AAN News
Village Voice Media Papers Win Five Maggie Awardsnew
Houston Press picked up three first-place awards, for Best Feature Article, Best Public Service Series or Article, and Best Cover. Two other VVM papers took home first place awards: Phoenix New Times for Best Series of Articles and SF Weekly for Tabloids/Consumer, which is the category for best overall publication. The Maggies, given out by the Western Publications Association, "recognize the hard work, dedication and creative talents working in the publishing industry today."
Western Publications Association |
05-10-2007 8:11 am |
Honors & Achievements
Bob Norman & Village Voice Media Hit With Lawsuitnew
Former South Florida Sun-Sentinel writer Buddy Nevins has sued the New Times Broward-Palm Beach writer and VVM for defamation and invasion of privacy/false light, the Sun-Sentinel reports. Nevins claims that Norman falsely stated that he was forced out from the daily paper over a story that later had to be corrected. Nevins also alleges that Norman falsely claimed he had an "unholy alliance" with lobbyist Ali Waldman that "ruined" him as a reporter. "This may get interesting, but there is no joy in Pulpville tonight," Norman writes on his blog, the Daily Pulp. "I like Buddy and believe he's done awesome work in his career ... but I stand by my work and wish Buddy the best."
South Florida Sun-Sentinel |
05-03-2007 2:16 pm |
Legal News
Village Voice Media Cracks Top 30 Newspaper Websitesnew
The VVM "channel," which includes all of the paper's sites, was the 27th most popular online newspaper destination in February, according to a Nielsen/NetRatings report. VVM's sites had 5,205,000 pageviews; a unique audience of 1,377,000; and the average user visit lasted four minutes, seven seconds.
Editor & Publisher |
04-10-2007 8:19 am |
Industry News
More Potential Buyers for Philadelphia Weekly Namednew
An unnamed industry source tells the Weekly's Steve Volk that a group led by Richard L. Connor is among the bidders for his paper. Connor, the editor and publisher of the Times Leader in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., led a group of investors last year in the purchase of that paper from the McClatchy Co. "Another company frequently mentioned among industry insiders as a potential bidder is Times-Shamrock Communications," Volk says, but the company says it has "no involvement." Times-Shamrock owns AAN members Baltimore City Paper, Detroit's Metro Times, Orlando Weekly, and the San Antonio Current, among other publications. Village Voice Media and Philadelphia Media Holdings have also been named as companies interested in purchasing the Weekly.
Philadelphia Weekly |
04-09-2007 8:17 am |
Industry News
Village Voice Media 'Most Active Prospect' in Philadelphia Weekly Salenew
Unnamed "insiders" tell the Philadelphia Inquirer that Review Publishing LP, the Weekly's parent company, wants to package its three other publications with the alt-weekly in a sale, but VVM only wants the Weekly. Rumors of the paper's sale first appeared last week, and it has been reported that Philadelphia Media Holdings, the parent company of the city's two dailies, is also interested.
Philadelphia Inquirer (Second item) |
04-02-2007 7:42 am |
Industry News
Trial Date in SFBG Lawsuit Against VVM Pushed Backnew
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
03-14-2007 9:24 am |
Industry News
VVM's Michael Lacey: 'We Didn't Expect Things to Go Smoothly'new
In a conversation with the New York Times' David Carr, Village Voice Media's executive editor addresses the editorial merry-go-round at the chain's flagship paper. "We didn't expect things to happen overnight," Lacey says. He also tells Carr that a move to New York might be in the cards once his kids leave for college. "I'm not going to edit the paper hands-on," he says, "but I will be close enough to make whoever is editing the paper more miserable than they already are."
The New York Times |
03-12-2007 8:38 am |
Industry News
David Blum Says He Never Had VVM's Confidence as Voice Editornew
"My job as editor in chief of The Village Voice was not all spent putting out the newspaper, but also keeping people happy thousands of miles away," Blum tells the New York Observer. Blum says he received frequent calls and e-mails from VVM headquarters about running the paper. An unnamed Voice staffer tells the Observer it wasn't clear the j-school adjunct was "comfortable in the editor role," noting he was more at ease with recent hires from Columbia Univ. than with longtime Voice staffers.
