias in the pages of the L.A. Times.
"It started slow, as an experiment," Roderick said.
These days, the site produces a small income courtesy of a few paid advertisers, including ads from the Villaraigosa campaign and, during the mayoral primary, the Bob Hertzberg campaign. (Roderick said the ads don't affect his posts.) "It's not a sustainable business - it was never intended to be," Roderick said.
In recent months the bulk of the posts have focused on the mayor's race. Roderick has chronicled the candidates' moves and positions and has even turned up at campaign events. Roderick says his original reporting separates him from the rest of the pack. "There are maybe 10 to a dozen blogs talking about the mayor's race," Roderick said. "I'm taking a different approach."
Joseph Mailander, an author who edits the blog Martini Republic at martinirepublic.com, takes note of the reporting. "L.A. Observed was the first to occupy an important niche here in L.A.," said Mailander. "[Roderick] does it in a very print-media driven way. His print side definitely comes out."
But Mailander criticizes some of what Roderick posts on his site, especially entries from smaller, lesser-known bloggers. "He may be providing a good service for print journos, linking everywhere to nearly everything, but I think he is generally not good for other bloggers these days," he said. Mailander has also been critical on Martini Republic about what he contends is a lack of Spanish language or Latino-centered media outlets in L.A. Observed.
"I think any blog that calls itself L.A.-anything... should try to cover all of L.A., and that means the 2 million Spanish speakers here as well as the 2 million English speakers," Mailander said.
Roderick acknowledges his critics and admits that the blog, by its very nature, links to stories that he finds interesting. "This is not meant to be comprehensive," he says. "One person doing this part time can't cover anything comprehensively."
The question of what to cover is particularly important as more niche blogs come online, including an entry for commentator Arianna Huffington and rumors of an L.A. Times blog. "A year from now, my blog will be different," says Roderick, who expects the entire blogosphere to change. "I don't know how L.A. Observed will fit into that."
Contact Chris Coates at chris@downtownnews.com.
page 1, 5/9/2005
© Los Angeles Downtown News. Reprinting items retrieved from the archives are for personal use only. They may not be reproduced or retransmitted without permission of the Los Angeles Downtown News. If you would like to redistribute anything from the Los Angeles Downtown News Archives, please call our permissions department at (213) 481-1448.
While Roderick's writing endeavors have netted him praise (at the Times, he was part of teams that won two Pulitzer Prizes, for coverage of the 1992 riots and the 1994 Northridge earthquake), he is most known these days for his weblog, L.A. Observed. This Friday, May 13, marks the two-year anniversary of the site that has become a routine stop for thousands of people, many employed in the local media and political fields.
Roderick has been the one-man force behind L.A. Observed since its launch. He has posted thousands of items to laobserved.com, mostly short observations or comments that include links to local publications (among them Los Angeles Downtown News). Along the way, he has uncovered and posted leaked memos from newspapers (often the Los Angeles Times) and written copiously about the mayor's race.
The fact that he has been at it for two years makes L.A. Observed stand out in a field of mostly abandoned blogs. Roderick, 52, is the first to admit he never thought it would last this long. "I've been figuring it out as I go along," he says. "I never had a model."
His readership, like many blogs, is rising. In April, it received nearly 184,000 visits. Roderick estimates he has about 5,000 readers a day (many visit the site multiple times). He said that his "core readership" has increased about 20% since January.
The audience is a mix of media types, fellow bloggers and political operatives, including both campaigns in the mayoral race. "I know it's read in the mayor's office, the governor's office and all of the city council members' offices," Roderick said.
David Gershwin agrees. A former deputy to City Council President Alex Padilla, Gershwin said L.A. Observed is keenly read within City Hall. "It is one, if not the, place to go to for L.A. political gossip," he said. (Gershwin should know; when he left Padilla's office in February for a job at MWW Group, Roderick posted the move on his blog). He added that the site gives politicos a chance to see how the media is handling an issue. "It's become one of the must-read websites at City Hall," Gershwin said.
