dotLA lays off editorial staff of five

DotLa, a website covering the Los Angeles technology and startup scene, has laid off its editorial staff.

Reporter Samson Amore wrote on Twitter: “We had a good run, and it’s a huge disappointment to see what was a local news outlet with a lot of potential go belly-up.”

dotLA was launched in January 2020 by former Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff and Sam N. Adams. It launched with $4 million in seed money and was supposed to be generating revenue from events. The original editor in chief was Joe Bel Bruno, and it had a reporting staff of seven.

“I can confirm that dot.LA is shifting its business model to better adapt to the current realities of the journalism industry,” said Adams in an email to Talking Biz News. “This shift includes a renewed focus on our newsletter products, which will be relaunching later this summer.

“Unfortunately, as part of these changes we are saying goodbye to a number of people on both the editorial and business sides of the organization. We’re dedicated to supporting those affected with severance packages, health insurance extensions, and transition assistance. I am extremely appreciative of everyone’s contribution to putting out an excellent editorial product over the past several years.”

Adams said he will be stepping down as CEO at the end of the month to focus on a new venture at the intersection of news and artificial intelligence, but will remain involved to ensure a smooth transition to the new leadership team.

According to its website, the current editorial director is Drew Grant, while Andrew Fiouzi is managing editor.