Mixer: Reporting from a foreign land is tough – just ask a Brit in LA

For people who are not familiar with Los Angeles – who aren’t from here, but have to report about the things happening around here, particularly from a media and business standpoint – our neighborhood can be a pretty daunting place.

All the eccentricities, idiosyncrasies, and moving parts behind-the-scenes make for all kinds of drama fit for an epic Hollywood screenplay.

But in real life, Matthew Garrahan has had to dissect all the dealings, and report on the real life economy of Southern California for the Financial Times, and his time in LA is coming to a close.

After spending 8 years here on the west coast, Garrahan will be moving to New York City in the next few weeks, to be based in New York as global media editor for the FT, a position he’s had for several months.

As reporter, he spent hours interviewing Governor Jerry Brown, flew to Venezuela with Oliver Stone to talk to Hugo Chavez about the rise of the left in that country, and broke the story about Cupertino-based Apple buying LA-based Beats.