L.A. Times Launches “L.A. Influential”

The Los Angeles Times has released the first part of “L.A. Influential,” a new project featuring a collection of individuals who are shaping Los Angeles. The project examines who holds influence in L.A. through profiles, essays, photography and video that spotlight the city’s top leaders across key institutions and cultural spaces covered by The Times. The list is divided into six categories that will be released weekly, starting with “The Creators,” with a special print section publishing in July. View the first category now at latimes.com/la-influential.

“There are the obvious choices, and there are surprises,” writes Times Columnist Gustavo Arellano in an introduction to “L.A. Influential.” “Quiet influence. Loud. People who you don’t think deserve to be on, and people you couldn’t imagine Los Angeles without. The list reflects a belief that Los Angeles is in constant flux and is at its best when the people who shape us make way for the next generation.”

The six categories include: “The Creators,” artists, thinkers and inventors; “The Connectors,” those who bring people together to get things done and fix problems; “The Money,” those who hold impressive financial stakes in the city; “The Civic Center,” those who lead communities and build from the bottom up; “The Disruptors,” the gatecrashers who work outside the establishment to upend the status quo and “The Establishment,” gatekeepers in unambiguous seats of influence.

“Over the past year, our newsroom has been studying and debating where influence exists in Los Angeles, and what that means for the current and future state of the city,” Joel Rubin, a deputy editor at The Times, said. “Our goal with this project is to utilize our wealth of reporting about all parts of this city to start a conversation and capture the full spectrum of the people who shape L.A., from the corridors of celebrity to the grassroots spaces where real change happens.”

The creation of the project was an ambitious newsroom collaboration, involving more than 100 Times reporters and editors from all departments. Pulitzer Prize-winning Staff Photographer Christina House spearheaded the project’s engrossing portraits.

View “The Creators” of “L.A. Influential” and read more about the multi-part project at latimes.com/la-influential.