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The Cooper Square offices of the paper

Key Information

The Village Voice is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly.[4] Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, The Voice began as a platform for the creative community of New York City. It ceased publication in 2017, although its online archives remained accessible. After an ownership change, The Voice reappeared in print as a quarterly in April 2021.[4]

The Village Voice has received three Pulitzer Prizes, the National Press Foundation Award, and the George Polk Award. The Village Voice hosted a variety of writers and artists, including columnist and city editor Mary Perot Nichols,[5] writer Ezra Pound, cartoonist Lynda Barry, artist Greg Tate, music critic Robert Christgau, and film critics Andrew Sarris, Jonas Mekas, and J. Hoberman.

In October 2015, The Village Voice changed ownership and severed all ties with former parent company Voice Media Group (VMG).[6] The Voice announced on August 22, 2017, that it would cease publication of its print edition and convert to a fully digital venture, on a date to be announced.[7] The final printed edition, featuring a 1965 photo of Bob Dylan on the cover, was distributed on September 21, 2017.[8] After halting print publication in 2017, The Voice provided daily coverage through its website until August 31, 2018, when it announced it was ceasing production of new editorial content.[9] On December 23, 2020, editor R. C. Baker announced that the paper would resume publishing new articles both online and in a quarterly print edition.[10] In January 2021, new original stories began being published again on the website.[11] A spring print edition was released in April 2021.[12] The Voice's website continues to feature archival material related to current events.

History

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Early history

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Cover of the October 1955 issue

The Village Voice was launched by Ed Fancher, Dan Wolf, and Norman Mailer[13] on October 26, 1955, from a two-bedroom apartment in Greenwich Village; that was its initial coverage area, which expanded to other parts of the city by the 1960s. In 1960, it moved from 22 Greenwich Avenue to 61 Christopher Street in a landmark triangular corner building adjoining Sheridan Square, and a few feet west of the Stonewall Inn;[14] then, from the 1970s through 1980, at 11th Street and University Place; and then Broadway and 13th Street. It moved to Cooper Square in the East Village in 1991, and in 2013, to the Financial District.[15]

Early columnists of the 1950s and 1960s included Jonas Mekas, who explored the underground film movement in his "Film Journal" column; Linda Solomon, who reviewed the Village club scene in the "Riffs" column; and Sam Julty, who wrote a popular column on car ownership and maintenance. John Wilcock wrote a column every week for the paper's first ten years. Another regular from that period was the cartoonist Kin Platt, who did weekly theatrical caricatures. Other prominent regulars have included Peter Schjeldahl, Ellen Willis, Jill Johnston, Tom Carson, and Richard Goldstein. Staff of The Voice joined a union, the Distributive Workers of America, in 1977.[16]

For more than 40 years, Wayne Barrett was the newspaper's muckraker, covering New York real estate developers and politicians, including Donald Trump. The material continued to be a valuable resource for reporters covering the Trump presidency.[9]

The Voice has published investigations of New York City politics, as well as reporting on national politics, with arts, culture, music, dance, film, and theater reviews. Writers and cartoonists for The Voice have received three Pulitzer Prizes: in 1981 (Teresa Carpenter, for feature writing),[17] 1986 (Jules Feiffer, for editorial cartooning)[18] and 2000 (Mark Schoofs, for international reporting).[19] The paper has, almost since its inception, recognized alternative theater in New York through its Obie Awards.[20] The paper's "Pazz & Jop" music poll, started by Robert Christgau in the early 1970s, is released annually and remains an influential survey of the nation's music critics. In 1999, film critic J. Hoberman and film section editor Dennis Lim began a similar Village Voice Film Poll for the year in film. In 2001, The Voice sponsored its first music festival, the Siren Music Festival, a free annual event every summer held at Coney Island. The event moved to the lower tip of Manhattan in 2011, and was re-christened the "4knots Music Festival", a reference to the speed of the East River's current.[21]

