LAT Memo: A New Multimedia Editorial Product – Brand X

The following is an internal memo from Russ Stanton:

Colleagues:

As the media landscape continues to shift, we are seizing the
opportunity to expand The Times to a different audience with a new
multimedia editorial product called Brand X (thisisbrandx.com).

In a few weeks, the street boxes currently occupied by Metromix will
offer a new weekly tabloid created by the combined efforts of the former Metromix staff, latimes.com and our newsroom. Online, BrandX will take blog form and will evolve and exist apart from latimes.com with its own identity and voice.

Brand X is designed to be a community, aimed at younger,
social-networking readers who are interested in culture, technology,
entertainment, food, events, volunteering, style and the outdoors.
Reader input and participation will be part of the mix, as will
features, quick-hit items, reviews and listings.

Brand X will include Times coverage of must-see concerts, exhibitions
and events in Southern California. We’ll reverse-publish many of our
latimes.com blog posts, use Times-generated articles and photos, and
create original content that can go back into the main paper. It’s
content sharing on an extremely local level and will bring our great
work to an audience that does not currently see it.

Metromix editor Deborah Vankin, formerly of L.A. Weekly and Variety,
will be the editor of Brand X, and report to Dean Kuipers, who counts
the launch of The Guide in his 19-plus years in journalism. Their
combined staffs — which soon will be together on the second floor –
will continue to maintain the LA Metromix website, as well as fuel
latimes.com’s listings, daily print contributions and numerous blogs.
The photo, design and copy desks will assume production duties for the
tab.

Brand X’s success relies on the talents of our newsroom, and I’m looking
forward to seeing where we can take this, with your continued supply of
smart ideas and execution.

Russ Stanton
Editor
Los Angeles Times

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