View the full Vanguard Archive here.

“The Vanguard is more than a newspaper, it is an organizing tool for community groups and individuals to fight back through citizen action. FIGHT BACK will be a regular feature of such efforts.”

The mission statement published in the very first issue of the Los Angeles Vanguard promised a combative and candid look at the issues that afflicted Los Angeles and the country at large that typically went unnoticed or ignored by mainstream corporate media. The Vanguard’s life was brief but impactful. During its 14-month run, the weekly paper won awards for its reporting on rampant violence against citizens by the para-military Los Angeles Police Department, invasive practices of the phone company Pacific Telephone (often on behalf of police agencies), judicial corruption, and nuclear hazards.

The rebellious publication quickly became a target of the LAPD’s Public Disorder Intelligence Division; they worked to send uncover cops to infiltrate the paper and bribed its ad sales agency to stop doing business with the Vanguard. The LAPD’s underhanded campaign ultimately succeeded, and the paper ceased publication less than two years after its creation.

The Park Center for Independent Media is proud to house the archives of the entirety of the Los Angeles Vanguard’s publication. We would like to thank David Lindorff for providing copies of the Vanguard’s publications, which will be displayed on our website as a historical record of the paper’s dissenting and impactful reporting. It is our hope that this archive will provide students, journalists, and anyone with a curiosity toward independent media with insight as to the history and accomplishments of this publication.