OF THE MONTH

Following the inauguration of vice president Kamala Harris, the Los Angeles Times has launched a new beat, “Covering Kamala Harris.” The beat will be anchored by White House reporter Noah Bierman. He will also be taking over the Times’ Essential Politics newsletter twice a month to write about Harris.

The Times has covered Kamala Harris’ career since 1994 when she was appointed to the California Medical Assistance Commission. Since then, the Times has written 2,229 articles on Harris, according to Washington Bureau Chief Kimbriell Kelly. Thus, the newspaper aims to continue chronicling Harris’ career with the new beat. Additionally, the Times’ wants to focus on the VP because she made history as the first woman and woman of color to be elected to national office, Bierman wrote in an introduction to the new beat.

“I’ll be writing about all aspects of Harris’ career—her cultural significance, her sometimes shifting political stances, her efforts to build a foreign policy resume and what I expect to be her moves toward succeeding Biden when the time comes,” Bierman continued.

All Harris-related pieces are labeled for the newsletter, tagged on the Times’ website (latimes.com/topic/kamala-harris) and highlighted in the new standalone Instagram account @latimeskamalaharris. It currently has more than 2,000 followers.

Throughout the year, the Times will continue to add resources to the coverage with the ambition to be the “most comprehensive and authoritative news source as we chronicle Harris’ first year,” Kelly said.—em