The transition

As posted Sunday night, Rich Perelman is stepping away from What's Bruin. He's done a great job and we wish him the best of success on his other projects. If he has time, we'll try to drag him back for a few guest appearances!

I'm excited to announce that our blog coverage of USC and UCLA will merge — and simultaneously expand. The new format will borrow from a few lessons learned at LAist (whose former editor, Tony Pierce, now runs all the blogs for the L.A. Times). We're going to cast our net a little wider and get some more people involved.

I'll be managing this new project. Yes, USC is my alma mater. No, UCLA has nothing to worry about.

The previous L.A. Times sports editor went to Notre Dame. After spending months in the trenches with several beat writers and columnists, I can assure you that we have no anti-USC or pro-Irish bias. The same professionalism will apply here. Besides, my dad went to UCLA — as did two of my siblings and both of my sisters-in-law. My brother even wrote for the Daily Bruin. If I'm unfair, my family holidays will get really uncomfortable.

It's our commitment to provide the most insightful, innovative and (ultimately) balanced content that you'll find in a local sports blog. Of course we'll have lots of opinions — but they won't all be mine. This will be a group effort. If you, or somebody you know, would make a good contributor to this new blog, please drop me a line.

But first things first. We're still taking suggestions for a name. It could be an alpha-jumble (USCLA) or capture the college spirit (WVU fan site WeMustIgniteThisCouch.com has one of the best names ever created). Feel free to e-mail me with ideas or mention them in the comments. In the meantime, I will continue updating What's Bruin to provide you with uninterrupted UCLA coverage.

Humbly,
Adam Rose
adam@laist.com
As seen on All Things Trojan

* As if they aren't already — cousins on three sides of my family went to USC.

Update: I respect your input and appreciate everybody's passion on this subject. I do want to call attention to one very important thing — how I said "managing" instead of "writing." While I will be posting, as you've seen already, one of my primary objectives is to facilitate different voices — some new, some veteran. Several of those will be distinctly Bruin. In a few months you may be pleasantly surprised.

Comments

[BobTheBruin]

Really LA Times? Really? Even if you want to have one guy do double duties, put them on two different blogs. If your family holidays were uncomfortable, how do you think your readers are going to like getting news from the other side in their RSS reader every day?

And oh joy, another Trojan covering the Bruins. Don't you get it that we hate you guys?! We don't care if you went to Notre Dame or any of the hundreds of schools this fine nation has to offer. Why do you keep sending us Trojans?

You may think you can be unbiased, but you can't.

[BobTheBruin]

Really LA Times? Really? Even if you want to have one guy pull double duties and cover both schools, put them on separate blogs! If your family holidays were uncomfortable, how do you think your readers are going to like getting news from the other side in their RSS reader every day?

And oh joy, another Trojan covering the Bruins. Don't you get it that we hate you guys?! We don't care if you went to Notre Dame or any of the hundreds of schools this fine nation has to offer. Why do you keep sending us Trojans?

You may think you can be unbiased, but you can't.

[CH]

Is this some sort of belated April Fool's joke? I don't want to read any Trojan news. If this actually happens I won't be reading anymore.

[BNWINSF]

USC news? Geez.... if I'm going have to see that in addition to news I wanted to see (UCLA) in this blog's RSS feed, then adios! No way. I'll get my UCLA sports news from the other blogs I read. Whose brainstorm was this?

[Biff]

Ditto. I'm out. I, too, have no desire to read about USC nor to have my UCLA blog written by a USC alum. Don't do this, the Times made me suffer through Mal Florence covering UCLA for years. It made me sick. As Rich put it, Au Revoir and thanks.

[Michael Mace]

You folks are making a huge mistake.

I work in Silicon Valley advising tech companies on how to work with the Web. One of the first rules is that a weblog shouldn't mix two subjects; if it does it becomes compromised and less interesting to either audience. The little digs at "the other school" that Adam liked to sprinkle into his Trojan blog will be intensely irritating to UCLA fans, and vice-versa. You'll either have to cut them out (in which case the blog becomes less entertaining) or you'll lose half your audience.

Either way, you lose.

You really should re-think this change.

[GaryK]

Another step down into the mire for the once proud Times. I can only echo what the other posters had said. I don't give a hoot about anything trojan, and they only time I do, it's to enjoy their misery at loosing something. You can not put these two together, or I'm out!
What's next? How about a vegetarian restaurant reviewer covering our great BBQ scene?
From Rich Perlman to a trojan. Yeech!

[LeeC]

MichaelMace is right on. This makes no sense, as evidenced by other reactions so far. UCLA fans don't want to read about USC, and vice versa. You're just watering down the content and trashing one of the few things the website did well.

You'd be better off presiding over two separate blogs.

[LeeC]

Michael Mace is right on. This makes no sense, as evidenced by other reactions so far. UCLA fans don't want to read about USC, and vice versa. You're just watering down the content and trashing one of the few things the website did well.

You'd be better off presiding over two separate blogs.

[Bonnie Lee]

This is very interesting. I just read this announcement over on the Trojan blog, and clicked over here. What's with all the hate? I actually had a pretty positive reaction to this upon first glance, but then again it's not my news being written by a Bruin, so I guess I understand.

