Add me to the list of goodbyes

I just found out I'm among the newest round of layoffs here at the L.A. Times and I wanted to say goodbye.

When I started this blog last February, we were ranked 8-millionth in the vast Wild West that is the blogosphere. Today, we're in the top 5,000. We get tens of thousands of hits a day, scores of comments, and get to share what we know about Southern California with the rest of the world. It was hard work and great fun and I loved  every minute of it.

Here's a photo of the Sunday sunrise in Malibu, the day Tony Hillerman, one of my journalism teachers, passed away. The sorrow of that loss blends into the grief of this one. I'll miss him, and all of you, very much.

--Veronique de Turenne

Comments

[ashlea simpson]

This is awful. I have loved all your articles and the tremendous photos with them. How can they be so stupid? Keep in mind, it obviously was meant to be merely a stepping stone to far more rewarding opportunities ahead of you - as you so very obviously deserve.

[Ed Greenberg]

I have enjoyed your work in this blog. You capture lots of good material. I wish you all the best of success.

I also was really sorry to hear about Tony Hillerman.

[Jan Connell]

Please add my name to your list of fans.
I lived in "The Jungle", Playa del Rey, back in the day and I now read your blog from afar, with great fondness. In times of stress, your blog's photos temper my mood.
I am sad for you.

[Edmund Biro]

I will add my voice; sorry to hear that. One of the really nice things about the *new* LAT, is that there are/were(?) some savvy folk like yourself to make it worthwhile; and save those of us time in finding the really neat stuff.

I'll look for you on the 'net.

-e

[Julie S.]

I am so disappointed to hear that you're being laid off! I love your blog and read it every day. I am about ready to cancel my subscription to the Times but then I guess that wouldn't help the rest of those who are still there. I wish they'd reconsider this decision! Hope to read you elsewhere though. Best wishes! :)
~J~

[Craig]

Good riddance. This blog was almost always just a bunch of links, anyway.

[Steve]

I was lucky enough to be Veronique's editor--and I use the term loosely--at The Times. As it turned out, I really didn't do much editing. I just sat back and admired her work. I just want to say thank you, Veronique, for all the stylish prose and, most of all, for all the laughs and good cheer. I hope we'll get a chance to be co-conspirators again in the future. Steve.

[Sonya Smith]

Good luck in your career and life Veronique. You did great work on this blog -- posting insightful words, links to the best on the web and amazing photos.

[Mike Schneider]

Veronique, add me to the list of folks sorry to see you go. LA Now quickly became one of my go-to sites, and I always appreciated the love you sent Franklin Avenue's way. I know you'll still be out there on the blogosphere, so we'll still be reading ya!

[robert dean]

Thank you for all the work you put into LA Now. I look forward to reading your words where ever you might land next.

[Donna Barstow]

Veronique,

Gah, you were one of the few bloggers who had a sense of humor there. You also knew how to turn a phrase, and to link SOMEWHERE outside of the narcissistic Times itself. And knew how to write blog-like. Rare, especially in the Times.

Not to mention the savvy to turn the numbers in. Just Thursday Tony Pierce was bragging how successful your blog had become in such a short time.

Good luck moving forward.
Donna Barstow

[Brian Humphrey]

Veronique, I will miss your sense of responsibility in covering local news. It remains troubling to think that with an increased need (and relative ease) for quality hyperlocal coverage, Mr. Zell feels otherwise. Kindly accept my best wishes and hang in there. You will not only survive but thrive. -BH-

[teri sforza]

Oh, Veronique, I am so very bummed.

[Alan Yudman]

So sad to see you go. Really enjoy the blog and love the photos. I save them on my blackberry and use them as wallpaper. They're just beautiful. Good luck!

[Julie S.]

Hey all, just wanted to say that besides commenting here about being upset that Veronique has been laid off, remember that you can click on that "contact" link and give the LA Times feedback that you're upset over their decision. Maybe if enough of us tell them we're mad, they'll change their minds or maybe they won't do anything but it can't hurt to try, and it's just as easy to send the feedback as it is to comment here. So if you're upset, go the extra step (like I already did) and don't assume they're going to read the comments here! ~J~

[Ben Peters]

Ouch! Such a smart and touching voice you have, and what a way with a camera.
Sorry!

[LAT death spiral]

Veronique gets canned but Lee Abrams still has a job? Now that's the definition of insanity.

[paul wilner]

hey, miss v...
so sorry to hear the news - unfortunate and ill-advised on their part, as usual.

for what it's worth , there is life - better life - after working on the apparently insoluble problems of the dailies. trust me on this one...

all best, as ever,
paul

[Friend of Veronique]

PLEASE bring back Veronique. This isn't a blog without her.

[Gordon Martin]

Bring bring back Veronique! She is the blog and for those of us not fortunate to share in all of the Bu's splendor, a real treat. This is one of the only blogs I went to daily and am going to miss my friend who cheered me up countless times when I was down. Please do not let this beautiful blog, written by a gifted writer, pass like so many of the things that make Malibu and Los Angeles special.

[Gordon Martin]

Yet another reason to cancel the LA Times...again. When will become the paper LA, the second largest city in the USA, become a truly great paper again?