It’s the Permission Press in West Hollywood. The press print what is permitted by the authoritarian grip emanating from City Hall.
In other news:
We apologize for not having published more sooner. We were traveling and still working full time, and frankly, we wanted to see if Erickson would ever answer our questions regarding the Z. Wright campaign. He hasn’t.
We have more features in the works. Stay tuned, we may not post every day. Feel free to submit something interesting!
Also, we have worked to make comments more accessible. They should be more accessible on all articles, with latest comments featured on the home page, along with the top articles with the latest comments.
As this article shows, for too long public speech and commentary was monopolized in the hands of those who had little incentive to be transparent.
That monopoly is now broken and this space is yours.
West Hollywood likes to imagine it has a free press. After all, this is a city that bills itself as one of the most progressive enclaves in America. A city that prides itself on free expression, diversity, and “resisting” the powers that be. But scratch beneath the rainbow veneer, and you find a civic press corps that looks more like an extension of City Hall than a watchdog standing apart from it.
What passes for “local media” in West Hollywood boils down to three outlets: WeHoOnline (formerly WeHoVille back when it had reasonable management, h/t Hank), the Beverly Press, and WeHo Times. Together they form a patchwork of vanity publishing, institutional indecision, and feel-good coverage — but rarely, if ever, do they deliver hard-nosed scrutiny of the people in power.
The Larry Block Show
Let’s start with WeHoOnline. Once a credible site under different ownership, it has become Larry Block’s personal toy. For years, Block has oscillated between running for office (and losing) and running a publication that covers the very politicians he hopes will someday validate him. The conflict of interest is obvious. The result is predictable: puff pieces masquerading as journalism.
Take Block’s latest opus: “WeHo Politicians Hit the Road to Higher Office”. In it, Block informs us that Councilmember John Erickson’s State Senate run makes West Hollywood the “epicenter of county and state politics.”
Never mind that Erickson’s odds are long. No one has reported on the fundraising numbers that have been public now for weeks and which place Erickson close to last place. No one is investing in his campaign and no one is reporting on it. Except us.
Never mind that his endorsements are predictable, coming from the usual chorus of “WeHo brand” officials like Lindsey Horvath. Never mind that his base of support is narrower than the bike lanes he champions. The only people who actually believe “the WeHo brand” is an electoral asset are the ones writing copy for campaign mailers — and apparently, for Block.
But the crowning absurdity is this line:
“Together, the trio of Horvath, Prang, and Erickson bring our West Hollywood values and ideals across the region…”
What values, exactly? Crony endorsements? Rubber-stamp union support? A relentless march toward higher office without ever fixing the messes at home? If those are the values, then yes, perhaps West Hollywood is exporting them. But let’s not pretend it’s some civic renaissance.
Beverly Press: The Establishment Cheerleader
Then there’s the Beverly Press. If Block’s outlet is nakedly compromised, the Press is simply lost. One issue they sound pro-business, the next they cheer on the same elected establishment that strangles business at every turn. This isn’t balance; it’s an identity crisis to wherever the political winds happen to be blowing.
WeHo Times: The Community Diary
Finally, there’s WeHo Times. To their credit, they’ve carved out a different role: the chronicler of community life. They cover the people, the events, and the culture that make West Hollywood colorful. There’s a place for that, and in a media landscape dominated by agendas, it matters and we respect that.
A City That Outsources Scrutiny
The irony is that West Hollywood, the city that loves to parade its progressive credentials, has quietly outsourced scrutiny to… no one. Erickson and his allies have effectively captured the local press. Block provides him with favorable copy. The Beverly Press can’t decide whether to challenge or coddle him. And WeHo Times, while earnest, doesn’t play in the accountability lane.
Meanwhile, Erickson has filled city commissions with loyalists and cronies who serve as his echo chamber. The result is an ecosystem where dissenting voices are muted, coverage is sanitized, and residents are fed the illusion of journalism without the substance.
The Silence That Speaks Volumes
Consider Councilmember John Erickson’s recent appearance with Streets for All. On paper, it might look like just another advocacy chat. In practice, it was a sitting official casually dropping comments that would have triggered headlines anywhere with a functioning press.
Among Erickson’s greatest hits:
- On scooters blocking sidewalks for the disabled: “Read a book I guess.”
- On red-light cameras: incorrectly claimed they’re illegal, then repeated “read a book.”
- On opposition: dismissed critics as “Trumpers” and joked about holding “communal exorcisms” for people who disagree.
- On tragedy: accused residents who don’t back his Fountain plan of having “blood on their hands” — while ignoring cheaper, quicker safety fixes city staff had already recommended.
- On priorities: bragged the Fountain redesign was his first big project because “it’s where I actually live.”
- On family: claimed his niece gets “depressed” when she sees residents criticize scooters and bike lanes.
This isn’t about one bad night or an off-the-cuff remark. It’s a pattern: dismissiveness, exaggeration, and personal grievance dressed up as policy. And yet not one outlet covered it. Not WeHoOnline. Not the Beverly Press.
No one is suggesting it should have been treated like Watergate. But ignoring it entirely says a lot about where the bar is. A functioning press would at least have asked: Does this rhetoric reflect the city’s values? Does it help or hinder serious policy debate? What does it tell us about Erickson’s fitness as he campaigns for higher office? Why does he continue to be dismissive of City Manager Wilson’s three recommendations that could improve safety now?
Instead, silence. And that silence — not the event itself — is the story.
The Progressive Façade
This is the paradox at the heart of West Hollywood’s politics: a city that claims to be a beacon of progressivism, but whose media environment is anything but progressive. A free press isn’t just about publishing; it’s about independence. It’s about asking uncomfortable questions, exposing hypocrisy, and refusing to be co-opted. By that measure, West Hollywood doesn’t have a free press. It has PR with a byline.
The myth of a free press persists because it’s convenient. Politicians get coverage without scrutiny. Outlets get clicks without confrontation. And the public is left with little more than curated narratives, recycled press releases, and the occasional rainbow-wrapped ribbon cutting.
If West Hollywood really wants to live up to its progressive self-image, it doesn’t just need more parades. It needs a press willing to tell the truth — even when it’s uncomfortable, even when it embarrasses the powerful, and even when it threatens the cozy arrangements that pass for politics in this so-called “epicenter.”
This should be required reading at city hall. Equally egregious to the dereliction of duty at other outlets, particularly The Beverly Press, are the sycophants in anonymity who spew hate and intolerance at civic discourse that dares ask questions that don’t tow the party line. The tone and tenor of those comments clearly has its genesis in the tone and tenor emanating from the dais. Particularly offensive (and wrong) are the comments that dismiss such questioning as MAGA or Trumpian. Keep up the good work, Publius, West Hollywood will be better for it.