L.A. Times launches ‘Times of Troy’ newsletter covering USC Sports

This morning the Los Angeles Times formally introduced “The Times of Troy,” a newsletter exclusively covering sports at the University of Southern California. The announcement comes just in time for USC’s inaugural season in the Big Ten, reflecting a demand for higher-profile coverage of USC athletics.

USC beat reporter, Ryan Kartje, writes the newsletter, released weekly on Mondays beginning September 16. Kartje has reported on USC sports for six seasons, mainly covering football and administration changes, in addition to other sports features. Both the Associated Press sports editor and the Los Angeles Press Club have honored Kartje for his coverage of the Trojans.

Today’s debut newsletter focuses on football. However, with his prior experience covering a wide array of USC sports, Kartje plans to offer readers insights on a variety of stories across USC athletics. The newsletter plans to delve deeper into the women’s basketball program, which has become a national power, the L.A. Times said.

“I think we’ve kind of reached a point in the state of the industry that people want to feel more connected to the people who cover their teams,” Kartje said.

To rekindle the tight-knit feeling readers crave, he wants his newsletter to feel “like talking with friends after the game.” He hopes that the intimate nature of it will offer a fresh way for people to connect with his coverage in a way they might not through a traditional newspaper, he said.

On top of USC’s entry into the Big Ten, Kartje noted the importance of this season for Head Coach Lincoln Riley. He explained the high stakes with Riley coming off an “arguably a down season” and entering a conference facing teams that “may be held in a higher esteem than some members of the Pac-12 at the time.” With these culminating factors, the newsletter comes at a “transformative” time in Trojan History,” he said.

“The ability to make a national impression is higher now than it ever has been,” Kartje said. There’s a lot of factors that are all coalescing this one year.”

In addition to USC-specific stories, the newsletter will cover Big Ten travel tips and Big Ten best bets.

As the Trojans gear up to play their first Big Ten game in Ann Arbor on September 21, today’s issue of The Times of Troy set USC fans up with must-know information about Michigan. Having grown up in Michigan and attended the University of Michigan, Kartje has a wealth of Big 10 background knowledge.

“I would definitely follow an L.A. Times thing,” Omar Abd-Elhamid, a senior political science student said. “I prefer following a USC outlet for USC sports than [a national one], but it’s good to get an outside perspective.”

To access this newsletter, fans can visit the L.A. Times newsletters page. Kartje encourages those with questions to reach out to his L.A. Times email, which he will respond to in the newsletter, the L.A. Times said.

To view USC sports live, Trojans can watch with Big Ten Networks providers, or subscribe to B1G+ — the Big Ten Network’s direct-to-consumer video streaming platform, USC Athletics said.

Other outlets also provide USC sports beat coverage. Annenberg Media covers USC sports in broadcast, editorial, podcast and multimedia formats through ATVN’s Wednesday Sports SCene segment, ARN shows, and digital coverage at the sports desk. The Daily Trojan also covers campus athletics, and the Los Angeles Daily News hosts a USC sports beat written by reporter Luca Evans.