Up until this point, our coverage of American journalism has remained within the bounds of local news. We’ve talked to small, independently owned newspapers from Ohio onward, seeing how other miniscule but mighty news efforts are continuing to carry the torch of truth in the internet age. This is the kind of news we are devoted to at the Shawangunk Journal and the Kingston Wire, the kind of news you all are accustomed to from us – board meetings, fundraisers, familiar faces. Many Americans see local news as a counterpoint to our national journalism outfits, for which there is much more distrust. But rolling into none other than Los Angeles, California, we set our sights larger.

This week, we spoke with Libor Jany, a reporter for the L.A. Times. He has covered the Los Angeles Police Department for four years, as a staff member of the largest metropolitan daily newspaper in the country. The L.A. Times has a weekly audience of 4.4 million, split between print and online, and all-told, the latimes.com site is viewed by over 40 million people per month. The paper employs over 1,800 people, and Jany’s department, covering courts, police and crime, is eight writers strong.

“It’s definitely daunting,” Jany said. He came to L.A. in 2022, moving on from Minneapolis’s Star Tribune, and had to adapt to a famously sprawling city, with a newsroom to match.

“It’s more collaborative than a lot of newsrooms, I’d say,” Jany reflected. He described how reporters exchange notes across departments, using each other’s expertise to aid with different stories. “We also have a breaking news team, which is a godsend,” he added. “We’re freed up from trying to balance what’s breaking with what we’re working on.”

In contrast, some of the other publications in this series, like Wyoming’s Sundance Times, rely on a single reporter to cover a whole community. That one writer knows every politician, every business owner – it’s their job to keep a finger on every pulse in Sundance. But at the L.A. Times, the newsroom can divide labor. And with a beat like the LAPD, Jany has plenty to hone in on.

“It’s one of the most storied police departments in law enforcement history,” he said. “Frankly, they do have a lot of political power and sway.”

As a check on that power, Jany maintains a level of distance from his subjects. In small towns, journalists and police officers all often wind up at the same diner at the end of the day, forging a rapport, however double-edged. Jany has spent months developing his sources on the LAPD, balancing delicate relationships without pulling his punches on paper.

“It’s taking people out for coffee, then you write stories and people either praise you or cuss you out,” Jany said. “They become sources over time, but you have to be wary and interrogate their motivations for talking to you. People are very rarely talking out of the goodness of their hearts.”

These are classic journalism tactics, but the L.A. Times is vast enough that Jany doesn’t have the fate of journalism at the front of his mind. The business end of the operation is more than a few doors down. Still, the Times has faced its share of existential troubles. It is owned by billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong’s investment firm, Nant Capital, who ordered hundreds of layoffs in the newsroom in 2023 and 2024. He has even floated taking the Times public as a way to restructure finances.

“The news business is in disarray right now,” Jany acknowledged. “We’re at an inflection point.” But at the L.A. Times, Jany says, cynicism is just part of the game.

In writing for a city paper with a national scope, Jany’s writing invites a nation’s-worth of reactions. He was at the forefront of coverage when the first major ICE raid launched in Los Angeles in early 2025. He recalled how intense readers’ opinions were and how wide it spread. And yet, in spite of all this, it’s the little, personal stories that make the most meaningful impact for Jany.

“There was a story about this family that suffered two tragedies in a few months, they lost two people to violence,” Jany recalled. “I followed a couple family members, wrote about how they navigated their own grief, and I got a note back from them, thanking me.”

Jany mused that this is what keeps him and his peers going, with tough hours, challenging sources and a national audience to serve.

“It means a lot to humanize someone, and see the impact.” Jany said. “Moments like that are the most sustaining I know.”