During the 1980s and onward, The Voice was known for its staunch support for gay rights, and it published an annual Gay Pride issue every June. However, early in its history, the newspaper had a reputation as having a homophobic slant. While reporting on the Stonewall riots of 1969, the newspaper referred to the riots as "The Great Faggot Rebellion".[22] Two reporters, Howard Smith and Lucian Truscott IV, both used the words "faggot" and "dyke" in their articles about the riots. (These words were not commonly used by homosexuals to refer to each other at this time.) Smith and Truscott retrieved their press cards from The Voice offices, which were very close to the bar, as the trouble began; they were among the first journalists to record the event, Smith being trapped inside the bar with the police, and Truscott reporting from the street.[23] After the riot, the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) attempted to promote dances for gays and lesbians in The Voice, but were not allowed to use the words "gay" or "homosexual", which the newspaper considered derogatory. The newspaper changed its policy after the GLF petitioned it to do so.[24] Over time, The Voice changed its stance, and, in 1982, became the second organization in the US known to have extended domestic partner benefits. Jeff Weinstein, an employee of the paper and shop steward for the publishing local of District 65 UAW, negotiated and won agreement in the union contract to extend health, life insurance, and disability benefits to the "spouse equivalents" of its union members.[25]

The Voice's competitors in New York City include The New York Observer and Time Out New York. Seventeen alternative weeklies around the United States are owned by The Voice's former parent company Village Voice Media. The film section writers and editors also produced a weekly Voice Film Club podcast.[26]

In 1996, after decades of carrying a cover price, The Voice switched from a paid weekly to a free, alternative weekly. The Voice website was a recipient of the National Press Foundation's Online Journalism Award in 2001[27] and the Editor & Publisher EPpy Award for Best Overall U.S. Newspaper Online Service – Weekly, Community, Alternative & Free in 2003.[28]

In 2005, the Phoenix alternative weekly chain New Times Media purchased the company and took the Village Voice Media name. Previous owners of The Village Voice or of Village Voice Media have included co-founders Fancher[29] and Wolf,[13] New York City Councilman Carter Burden,[13] New York magazine founder Clay Felker, Rupert Murdoch, and Leonard Stern of the Hartz Mountain empire.

Acquisition by New Times Media

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After The Village Voice was acquired by New Times Media in 2005, the publication's key personnel changed. The Voice was then managed by two journalists from Phoenix, Arizona.

In April 2006, The Voice dismissed music editor Chuck Eddy.[30] Four months later, the newspaper sacked longtime music critic Robert Christgau. In January 2007, the newspaper fired sex columnist and erotica author Rachel Kramer Bussel; long-term creative director Ted Keller, art director Minh Oung, fashion columnist Lynn Yaeger and Deputy Art Director LD Beghtol were laid off or fired soon afterward. Editor in chief Donald Forst resigned in December 2005. Doug Simmons, his replacement, was sacked in March 2006 after it was discovered that a reporter had fabricated portions of an article. Simmons' successor, Erik Wemple, resigned after two weeks. His replacement, David Blum, was fired in March 2007. Tony Ortega then held the position of editor in chief from 2007 to 2012.

The sacking of Nat Hentoff, who worked for the paper from 1958 to 2008, led to further criticism of the management by some of its current writers, Hentoff himself, and by The Voice's ideological rival paper National Review, which referred to Hentoff as a "treasure".[31][32] At the end of 2011, Wayne Barrett, who had written for the paper since 1973, was laid off. Fellow muckraking investigative reporter Tom Robbins then resigned in solidarity.[33]

Voice Media Group

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Following a scandal concerning The Village Voice's editorial attack on a Backpage sex trafficking exposé, Village Voice Media executives Scott Tobias, Christine Brennan and Jeff Mars bought Village Voice Media's papers and associated web properties from its founders in September 2012, and formed the Denver-based Voice Media Group.[34]

In May 2013, The Village Voice editor Will Bourne and deputy editor Jessica Lustig told The New York Times that they were quitting the paper rather than executing further staff layoffs.[35] Both had been recent appointments. By then, The Voice had employed five editors since 2005. Following Bourne's and Lustig's departure, Village Media Group management fired three of The Voice's longest-serving contributors: gossip and nightlife columnist Michael Musto, restaurant critic Robert Sietsema, and theater critic Michael Feingold, all of whom had been writing for the paper for decades.[36][37][38] Feingold was rehired as a writer for The Village Voice in January 2016.[39] Michael Musto was also rehired in 2016 and wrote cover stories regarding subjects like Oscar scandals and Madonna's body of work. Musto returned again to write features in 2021 under new publisher Brian Calle.[citation needed]

