Village Voice, SF Weekly Change Publishers
january 26, 2011 10:30 am
Village Voice Media
announced this morning that
Village Voice publisher Michael Cohen is stepping down and will be replaced by
SF Weekly publisher Josh Fromson.
Meanwhile,
SF Weekly advertising director Gil Padia will take over for Fromson in San Francisco.
Cohen's departure from the
Voice comes nearly
five years to the day since he was named publisher. He has previously served stints as publisher at
Miami New Times, the
New York Press,
Philadephia Weekly, and
Fairfield County Weekly.
According to FishbowlNY, Cohen does not presently have another job lined up.
Fromson was named publisher of
SF Weekly in 2005 and the VVM press release credits him for "oversee[ing] a nine-fold increase in the publication's digital revenue" since taking over:
One reason for the Weekly's growth under Fromson is his addition of a line of signature community events, including the celebration of local art and artists known as Artopia, the All Shook Down music festival in North Beach, the Dish food gathering featuring cuisine from local restaurants, and an annual Web Awards gala highlighting the best Bay Area blogs and websites.
Padia, who will be replacing Fromson, came to
SF Weekly in 2007 after serving time at both
Cleveland Scene and
Miami New Times as sales manager. VVM says that Padia, "has been instrumental in the publication's shift from a print-centric sales focus to a forward-looking approach covering print, digital, mobile, and event platforms."
