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The Los Angeles Times has a long history of hosting successful in-person events. Its annual Festival of Books, for example, draws more than 150,000 people every spring. But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020, many of those events were at risk of being canceled.\n\nThe Times' audience engagement director, Samantha Melbourneweaver, and live events editor, Donna Wares, recently wrote a piece for the Better News initiative about how the L.A. Times built a compelling series of virtual events during the pandemic.\n\nIn this episode of Better News, Melbourneweaver and Wares tell host Michael O'Connell what worked and what didn't work. They also share advice on how other newsrooms can develop their own successful live events strategies.\n\nThe\xa0Better News\xa0podcast is a partnership between\xa0It\u2019s All Journalism\xa0and the\xa0American Press Institute\xa0to a) showcase innovative/experimental ideas that emerge from the\xa0Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund\xa0and b) share replicable strategies and\xa0tactics that benefit the news industry as a whole.\xa0Sign up for the Better News newsletter\xa0to receive news about the latest resources, case studies, and insights. For more news about the It\u2019s All Journalism podcast and future episodes of Better News,\xa0sign up for the weekly IAJ newsletter.\n\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices