Kevin Douglas Grant of Neon Tommy has written a piece about writer, editor and critic Steven Mikulan, who lost his job last week after 25 years at the LA Weekly:

Until his firing last week, Mikulan was a longstanding employee of the Weekly who had covered some of the biggest criminal trials of the last 10 years in Los Angeles: Robert Blake. Phil Spector. Anthony Pellicano. Anand Jon. He had reached his 25-year milestone and gained high esteem from friends and colleagues as a "superior writer" in the tradition of Gay Talese, Norman Mailer, and Truman Capote.

However, as several of his colleagues have attested, Milkulan's talent was not being utilized under the Weekly's new management, which came into power after the merger of New Times Media, the Weekly's parent company, with Village Voice Media was finalized in 2006.

"This is all part of a long, downward spiral for the Weekly," said Robert Iafolla, now a staff writer at the LA Daily Journal, who covered some of the same trials that Mikulan did. Calls and e-mails to the Weekly were not returned.

Neon Tommy is a USC publication staffed almost entirely by journalism students, and we can't imagine running this story about a highly respected, award-winning journalist losing his job filled them with hope for their future careers. It certainly doesn't make us optimistic about ours. Or yours. Have a nice day.

Previously on FBLA:
Steven Mikulan Leaves LA Weekly