LA Weekly lays off most of its staff
LA Weekly has laid off most of its staff. Late last week, publisher Brian Calle offered buyouts to most of the editorial staff likely due to the paper's decrease in income. Team members leaving the publication include Editor-in-Chief Darrick Rainey, Art Editor Shana Nys Dambrot, Music Editor Brett Callwood, News Reporter Isiah Rocha and Cannabis Reporter Jimi Devine. This move follows a number of turbulent years for the publication. In 2017, the paper was purchased by Semanal Media, now called street media, which is owned by Calle. At the time, the new owners had attempted to keep their ownership out of public until they were pressured by employees and advertisers to identify themselves. Then, numerous writers/editors were fired from the paper, and columnists/associates including Henry Rollins and Dean Erwin Chemerinsky left due to the ownership's right wing ties. Amoeba records stopped advertising for the same reason. Specifically, Calle was the former vice-president of the Claremont institute, an organization dedicated to "defeating progressivism" and installing conservative people in places of power and influence. As per the institute, "The Claremont Institute has identified the principles that will be necessary to defeat progressivism. We teach the principles of the American Founding, and their application today, to the brightest young conservative men and women who will, with our help, go on to positions of power and influence in government, the courts, academia, and the media." (Emphasis added) At the time, the paper also hired a new editor-in-chief named Hillel Aron who posted on Twitter that he would like to see the Gay Pride parade and "Carmageddon" on the same day in order to "get all the bullshit in one fell swoop." He also posted " "Wtf with high gas prices is this because our president is black?" Aron posted other homophobic tweets. Street Media owns the Village Voice and other publications.