In July 2013, Voice Media Group executives named Tom Finkel as editor.[40]

Peter Barbey ownership and construction

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Peter Barbey, through the privately owned investment company Black Walnut Holdings LLC, purchased The Village Voice from Voice Media Group in October 2015.[41] Barbey is a member of one of America's wealthiest families.[42] The family has had ownership interest in the Reading Eagle, a daily newspaper serving the city of Reading, Pennsylvania and the surrounding region, for many years. Barbey serves as president and CEO of the Reading Eagle Company, and holds the same roles at The Village Voice. After taking over ownership of The Voice, Barbey named Joe Levy, formerly of Rolling Stone, as interim editor in chief,[43] and Suzan Gursoy, formerly of Ad Week, as publisher.[44] In December 2016, Barbey named Stephen Mooallem, formerly of Harper's Bazaar, as editor in chief.[45] Mooallem resigned in May 2018, and was not replaced before the publication's shutdown.[9]

Under the Barbey ownership, advertisements for escort agencies and phone sex services came to an end.[9]

On August 31, 2018, it was announced that the Village Voice would cease production and lay off half of its staff. The remaining staff would be kept on for a limited period for archival projects.[46][47][48] An August 31 piece by freelancer Steven Wishnia was hailed as the last article to be published on the website.[9] Two weeks after the Village Voice ceased operations on September 13, co-founder John Wilcock died in California at the age of 91.

Return to print

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In January 2021, a new original story — the first one in two-and-a-half years — was published on the website of The Village Voice.[49] On April 17, 2021, the Spring 2021 issue of The Village Voice appeared in news boxes and on newsstands for the first time since 2018. At the time, The Village Voice was a quarterly publication.[4]

As of July 2024, many articles on The Village Voice's website were AI-generated advertorials for OnlyFans creators.[50]

Contributors

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The Voice has published columns and works by writers such as Ezra Pound, Henry Miller, Barbara Garson, Katherine Anne Porter, James Baldwin, E.E. Cummings, Nat Hentoff, staff writer and author Ted Hoagland, Colson Whitehead, Tom Stoppard, Paul Lukas, Lorraine Hansberry, Lester Bangs, Allen Ginsberg and Joshua Clover. Former editors have included Clay Felker and Tony Ortega.

The newspaper has also been a host to underground cartoonists. In addition to mainstay Jules Feiffer, whose cartoon ran for decades in the paper until its cancellation in 1996, well-known cartoonists featured in the paper have included R. Crumb, Matt Groening, Lynda Barry, Stan Mack, Mark Alan Stamaty, Ted Rall, Tom Tomorrow, Ward Sutton, Ruben Bolling and M. Wartella.

Publisher and editor of the newspaper David Schneiderman died in January 2025.[51]

Backpage sex trafficking

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Main article: Backpage

Backpage was a classified advertisement website owned by the same parent company as The Village Voice. In 2012, Nicholas Kristof wrote an article in The New York Times detailing a young woman's account of being sold on Backpage.[52] The Village Voice released an article entitled "What Nick Kristof Got Wrong" accusing Kristof of fabricating the story and ignoring journalistic standards.[53] Kristof responded, noting that The Voice did not dispute the column, but rather tried to show how the timeline in Kristof's original piece was inaccurate. In this rebuttal, he not only justified his original timeline, but expressed sadness "to see Village Voice Media become a major player in sex trafficking, and to see it use its journalists as attack dogs for those who threaten its corporate interests", noting another instance of The Village Voice attacking journalists reporting on Backpage's role in sex trafficking.[54]

After repeated calls for a boycott of The Village Voice, the company was sold to Voice Media Group.[55]

See also

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References

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Further reading

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[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

