Story’s not in Washington; politicians are.
The LCB’s Washington, DC's only digital, broadcast-first wire service. We connect tens of millions of listeners, viewers and readers nationwide to Beltway power players through newsroom partnerships that turn us into an extension of any newsroom. Besides delivering exclusive interviews and localized policy coverage to regional, national and specialty outlets, The LCB works with our partner outlets to develop, coordinate and deploy new-media strategies tailored to today’s AI era aimed at bolstering understaffed newsrooms and helping small publications generate national buzz.
Founded by veteran journalist, AI consultant and new media Lecturer Matt Laslo, who has covered Congress for 100+ outlets since 2006.
The LCB in action
We exist to break the internet for your newsroom. It’s what makes our founder, Matt Laslo, tick.
Since 2006, Laslo’s pushed the new media envelope for an array of eclectic outlets, including Emmy Award-winning VICE News Tonight with HBO, award-winning NPR member stations, The Daily Beast, This American Life or Laslo’s much-cited tech-forward political coverage for WIRED magazine.
As a former homeless cokehead (turned pastor-in-training at a Presbyterian college in the south), there’s not a topic Laslo’s afraid of. His envelope-pushing drug coverage for Rolling Stone, Playboy and VICE News has turned heads from coast to coast, which is why it was only natural for Aspen Ideas Festival organizers to tap him to moderate the fest’s first-ever cannabis panel back in 2019.
Let us know your newsroom’s needs — along with your audience craves! — and we’re on it.
WIRED: The US Congress Is Starting to Question This Whole Crypto Thing
Since 2019, Matt’s been a WIRED magazine contributor, covering everything from data privacy and artificial intelligence — namely, generative AI — to crypto and even UAP (aka UFOs).
Matt’s data privacy coverage for WIRED has been quoted in 20+ law reviews, including the Duke Law and Technology Review, Harvard Journal of Law & Technology, University of Illinois Chicago Law Review, etc. His Section 230 work is also quoted in FCC filings and books — like Social Media, Freedom of Speech, and the Future of Our Democracy (Oxford Univ. Press, 2022) or Internet Law (Grey House Publishing, 2020). It’s also been assigned at NYU, UNC Chapel Hill, DePaul, UT Austin Law School, etc.
Raw Story: Exclusive: All 50 Senate Republicans weigh in on Jan. 6 hearings – only 8 are watching
The LCB’s Matt Laslo regularly breaks news for award-winning client Raw Story, including when Laslo doggedly chased down half of the United States Senate in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol, Laslo’s office since 2006.
Outlaw Report — Cannabis Caucus Co-chair says no concrete plan to combine expungement with SAFE Banking Act
Veteran Washington correspondent Matt Laslo and his wire service The LCB cover marijuana policy for The Outlaw Report
Outlaw Report: Cannabis Caucus founder says ‘strong support’ growing in Senate for marijuana banking reforms
The LCB’s Matt Laslo covers marijuana for Outlaw Report
MJ Biz Daily: Schumer’s marijuana reform bill poised to fail without more GOP support
Marijuana Business Daily has relied on Washington, DC based news service The LCB and its founder, Matt Laslo, to break cannabis news from the nation’s capital for the new media outlet.
Marijuana Reform Died but Senate Dems Found Wedge Issue
Marijuana Reform Died but Senate Dems Found Wedge Issue. Top Senate Democrats – including Majority Leader Chuck Schumer who hails from New York City – are now vowing to shelve the bipartisan SAFE Banking Act until they can also pass social equity protections for cannabis companies. Many advocates say they’re playing politics, and putting Wall Street above, say, Crenshaw Blvd.
Dem on Dem Marijuana Banking Battle: Racial Justice vs. Big Banks
Dem on Dem Marijuana Banking Battle: Racial Justice vs. Big Banks — House Democrats passed a marijuana banking measure for the fifth time this week, but its chances are dim in the Senate thanks to progressive Democrats who say no handout to Wall Street until Congress addresses the racial injustices foundational to the War on Drugs.
The Democratic Resistance to Marijuana
The Democratic Resistance to Marijuana. GOP leaders continue to disregard marijuana’s popularity with their voters, but that doesn’t mean Democrats have successfully laid claim to one of the most broadly popular issues in today’s hyper, hyper-partisan political arena.
Chameleons in Our Midst: The Evolution of America’s Anti-Marijuana Lobby
Chameleons in Our Midst: The Evolution of America’s Anti-Marijuana Lobby. Smart Approaches to Marijuana, or SAM, lost the war against legalization. Now, the anti-pot group is devoting its vast resources and energy to a new front in the fight: capping the levels of THC in marijuana products. By Alex Thomas and Matt Laslo
The Gun Debate Washington Isn’t Having
The Gun Debate Washington Isn’t Having. Unlike some GOP governors in recent years, Republicans on Capitol Hill refuse to even entertain gun safety measures. Strangely, polls steadily show that puts GOP lawmakers out of touch with the vast majority of their voters. They don’t care, though, which becomes clear when you look at the effort to increase background checks on firearm sales.
In Spite of Defeat, AOC Says Vote on Her Psychedelic Bill “a leap” Forward
In Spite of Defeat, AOC Says Vote on Her Psychedelic Bill “a leap” Forward: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez saw her amendment promoting research into an array of drugs defeated for the second time this week, but she’s elated because math is done differently in Washington. Matt Laslo exclusive feature.
Forget “Defund the Police” — Two Dems say “Defund War on Drugs”
Forget “Defund the Police” — Two Dems say “Defund War on Drugs” Reps. Cori Bush and Bonnie Watson Coleman say after 50 years of a failed ‘war on drugs,’ it’s time to flip the script on police and remove the very policy that’s enabled the unequal enforcement of American justice.
Red State Trend: Mississippi Supreme Court Strikes Down Marijuana Ballot Measure
The DEA’s proud of the Mississippi Supreme Court for overruling the will of voters on cannabis and marijuana legalization.
AOC Upset Sens. Cornyn & Cruz Open to Rick Perry’s Call for Shroom Research, Not Hers
AOC Upset Sens. Cornyn & Cruz Open to Rick Perry’s Call for Shroom Research, Not Hers
How Post-Capitol Riot Politics Derailed a Bi-Partisan Opioid Bill
Opioid politics have always been bad but only gor worse after the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol as Rep. Madeleine Dean and her son Harry Cunnane exclusively recount to Matt Laslo.
No One Knows Where President Biden is on Marijuana
President Joe Biden despised marijuana despite promissing medicinal benefits
Gov. Ricketts isn’t Alone in Spreading Marijuana Myths – Here are Some Facts
Marijuana’s More Popular than Politicians
AOC and Matt Gaetz Allies in New Front in War on Marijuana
Cannabis. By Lizzy Oakley Photography
Video: Matt Laslo
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The LCB captured this exclusive video of Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar calling out Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt during former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s contentious 2026 hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee.