The influential local media website unveiled a sharp new look early this morning. There have been a few overhauls since Kevin Roderick first started LA Observed in 2003, but he calls this “the big one.”

Roderick is abandoning the typical blog format of putting the most recent content at the top of the page and turning the homepage into more of a typical front page, where relevance dictates story hierarchy. Roderick is also giving more room on the homepage to other bylines, a much-needed shift as the site’s roster of impressive contributors keeps growing. Steve Harvey recently brought his popular “Only in LA” column to LA Observed, and arts writer Barbara Isenberg has just joined the site.

Roderick warns that there’s still some rough edges that need to be smoothed. He writes, “Please remember that the redesign, like everything about LA Observed, is a work in progress.”