The Village Voice

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from Grokipedia
The Village Voice was an American alternative newsweekly newspaper founded on October 26, 1955, in , , by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, and . It pioneered free-form, passionate focused on local , arts, culture, and investigative reporting, becoming a cornerstone of the movement. The paper ceased print operations in 2017 and fully discontinued publication in August 2018 due to financial difficulties after 63 years. Renowned for its irreverent tone and commitment to outsider perspectives, The Village Voice provided early, in-depth coverage of pivotal events and scenes such as the , at , the emergence of hip-hop, and the AIDS crisis, shaping urban journalism and cultural discourse. Its music criticism, including the influential poll, elevated alternative voices in evaluating , while theater and art reviews championed and works. The publication earned three Pulitzer Prizes for feature writing and editorial cartooning, alongside numerous other awards for investigative work exposing corruption and social issues. Despite its achievements, The Village Voice reflected the biases of its era and milieu, often aligning with progressive causes amid a newsroom marked by internal conflicts over sexism, racism, and editorial direction, which mirrored broader tensions in left-leaning alternative media. In later years, controversies arose from its classifieds section, particularly Backpage.com affiliations tied to sex trafficking allegations, contributing to its decline as digital disruption eroded print revenue. The paper's legacy endures as a model of bold, independent reporting that prioritized raw inquiry over institutional conformity, though its partisan slant sometimes compromised objective analysis.

Origins and Early Years

Founding and Initial Mission (1955–1960s)

The Village Voice was established on October 26, 1955, by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, and Norman Mailer, who operated from a two-bedroom apartment at 22 Greenwich Avenue in New York City's Greenwich Village neighborhood. None of the founders possessed prior experience in newspaper publishing; Fancher worked as a psychologist, Wolf sought an outlet for intellectual discourse, and Mailer contributed as a prominent novelist. The inaugural issue, printed with a modest initial run funded by Fancher's $10,000 investment and loans, emphasized coverage of local arts, politics, and community life in the bohemian enclave of Greenwich Village. The paper's initial mission centered on delivering free-form, passionate that captured the independent spirit of Village residents, positioning itself as an alternative to the perceived conformity of mainstream outlets. Founders articulated a commitment to unfiltered expression, with Mailer serving as the first editor and contributing polemical columns that critiqued norms. Classified advertisements dominated early editions, comprising over half the content and providing essential revenue, while features highlighted emerging cultural scenes and dissent against mid-1950s social orthodoxies. Financial instability plagued the publication through the late , with circulation hovering around 10,000 copies weekly and reliance on subscriptions and ads for survival, yet the core focus on Village-centric reporting persisted into the . By the early , the Voice began expanding its scope to national issues while retaining its foundational ethos of prioritizing raw, community-driven narratives over sanitized commercial journalism. This period solidified its role as a platform for nonconformist voices, though operational challenges underscored the risks of its uncompromising editorial stance.

Emergence as Countercultural Voice (1960s–1970s)

During the 1960s, The Village Voice transitioned from its bohemian roots into a prominent platform for countercultural dissent, chronicling the , antiwar activism, and urban social pathologies that mainstream outlets sidelined. The 1962–1963 New York City newspaper strike propelled its circulation from about 28,000 to 35,000 copies weekly, yielding its first sustained profits and enabling expanded coverage of Greenwich Village's evolving scene—from beatnik holdovers to hippie experimentation and protests against the escalation. Contributors like Jack Newfield exposed in low-income housing projects, while Nat Hentoff's advocacy pieces on Lenny Bruce's obscenity trials highlighted free speech clashes with institutional power, influencing legal outcomes such as Robert Morgenthau's district attorney campaign. Cartoonist Jules Feiffer's satirical strips, introduced in the mid-1960s, further embedded the paper in critiques of conformity and authority. The paper's commitment to on-the-ground reporting distinguished it from establishment media, as seen in its detailed accounts of antiwar demonstrations and civil rights tensions, often framing events through an adversarial lens that prioritized activist narratives over official accounts. This approach, rooted in co-founder Dan Wolf's vision of journalism as a tool for societal confrontation, fostered a style of advocacy that amplified outsider perspectives but occasionally sacrificed nuance for moral clarity. A defining moment came with the of June 28, 1969, when The Village Voice delivered front-page treatment absent from major dailies, featuring IV's "Gay Power Comes to Sheridan Square" and Howard Smith's eyewitness dispatch on July 3, which included interviews with participants and descriptions of clashes between patrons and police. This coverage helped catalyze visibility for emerging efforts, positioning the paper as a harbinger of themes. In the 1970s, the Voice sustained its countercultural influence through Robert Christgau's pioneering rock criticism and Vivian Gornick's explorations of , while Paul Cowan profiled figures like amid ongoing scrutiny of racial and political inequities. Its model inspired underground and alternative presses nationwide, though internal debates reflected uneven alignment with all radical currents, such as qualified skepticism toward some excesses. By decade's end, the paper's circulation and cultural underscored its evolution into a nexus for dissenting intellects challenging .

