The paper was known for having lengthy, thoughtful reviews of movies, plays and concerts in the L.A. area.

Among its writers were Keith Fitzgerald, Nigey Lennon, Lionel Rolfe, Lawrence Wechsler, Mick Farren, Richard Meltzer, Heidi Dvorak, Chris Morris, Jerry Stahl, Steven Kane, Andy Klein, Allen Levy, Jim Goad,[1] 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, Myron Meisel, David Ehrenstein, Tom Davis, Dave McCombs, Mark Leviton, Bruce Bebb, Stuart Goldman,[citation needed] Ernest Hardy, Kevin Uhrich, Erik Himmelsbach,[2] David L. Ulin, Lance Loud, J. Michael Straczynski,[3] and Laurence Vittes (Classical Music Critic, 1991–1998).

It is famous for being the first newspaper to publish Matt Groening's cartoon strip Life in Hell, on April 25, 1980.

James Vowell hired Groening as his assistant editor in 1979.

It also ran a cartoon strip by David Lynch (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.