It serves a similar need for journalists, who say they use it as a quick digest of a variety of news outlets.
"[L.A. Observed] really highlights things that are going on in town," said David Ehrenstein, a blogger (ehrensteinland.com) and freelance journalist for publications such as L.A. Weekly. "It brings up things that are being discussed."
"It's a one-stop shop if you want to know what's going on," said Ron Fineman, a former radio reporter who runs the local media watchdog site On the Record at ronfineman.com (which is occasionally mentioned on Roderick's blog). "It's a valuable site," continued Fineman. "His opinions are worth something."
L.A. Observed's operational base is an unassuming home on a quiet cul-de-sac near Santa Monica Airport where Roderick lives with his wife and teenage daughter. Inside a book-lined office, the tools of L.A. Observed are a flat-screen computer and a telephone. Roderick estimates he spends about 20 hours a week on the site, updating it frequently while doing projects for other publications.
"It's a part-time thing, a side gig," says Roderick, who along with almost monthly pieces for Los Angeles Magazine contributes to Smithsonian Magazine and the Los Angeles Times Magazine. "I think of myself as more of a journalist than a blogger."
The blog started quietly, around the time Roderick began working at home two years ago. After two decades at the Times, he took a job as Los Angeles bureau chief for the Internet and tech publication The Industry Standard. When the magazine folded, Roderick became a freelance writer. The blog formed because he "wanted to stay connected" with the media.
Those first posts included entries about Jayson Blair's plagiarism at The New York Times, news that Men's Fitness was leaving Woodland Hills and alleged liberal bias in the pages of the L.A. Times.
"It started slow, as an experiment," Roderick said.
These days, the site produces a small income courtesy of a few paid advertisers, including ads from the Villaraigosa campaign and, during the mayoral primary, the Bob Hertzberg campaign. (Roderick said the ads don't affect his posts.) "It's not a sustainable business - it was never intended to be," Roderick said.
In recent months the bulk of the posts have focused on the mayor's race. Roderick has chronicled the candidates' moves and positions and has even turned up at campaign events. Roderick says his original reporting separates him from the rest of the pack. "There are maybe 10 to a dozen blogs talking about the mayor's race," Roderick said. "I'm taking a different approach."
Joseph Mailander, an author who edits the blog Martini Republic at martinirepublic.com, takes note of the reporting. "L.A. Observed was the first to occupy an important niche here in L.A.," said Mailander. "[Roderick] does it in a very print-media driven way. His print side definitely comes out."
But Mailander criticizes some of what Roderick posts on his site, especially entries from smaller, lesser-known bloggers. "He may be providing a good service for print journos, linking everywhere to nearly everything, but I think he is generally not good for other bloggers these days," he said. Mailander has also been critical on Martini Republic about what he contends is a lack of Spanish language or Latino-centered media outlets in L.A. Observed.
"I think any blog that calls itself L.A.-anything... should try to cover all of L.A., and that means the 2 million Spanish speakers here as well as the 2 million English speakers," Mailander said.
Roderick acknowledges his critics and admits that the blog, by its very nature, links to stories that he finds interesting. "This is not meant to be comprehensive," he says. "One person doing this part time can't cover anything comprehensively."
The question of what to cover is particularly important as more niche blogs come online, including an entry for commentator Arianna Huffington and rumors of an L.A. Times blog. "A year from now, my blog will be different," says Roderick, who expects the entire blogosphere to change. "I don't know how L.A. Observed will fit into that."
Contact Chris Coates at chris@downtownnews.com.
page 1, 5/9/2005
© Los Angeles Downtown News. Reprinting items retrieved from the archives are for personal use only. They may not be reproduced or retransmitted without permission of the Los Angeles Downtown News. If you would like to redistribute anything from the Los Angeles Downtown News Archives, please call our permissions department at (213) 481-1448.
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