Editorial Identity and Content

Political Orientation and Bias

The Village Voice maintained a predominantly left-leaning political orientation, rooted in its founding as an alternative weekly that championed countercultural and progressive causes, including opposition to the , support for , and early advocacy for in the 1960s and 1970s. Its editorial positions consistently favored progressive policies, such as promoting gay marriage long before mainstream acceptance, while routinely critiquing conservative stances on social and cultural issues. Independent media bias assessments, including those from and , classify the publication as left-biased due to this pattern, though it scored highly for factual accuracy in reporting. The Voice's bias manifested in explicit endorsements of liberal candidates, exemplified by its 1976 support for against incumbent , positioning the paper as a vocal opponent of establishment during that era. Articles often framed conservatives negatively, such as a 2000 piece portraying as a "conservative " using liberal guests as mere tokens, and post-2004 coverage deriding right-wing responses to gay marriage ballot defeats as reactionary. This orientation extended to that targeted corruption across parties but disproportionately scrutinized right-leaning figures and policies, aligning with the alternative press's broader skepticism of authority filtered through a progressive lens. Critics, including some staff and readers, occasionally highlighted internal inconsistencies, such as perceived anti-Israel leanings in coverage during the 1980s, which echoed left-wing critiques of U.S. but drew accusations of imbalance from pro-Israel voices. While the paper's irreverent style allowed for occasional jabs at liberal icons—like Norman Mailer's columns challenging leftist orthodoxies—its toward progressive narratives persisted, influencing its role in amplifying urban left-wing discourse amid a media landscape dominated by center-left institutions. This stance, while factually grounded in many exposés, reflected the ideological homogeneity common in alternative , where empirical scrutiny of power structures often prioritized causal narratives favoring egalitarian reforms over market-oriented or traditionalist alternatives.

Signature Features and Journalism Style

The Village Voice pioneered an alternative journalism style characterized by first-person narratives, opinionated analysis, and a departure from conventional objectivity, allowing writers to embed personal insights and advocacy within reporting. This irreverent approach, evident from its founding in , emphasized loose, conversational prose that prioritized individual voice over detached neutrality, influencing subsequent by modeling provocative, writer-driven content. Investigative reporting formed a cornerstone, featuring exhaustive, adversarial long-form exposés on corruption, urban development, and political figures; for instance, Wayne Barrett produced over 100 articles scrutinizing Donald Trump's business practices beginning with a 1979 cover story, relying on and interviews to challenge official narratives. Cultural criticism represented another hallmark, with dedicated sections delivering sharp, subjective reviews of music, film, theater, dance, and visual arts that shaped downtown New York scenes from jazz to punk; the annual poll, launched by critic in 1971, aggregated rankings from up to 795 critics to crown top albums and singles, such as Bruce Springsteen's in 1975. Recurring columns and visual elements further defined its format, including satirical cartoons by that ran weekly from 1956 to 1996, lampooning social and political hypocrisies, alongside jazz critiques by from 1979 to 2003 that chronicled genre evolutions through personal essays. This combination of muckraking depth, cultural immersion, and unfiltered commentary cultivated a tabloid aesthetic—compact, ad-heavy pages blending newsprint grit with intellectual edge—fostering reader engagement through controversy and discovery rather than consensus-driven restraint.

