In November, LA Weekly—an alternative weekly paper founded in 1978—was purchased by a mysterious company named Semanal Media. The majority of editorial staffers were laid off immediately. Everyone was scrambling to figure out what had exactly happened, and who was taking over, namely the shady investors behind it all. Suddenly, Brian Calle, who was a chief opinion writer for Southern California News Group, was taking over editorial management of the alt-weekly, and it was soon revealed that the new owners were men with ties to both the Republican party and Orange County. Almost overnight, LA Weekly ceased to exist and became something new, strange, and different—and it didn’t sit well with Jeff Weiss.

Weiss is a nationally acclaimed music critic who has written for publications including Billboard, Pitchfork, The Washington Post, and of course, LA Weekly. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Weiss has always read and appreciated the importance of an alt-weekly like LA Weekly, which he tweeted, has “chronicled [LA’s] complexity like no other publication,” introducing readers like him to the locales and figures that define the city’s history and culture.

This is one of the most difficult and depressing evenings of my journalistic career, so forgive the imminent tweet storm. (1/)

— Otto Von Biz Markie (@Passionweiss) November 30, 2017