Serving Larchmont Village, Hancock Park, and the Greater Wilshire neighborhoods of Los Angeles since 2011.

Larchmont Buzz Sold: Lombard and Fuller to Head up the Hive

Left to right: Patricia Lombard, Julie Grist, Mary Hawley and Elizabeth Fuller.
Left to right: Patricia Lombard, Julie Grist, Mary Hawley and Elizabeth Fuller.

The Larchmont Buzz is pleased to announce that Patricia Lombard and Elizabeth Fuller are the new owners of the hyper-local daily news website that serves the greater Hancock Park, Wilshire and Larchmont areas of Los Angeles.

Buzz Founders Julie Grist and Mary Hawley founded the online paper in late 2011 with the goal of connecting the community with news, events, features and lifestyle stories. Since then the Buzz has grown to have a loyal following of thousands of readers and subscribers who depend on the Buzz for timely, curated news and features about the area.

“Our goal was to bring people from our area together online and give them news that is most relevant to them,” Grist said. “It’s the local stuff that makes the difference to many in their daily lives. We loved the ability to publish quickly – to get the story out fast and not have the slow turnaround time of a print edition.”

“It became almost addictive, to learn about something and then write about it that day or the next,” Hawley added. “Plus, this community has so many interesting people and stories just waiting to be told. We have been honored to bring the day-to-day stories of Greater Wilshire to life.” Grist and Hawley ran the Buzz as a part-time venture, tapping local contributing writers and acting on tips from readers and neighbors eager to share local news.

Lombard and Fuller showed an interest in being involved from the inception of the Buzz and both have written for the online publication during the Buzz’s three and a half year history.

“We are thrilled to pass the Buzz to such an able team,” Grist said. “Patty and Liz are completely connected with the community from their many combined years working on and with neighborhood boards and committees. They know the pulse of the community well, and are great writers to boot.”

The sale was completed in July and the two teams are in transition mode now, with Lombard and Fuller taking over August 15th in the Buzz office on North Larchmont Blvd. They will be ably assisted by Kim Rudy, Director of Advertising, who stepped into that role in the spring of 2015 when Jane Hawley left after helping to launch ad sales, and an assortment of writers from the community.

“I have enjoyed being part of the Buzz team for the past several years and am thrilled to take over the reins from Mary and Julie,” said Lombard. “They have created a powerful tool to connect and inform the neighborhood and Liz and I are really proud to carry it forward as online media is maturing and a new generation of readers is getting more engaged in civic matters.”

Lombard has lived in the area since 1988. She is a member of the Fremont Place homeowners association where she has served as president for many years. She also represents the area on the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council, serving on its Land Use and Outreach Committees. Her pictorial history of Larchmont will be published by Arcadia in late November.

Fuller is the founder and a current board member of the Sycamore Square Neighborhood Association, representing the neighborhood where she landed on her second day in Los Angeles, 24 years ago.  She also spent 10 years as a board member and, later, administrator of the Greater Wilshire Neighborhood Council.

“I have spent the last 10 years learning the ins and outs of how this community works,” Fuller said, “And I’m very much looking forward to continue serving it in this new and exciting capacity.”

Fuller and Lombard will share the roles of publisher, editor and contributing writers and will support the work of guest writers and columnists.

In addition to new leadership, the Larchmont Buzz is implementing a re-design of the website which the four Buzzers have been working on behind the scenes. The new design will have a new look, a better mobile interface and include some new interactive features, and is expected to roll out in early September. Stay tuned!

 

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6 COMMENTS

  1. Thanks to Julie and Mary for starting this great community connection website. I look forward to continued great content. With all best wishes!

  2. Congratulations to all! To Julie and Mary for the conception and stewardship and founding energy and Patty and Liz who no doubt will grow the idea and do a fantastic job.

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