Notable Contributors and Their Roles

Nat Hentoff contributed to The Village Voice as a critic and columnist from 1958 until 2008, spanning 50 years, where he covered music alongside and free speech issues, often drawing on his advocacy for individual rights. Jules Feiffer served as a staff starting in 1956, producing the weekly satirical strip Feiffer until 1997, which offered incisive commentary on , relationships, and social neuroses through minimalist drawings and dialogue. Robert acted as senior music critic, devising the annual critics' poll in 1971 to aggregate music reviewers' preferences for albums and singles, which ran through 2019 and became a benchmark for rock and pop assessment. wrote as a pioneering rock critic and cultural essayist in the late and , analyzing music's intersection with and politics in columns that challenged mainstream narratives on gender and sexuality. Wayne Barrett worked as an investigative reporter and senior editor for 37 years beginning in the 1970s, specializing in government corruption and real estate, including early exposés on Donald Trump's business practices based on and interviews. contributed political columns, notably "Press Clips" in the late 1970s and early 1980s, critiquing media coverage of and domestic issues from a radical perspective, before departing amid disputes.

Commercial Expansion and Ownership Shifts

Growth Through Acquisitions (1980s–2000s)

In 1985, , chairman of the Hartz Mountain pet supply empire, acquired The Village Voice from for $55 million, marking a shift from Murdoch's brief ownership since 1977. This purchase positioned the Voice as the flagship of Stern Publishing's media ventures, with Stern pledging to preserve its while leveraging its brand for expansion into other markets. Under Stern's direction, the company pursued growth by acquiring independent alternative weeklies, capitalizing on the rising popularity of free, ad-supported urban publications focused on arts, culture, and . Throughout the 1990s, Stern Publishing systematically expanded its portfolio through targeted acquisitions, building a national chain of seven papers by the decade's end. Key purchases included the in 1994, which broadened reach into the Los Angeles market, followed by the , Orange County Weekly, City Pages in Minneapolis-St. Paul, the Cleveland Free Press, and Long Island Voice. These moves diversified revenue streams, with combined annual revenues surpassing $80 million by 1999, driven by increased advertising from music, entertainment, and classifieds amid urban demographic shifts. The strategy emphasized in distribution and sales, though it drew internal critiques for prioritizing profitability over the Voice's original countercultural , as some staff attributed to Stern's business-oriented approach. In January 2000, Stern sold the entire chain—including the Village Voice, , and the five other weeklies—to an investor group led by former Voice publisher David Schneiderman and backed by firms like Weiss, Peck & Greer, for approximately $170 million. The buyers restructured the holdings as Holdings, retaining the papers' operational structure while signaling continued consolidation in the alt-weekly sector. This transaction capped Stern's expansion phase, transforming the Voice from a standalone New York outlet into the anchor of a multimarket network, though it presaged further industry mergers amid digital disruptions.

New Times Media Merger and Voice Media Group (2005–2012)

