Variety blogger-editor-columnist Anne Thompson endorses Marc Cooper's autopsy on the decline in gravitas of the LA Weekly under New Times leadership. She posts:

It's a sad tale.

Like many L.A. writers, I cut my teeth at the Weekly. I put in a seven-year stretch there when I came to L.A. as Film Comment's west coast editor, writing the first iteration of my weekly Risky Business column, which I revived later (after working at EW and Premiere) for Filmmaker Magazine and then The Hollywood Reporter (which insisted on keeping the name when I left for Variety). Editor Jay Levin, and then Kit Rachlis, supported my meandering investigations into the burgeoning indie scene and Hollywood. When I got into trouble, they backed me all the way--as did the fact-checkers, who the paper no longer supports.

[skip]

I still read LA Weekly's film coverage online, thanks to [Ella] Taylor and Scott Foundas--and there's always Nikki Finke. But that's about it.

Elsewhere in Hollywood webdom: Sharon Waxman is about a week from launch of her new venture The Wrap News. Her own blog has gone quiet in the meantime.

And: Sara Catania offers her appreciation of the Weekly. Native Intelligence