In West Hollywood, where the lines between journalism and political performance blur like a sun-faded campaign sign, the recent City Hall ceremony honoring Beverly Press reporter Rance Collins “for strengthening the local press” deserves more than polite applause—it deserves scrutiny.
Councilmember John Erickson, beaming at the June 9 meeting, delivered the proclamation. Collins accepted it with the practiced humility of someone who knows how the game is played. The irony? Less than a year ago, Collins broke the story that ultimately knocked Erickson’s top challenger out of the race.
On September 12, 2024, Collins reported that Zekiah Wright, a City Council candidate running against Erickson, had been arrested on felony charges. The story spread quickly—framed dramatically, published with exquisite timing—and Wright’s campaign never recovered. Erickson was re-elected. Collins kept his press pass. And now, he gets a commendation from the very official who benefited most from that coverage.
It’s not that the charges weren’t real. They were. But Collins’ handling of the story felt more like political theater than civic duty. No investigative nuance, no waiting for context, no balancing voice—just a splashy takedown in the Beverly Press that did the work of a campaign attack ad without having to be labeled as one.
This is not an accusation of conspiracy. It’s a diagnosis of something more banal—and more corrosive: local media becoming a tool of incumbency. The same Collins who published a devastating piece on Erickson’s opponent has also lavished praise on Erickson’s record, aesthetic, and accessibility. At what point does access journalism stop covering power and start orbiting it?
If this is what City Hall means by “strengthening the local press,” perhaps we’ve misunderstood the role of the press entirely. A free press is supposed to question power, not get thanked by it.
