The Death of Osama bin Laden

July 13, 2011 9:02 AM PT

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The news was among the biggest in a generation: Osama bin Laden was dead, killed by U.S. special forces in Pakistan.

Word came that a significant announcement was coming from the White House spread on Sunday evening with a skeletal staff on duty. Within the hour, the staff of the Los Angeles Times had mobilized. Starting with a live stream of President Obama's address to the nation, the homepage of The Times provided the latest news into the early morning.

The foreign and national desks dug into the details of the military operation, feeding dozens of stories, blog posts and photos to the Web producers. Closer to home, metro reporters touched base with the families of men and women who had died while serving in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, providing poignant and differing opinions on what to make of Bin Laden's death.

The homepage — using a layout built from scratch to suit the story — stayed vibrant all night, changing constantly even as The Times added historical context to the story. An archival image of the Sept. 12, 2001, print-edition front page was posted to the page with links to the articles written in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks. An interactive timeline tracking Bin Laden's life was live within a couple of hours and photo galleries from 2001, as well as that night were readily available. A rich obituary posted told of his journey from scion of one of Saudi Arabia's wealthiest families to terrorist leader.

In the following days, The Times continued its aggressive coverage. A landing page created on the night of the raid in Abbotabad collected the best for readers for days to come.

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