Los Angeles Times launches entertainment awards show website

Posted by John Burke on November 2, 2005 at 10:57 AM

The Los Angeles Times is extending its celebrity coverage with a new website focused on award shows called The Envelope. LAT's press release describes the site as, " An insider's resource, The Envelope is an original content, multimedia Website featuring exclusive in-depth reporting, photo galleries, videos, podcasts, lists, forums, polls, expert roundtables, archives and analysis of awards shows by some of the biggest names in entertainment journalism, including writers from the Los Angeles Times."

The site demonstrates two trends in the newspaper industry.

Firstly, it has been argued that newspapers are straying from 'real' news, beginning to focus on sensationalism and celebrities in order to sell papers. By covering these types of stories while their profits dwindle and their staffs shrink, newspapers could be jeopardizing the role they play in their communities as well as siphoning valuable resources from newsgathering and investigation.

Secondly, The Envelope is purely a free online venture that uses Internet innovations and interactive functions. LAT does not appear to be pairing a print version with the site although other papers have been adding similar niche supplements in an attempt to attract paid readers.

In May the LAT razed the paid wall it had placed on its Calendarlive section, an entertainment and restaurant review site. But it seems that The Envelope will depend on the popularity of celebrity news and especially the surge in Internet advertising for revenue.

Source: Los Angeles Times (press release), The Envelope

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