''Los Angeles Reader'' was a weekly paper established in 1978 and distributed in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, United States. It followed the format of the (still-active) ''
Chicago Reader
The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. The ''Reader'' has been ...
''. The paper was known for having lengthy, thoughtful reviews of movies, plays and concerts in the L.A. area.
James Vowell was its founding editor. Among its writers were Keith Fitzgerald, Nigey Lennon, Lionel Rolfe, Lawrence Wechsler,
Mick Farren
Michael Anthony Farren (3 September 1943 – 27 July 2013) was an English rock musician, singer, journalist, and author associated with counterculture and the UK underground, who had a significant influence on the development of British proto ...
,
Richard Meltzer
Richard Meltzer (born May 10, 1945) is an American rock critic, performer, writer and songwriter. He is considered by some rock historians to be the first to write real analysis of rock and roll and is credited with inventing "rock criticism".
...
, Heidi Dvorak,
Chris Morris,
Jerry Stahl
Jerry Stahl (born September 28, 1953) is an American novelist and screenwriter. His works include the 1995 memoir of addiction ''Permanent Midnight''. A 1998 film adaptation followed with Ben Stiller in the lead role.
His works include memoirs, ...
, Steven Kane, Andy Klein, Allen Levy,
Jim Goad, Kirk Silsbee, Henry Sheehan, Samantha Dunn, Natalie Nichols, Steve Appleford, Eric Mankin (also editor), Rich Robinson, Paul Birchall, Eddie Rivera (who wrote the paper's first cover story), Amy Steinberg,
Dan Sallitt
Dan Sallitt (born July 27, 1955) is an American filmmaker and film critic. He is known for his microbudget filmmaking and cinephile film criticism.
Early life and career
Sallitt was born on July 27, 1955, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He re ...
, Myron Meisel, David Ehrenstein, Tom Davis, Dave McCombs, Mark Leviton, Bruce Bebb,
Stuart Goldman, Ernest Hardy, Kevin Uhrich,
Erik Himmelsbach, David L. Ulin,
Lance Loud
Alanson Russell "Lance" Loud (June 26, 1951 – December 22, 2001) was an American television personality, magazine columnist, and new wave rock-n-roll performer. Loud is best known for his 1973 appearance in '' An American Family'', a pione ...
,
J. Michael Straczynski
Joseph Michael Straczynski, known as J. Michael Straczynski (; born July 17, 1954) is an American filmmaker and comic book writer. He is the founder of Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Studio JMS and is known as the creator of the science fiction televi ...
,
and Laurence Vittes (Classical Music Critic, 1991–1998).
It is famous for being the first newspaper to publish
Matt Groening
Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is best known as the creator of the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), ''Futurama'' (1999–2003, 2008–2013, 2 ...
's cartoon strip ''
Life in Hell'', on April 25, 1980. James Vowell hired Groening as his assistant editor in 1979. Groening was also originally a ''Reader'' music critic. It also ran a cartoon strip by
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch (January 20, 1946 – January 16, 2025) was an American filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and actor. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Lynch was often called a "visionary" and received acclaim f ...
(director of
''Blue Velvet'') called ''
The Angriest Dog in the World'', a strip notable for having exactly the same drawing panels for its entire run. James Vowell and his wife Codette Wallace bought the ''Reader'' from the ''Chicago Reader'' in February 1989. They sold the ''Reader'' to
New Times Media
Village Voice Media or VVM is a newspaper company. It began in 1970 as a weekly alternative newspaper in Phoenix, Arizona. The company, founded by Michael Lacey (editor) and Jim Larkin (publisher), was then known as New Times Inc. (NTI) and the ...
in 1996, which merged it with the ''Los Angeles View'' to form ''
New Times LA
''New Times LA'' was an alternative weekly newspaper that was published in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of ...
''.
References
External links
An archived article from the L.A. Reader
Newspapers published in Greater Los Angeles
Weekly newspapers published in California
{{California-newspaper-stub