it’s the LA Times’ political blog helmed by the tireless Andrew Malcolm.

Andy was one of the first people who warmly welcomed me to the Times about six months after they launched the blog, and he is still one of the best bloggers we have because:

he is always open to try new things,
he is alwas blogging (day and night),
and he has completely entrenched himself in the blogosphere.
he makes friends with other bloggers,
he learns from the kids in their pajamas in regards to what works online that doesnt work in print
he is never resting on his laurels: of which he has many.

because of that, Top of the Ticket is consistently in our top 2-3 blogs and has accounted for almost 100,000 comments, more than 16,000 Twitter followers (and growing 100+ per day) and produced in excess of 33 million page views for the Los Angeles Times.

it is a great joy to work with Andy, Johanna, Steve, Kate and all of the fine journalists who contribute to this great success story.

it’s exactly the reason i wanted to come to the Times. i wanted to work with committed professionals passionate about doing great work in a new medium.

here we have andy pictured with a box full of cupcakes that sarah got from Aunti Ems. theyre little tiny cute cupcakes that are delicious and tiny so instead of downing a ton of empty calories you actually lose pounds eating them because they’re so minuscule in size.

later we went out for a sushi lunch to celebrate and there was much rejoicing because the future only looks bright for the National Desk and the fabulous blog.

happy 2nd birthday Ticket!