The New York Observer |
03-07-2007 11:49 am |
Industry News
Blum's Comments on Race Not Behind Firingnew
Village Voice Media Executive Editor Michael Lacey says Blum was dismissed due to differences over "administrative style" and because he didn't get enough "news in the paper."
The Village Voice |
03-06-2007 2:04 pm |
Industry News
'One Less Minority' At Village Voicenew
The day after last week's staff meeting at which concerns about newsroom diversity were raised, Village Voice Media laid off minority writer Corina Zappia, according to the Huffington Post. Zappia, who worked for the internet division, says she hadn't had a negative performance review nor been given any sort of warning. She also notes that although she had spoken up at last week's staff meeting, there was no connection between that and her dismissal. The Huffington Post reports that a HR complaint relating to Zappia's discharge remains unresolved.
The Huffington Post |
03-06-2007 1:41 pm |
Industry News
Tony Ortega 'Won't Be Easily Replaced'new
Writing on the New Times Broward-Palm Beach's Daily Pulp blog, staff writer Bob Norman says "Ortega's announcement at a meeting yesterday left the staff under what I can I only describe as a funereal pall." He predicts Ortega "will sit in the editor's chair at the Voice for as long he wants to be there," because he has "the temperament to weather the shitstorm" and the "hard-earned trust" of Village Voice Media Executive Editor Mike Lacey.
New Times Broward-Palm Beach |
03-06-2007 11:40 am |
Industry News
Tony Ortega Named Village Voice Editornew
That was quick. Less than one business day after David Blum was fired, Village Voice Media announce that the editor of New Times Broward-Palm Beach will replace him. Ortega, 43, who started his career in 1995 at the Phoenix New Times, is the third editor-in-chief hired by the Manhattan alt-weekly since Don Forst left 14 months ago. "Lincoln promoted General Grant late in the game. Stalin promoted Marshall Zukoff late in the game," explains Executive Editor Michael Lacey. "Tony Ortega is the right man at the right time."
The Village Voice |
03-05-2007 5:18 pm |
Industry News
Judge Orders Kansas City Papers to Remove Website Articlesnew
On Friday afternoon, a Missouri judge ordered The Pitch and the Kansas City Star to purge online stories about the Kansas City Board of Public Utilities (BPU) that were based on a confidential letter written by BPU's attorney. Judge Kelly Moorehouse's ruling (PDF file) states that the letter is "privileged legal communication," and also barred the papers from publishing information contained in the confidential document or "otherwise referring to it in any public medium." Attorneys for The Pitch have requested an emergency hearing to settle the matter. "This judge made a serious error," says Steve Suskin, legal counsel for the Pitch's parent company, Village Voice Media. "The injunction so clearly violates the First Amendment that we have no choice but to fight for these fundamental principles in the appellate courts." (The Pitch's original story is still available online in a Google cache.)
The Pitch | The Kansas City Star |
03-05-2007 11:19 am |
Legal News
David Blum Out as Voice Editornew
At a Friday afternoon meeting, Village Voice staffers were told that Blum was "no longer the editor of the paper" as a result of unspecified comments he made that were "unacceptable," according to Gawker. Radar reports that Bill Jensen, director of Web and digital operations for Village Voice Media, has been named interim editor.
Gawker | Radar |
03-02-2007 7:19 pm |
Industry News
The VVM/New Times Merger, One Year Outnew
The Boston Phoenix takes a look at the editorial fallout, or lack thereof, resulting from the merger, talking to staffers who have quit, some who have stayed, and VVM Executive Editor Mike Lacey himself. While former City Pages staff writer Britt Robson says that one of the reasons he quit was VVM's culture of "cheapskate-tough-guy swagger," Nashville Scene editor Liz Garrigan says the new management has helped her. "They've been really good to me, in the sense that my budget's bigger and I've been able to really hire up," she says. "They get a bad rap in so many ways, but they're committed to good shit in the paper."
Boston Phoenix |
03-01-2007 3:03 pm |
Industry News