But remember, you have Kareem's blog, and he writes about UCLA all the time.

Have a little bit of faith in a journalist's ability. Well, at least give him a chance.

[KathyR]

This probably won't stay up long:

There's a good UCLA blog over at the Daily News.

Otherwise, yeah, no interest in a combo blog. Or an "unbiased" blog where the writer has to defend his non-bias all the time.

[Hiero]

What's Bruin? Sounds like nothing on the LA Times. Somehow I doubt that an SC blogger will be able to give us insights to what's happening in Westwood.

[SomaBruin'02]

This is nothing against Adam Rose. I haven't read your SC blog but I'm sure you can be a fair and impartial journalist. However, this deal is just plain weird. Why would one school want to read about its rival, even if they feel no hostility? It doesn't make sense. Also, as if most of the local media doesn't already treat UCLA like the blue-haired stepchild, we now get our blog written by a Trojan? It just seems like the LA Times is doing this for the sake of filling space as opposed to actually reaching out to the Bruin fanbase. If it's that desperate, then forget it. There are other blogs out there.

[Keith Frohreich]

Another bad idea by the Los Angeles Tribune. Congratulations cost-cutters. Serve the community or leave. Thank goodness for the Daily News blog. I'm with the other posters. When I finish this, I am deleting this blog from my favorite places.

[Blueblood in VA]

Eli Broad, if you're reading this, BUY THE TIMES! This is just another attempt to save a few bucks so the Tribune company can reap the 30% profit margin they expected to receive when making buying this venerable institution.

Seriously, I read this blog to get away from all the SC coverage everywhere else. If it includes SC coverage, What's Bruin has lost its niche. What a hideous abortion of an idea this is.

[michaelryerson]

I have zero interest in reading a blog written by a trojan even if it is ostensibly about ucla. even writing that sentence gave me the creeps. if this happens I won't be back. plenty of real bruin coverage elsewhere. thanks to perlman for some good times.

[True Blue]

The UCLA Blog was one aspect of the LA Times that was actually positive and had increased hits. Now for an irrational reason it is being killed and merged with a USC blog. Clearly the powers to be must not understand that both schools fans think that the LA Times is biased against them. The merging of the blogs is unlikely to result in enhanced reporting and usefulness for your readers and fans of either University. Please listen! This is a mistake. It is not possible for one individual to provide breaking internet news on the two institutions. While Adam has redeeming attributes since he is the son of a Bruin, he is being placed in a no win situation. The management of the Times (is there any management left) must reconsider or accept their eventual demise.

[WESTWOODHERO]

Adam Rose writing about UCLA sports? pssh, this is lame, I'm going back over to bruinsnation.com. This was an awesome blog for awhile and Rich had me reading everyday. It's too bad the Times is ran by morons. Adam Rose is just like all Trogans, he's only good once, but BRUINS ARE FOREVER!

[PJ]

I'm out. I chose this because it was a UCLA blog. There are others

[RIck]

"I'm excited to announce that our blog coverage of USC and UCLA will merge."

Are you freaking kidding me? What sort of BS doublespeak is that? This "merging" isn't gonna be good for anybody. But it's an all-too-sad but typical LA TIMES move these days. I have seen what was once my favorite paper, shrink, consolidate and dumb-down its newsreporting over the past decade. That's it -- I'm out!

Daily News and Brian Dohn's blog here I come! (It's pretty bad when I opt for the Valley paper over what was once a proud paper in the LA TIMES.)

The LA TIMES sucks!

[EJ]

Besides not having the personnel or not having the funding, anybody that went to a school with a rival understands why this is not a good idea. Not only will the following of the blog slowly die, the only reason people will stay is because they like to debate and argue with people from the other school. I am sad because being in Chicago, this was one of the Bruin blogs I truly followed and enjoyed. I will discontinue my subscription to this blog from now on. Thank you Rich for a wonderful year of reporting.

[Joe Bruin]

Not a very good idea.

I have been reading this blog religiously because of Rich Perelman's inside knowledge and great analysis. Don't see much reason to come back for the promise of this.

I will check out bruinsnation.com's entries and comments as well as bruinville.com's news page instead. Gosh, I may even step away from the computer and get some fresh air. Well, maybe.

[Art]

This sucks.

The L.A. Trojans Times does it again.

Time to change over to the Daily News.

[Bruin_Bry]

I have no problems with Adam Rose writing the blog. I'm sure it's in his best interest and the paper to be unbiased in it's blogging of UCLA athletics. HOWEVER, I wouldn't want to read the blog just b/c I'd have to try to filter all the SC news out in addition to all the 'smart' comments made by SC bloggers. I don't know if Bruin fans invade SC blogs to trash it, but it was a huge problem on the Daily News blog. It took Brian Dohn awhile to correct those problems.

[bruin95]

Don't just avoid coming to this blog. Stop your subscriptions Bruin fans! I stopped years ago, and don't regret it one bit! The Trojan Times for several years now have continually been blatantly disrespectful. Their replies to emails have been condescending in the way they choose to write stories. Don't bother with the Times. It's not what it used to be...