Why Is WEHO Online Still “Breaking” John Erickson’s Six-Month-Old Job Move?

Larry Block loves a headline that sparkles, and on June 16 his site lit up with one that practically shouted, “Council member John Erickson leaves Planned Parenthood for new role at the Alliance for Better Communities.” The story was sold as breaking news—an urgent development West Hollywood simply had to know right now. Except the “now” in question actually happened six months ago.

A quick scroll through the Alliance for a Better Community’s own Instagram feed shows a celebratory post dated January 28, welcoming “John M. Erickson, Ph.D., our new Chief of Staff.” instagram.com The nonprofit’s staff page has listed Erickson in that role since at least mid-March, as preserved by web archives. afabc.org Even Erickson’s LinkedIn profile pegs the start of his tenure to January. Yet none of that context found its way into Block’s June piece, which presented the move as if Erickson had resigned only hours earlier and dashed straight into his new office.

Why inflate a stale press release into top-of-page urgency? Patterns in WEHO Online coverage offer a clue. Over the past year Block has devoted a steady stream of flattering copy to Erickson—human-interest puff pieces, soft-focus career updates, gentle nods to future political ambitions—while thornier news about the councilmember’s critics, policy misfires, or the still-unresolved Z. Wright arrest barely surface. The imbalance is so routine that readers have begun to treat every Block-byline on Erickson as another press-agent draft, not journalism.

That dynamic mattered this week because West Hollywood has no shortage of genuinely time-sensitive stories. The municipal budget is wobbling under new spending proposals; the city’s only public pool has been shuttered for repairs; residents continue to debate the “No Kings” labor protests on Santa Monica Boulevard. None of those items appeared above the fold when Block hit publish on Erickson’s déjà-vu announcement. They were left to languish below the digital fold—or, in many cases, ignored entirely—while a recycled résumé note soaked up the oxygen.

Block’s defenders will argue that a local publisher has every right to spotlight a sitting councilmember. Fair enough. But journalism’s first obligation is to the public, not to personalities. When readers repeatedly encounter out-of-date information packaged as breaking news, trust erodes. When headlines function more like campaign flyers than accountability reporting, the press enables power instead of checking it. And when a media outlet cultivates that imbalance in plain sight, the broader information ecosystem suffers.

The real question isn’t when John Erickson started his job; the evidence pins that down to early spring. The question is why Block keeps re-announcing it—why a March milestone gets a June fireworks display while more pressing issues collect dust. Until WEHO Online explains the editorial logic behind that choice, West Hollywood residents should treat every “breaking” banner with healthy skepticism.

Because in local politics—as in any small town turned digital—access is valuable currency. If a friendly headline secures it, the temptation to hit “publish” can outweigh the duty to verify, contextualize, and, when necessary, challenge. That tension is not unique to West Hollywood, but the stakes feel higher when the watchdog sounds suspiciously like a publicist.

Larry Block still has time to recalibrate. Transparency notes, clearer sourcing, and a willingness to run stories that challenge Erickson’s carefully crafted narrative would go a long way toward rebuilding credibility. Until then, readers should keep one tab open to WEHO Online—and another to the original March 11 Instagram post—to decide for themselves what’s genuinely news, and what’s just the echo of a hype-pump buzzing in the background.