Newport Beach history buffs likely already know William Lobdell. A seasoned writer with the Los Angeles Times and former editor of the Daily Pilot, Lobdell has spent the past four years detailing the rich history of the city through the “Newport Beach in the Rearview Mirror” podcast.
His commitment to ensuring Newport Beach’s history is accurate and remembered piqued the interest of the city. At its Aug. 26 meeting, the Newport Beach City Council named Lobdell the inaugural City Historian Laureate, a volunteer position that interprets past events in the city and provides thoughtful, educational and enjoyable narratives and presentations as needed.
“I’m very excited about what the future holds about the past,” Lobdell said. “I’m going to take what I’ve been doing and applying that to this position, working with other organizations to make sure… we do the best job in preserving the history and keeping it relevant.”
Lobdell has lived in Corona del Mar since 2015. As an editor of the Daily Pilot in the 1990s, he fell in love with Newport’s history. Seeing an endless supply of great stories that needed accurate retelling and remembering, he started “Newport Beach in the Rearview Mirror” in 2021.
“It played into my journalistic skills,” he said. “I love uncovering things. I love being an investigative reporter. I was able to go back and dig up a lot of old stories that haven’t been told.”
Lobdell also utilizes social media alongside the podcast. On his Instagram @newport.in.the.rearview.mirror, he creates short videos that tell interesting stories about Newport Beach’s past. He now has over 14,000 followers on the platform.
At the request of Mayor Joe Stapleton and Councilmember Robyn Grant, the city council considered creating a historian laureate program. On May 27, it created the position, outlined its duties and responsibilities, and established an ad hoc committee for considering candidates. Both saw Lobdell as an obvious choice for the role.
“I was very honored to be able to think of you for this position as historian laureate,” Grant said during the meeting. “You’ve already served our community so purposefully, chronicling our history and really just offering so much information to our residents here in Newport Beach and online to millions of people online.”
“You’ve done this without any need to do it, out of your own personal interest, and it’s really very meaningful for us,” Grant continued. “As our historian laureate, you will fill a powerful and unifying role for Newport Beach, preserving our local identity, including our harbor and maritime heritage, our village culture and the long legacy of engaged civic leadership here in our city.”
After appointment, the historian laureate serves for four years. They will interpret past events in the city and carefully document current events for the benefit of future generations. As it is a new role, the city and Lobdell are still working through what the responsibilities for historian laureate are.
However, they could include acquiring, preparing, recording and reporting facts of historical significance to the city; collaborating with the city’s historical societies; providing presentations to organizations; and coordinating historical research.