In October 2005, Phoenix-based New Times Media, operator of 11 alternative weekly newspapers, acquired Holdings in a transaction valued at approximately $400 million. The deal combined New Times' publications with 's six titles—including The Village Voice, , and SF Weekly—forming a chain of 17 free weeklies with a combined weekly audited circulation of 1.8 million copies and annual revenues of about $180 million. The resulting entity adopted the name , with New Times founders Michael Lacey assuming the role of executive editor and Jim Larkin serving as CEO, centralizing control from Phoenix. The merger integrated advertising sales through New Times' Ruxton Media Group, which represented the full portfolio nationally and handled classifieds, including the emerging platform launched by in 2004. Operationally, pursued efficiencies via shared resources and standardized practices across its markets, emphasizing under Lacey's editorial oversight. However, the shift from 's New York-centric, countercultural ethos to New Times' more aggressive, chain-driven model sparked internal resistance, with critics attributing a perceived dilution of the flagship paper's voice to imposed cost-cutting and editorial uniformity. Post-merger staff changes at The Village Voice were extensive and immediate. Publisher Judith Miszner resigned in January 2006, shortly after regulatory approval of the deal, followed by the retirement of veteran editor Don Forst. Layoffs ensued, and by October 2006, prominent contributors such as music critic and arts editor Eric Weissman had departed, citing with the new management's priorities. These exits reflected broader tensions, as New Times' founders—known for Pulitzer Prize-winning exposés on public corruption—imposed a harder-edged reporting style that clashed with the Voice's established liberal, arts-focused identity, leading to accusations of corporate overreach. From 2006 to 2011, maintained its portfolio amid declining print ad revenues industry-wide, relying on classifieds revenue—particularly from , which generated over $3 million monthly by 2012—and digital expansions. The company faced antitrust scrutiny resolved by divestitures in overlapping markets but achieved scale through Ruxton's national ad network. On September 24, 2012, divested its print and digital publishing assets—including 13 alt-weeklies—to a group led by executives Scott Tobias and , who established Voice Media Group as a Denver-headquartered entity backed by . Lacey and Larkin retained sole ownership of .com, separating it from the newspapers amid mounting legal and public pressure over its classifieds facilitating . The sale terms were not publicly disclosed, marking the end of the merged entity's control over the core publications.

Key Controversies

Backpage.com and Sex Trafficking Facilitation

Village Voice Media (VVM), the parent company of The Village Voice from 2006 until 2012, operated Backpage.com, a classified advertising website launched in 2004 that featured an "adult" section predominantly used for prostitution-related postings. This section accounted for a significant portion of VVM's , with industry analysts estimating approximately $22.7 million annually from adult services advertisements as of 2011. By 2012, Backpage's adult ads alone generated at least $28.9 million in the preceding year, underscoring the financial dependence on such content. Critics, including U.S. Representatives Carolyn Maloney and Jerrold Nadler, condemned Backpage in a May 7, 2012, letter to VVM executives, labeling it "the single busiest online marketplace for the sexual trafficking of minors and trafficking victims anywhere in the United States" and demanding its shutdown to halt profiting from exploitation. Multiple civil lawsuits during this period accused Backpage of facilitating sex trafficking, with underage plaintiffs alleging the platform knowingly enabled their prostitution by designing posting rules that induced such activity and failing to adequately curb illicit ads despite awareness of the risks. Federal prosecutors later documented that Backpage generated over $500 million in prostitution-related revenue from its inception through 2018, much of it during VVM's ownership, supporting claims of systemic facilitation through lax moderation practices that allowed euphemistic language and reposted ads to proliferate. VVM maintained that Backpage employed human moderators to review ads for illegal content and that eliminating adult categories would merely drive trafficking underground without addressing root causes, as stated in a 2011 defense amid mounting pressure from attorneys general. However, state attorneys general in August 2011 demanded proof of effective anti-trafficking measures, citing persistent of underage exploitation on the site. The controversy intensified internal tensions, contributing to the resignation of The Village Voice editor-in-chief on September 14, 2012, amid broader newsroom turmoil and downsizing linked to the Backpage backlash. Facing escalating scrutiny, VVM restructured in September 2012 by selling its newspaper assets—including The Village Voice—to a management-led group forming Voice Media Group, while founders Michael Lacey and retained independent control of .com. This separation effectively distanced the journalistic properties from the site's operations, though continued until federal authorities seized it on April 6, , indicting its executives for and facilitating on a massive scale.

Ideological Criticisms and Internal Newsroom Issues

The Village Voice drew ideological criticisms for its pronounced left-wing , with evaluators classifying it as skewing left due to editorial positions favoring progressive causes and routinely critiquing conservative figures or policies. Detractors, including conservative commentators, contended that the paper's advocacy-oriented journalism—blending reportage with moral crusades—eroded factual detachment by framing issues in binary terms of oppressors versus victims, such as portraying the solely as imperialist aggression without exploring strategic trade-offs or depicting urban rent controls as unalloyed goods while ignoring their role in landlord disinvestment. This approach, while innovative in challenging narratives during the era, was blamed for influencing subsequent generations of reporters to prioritize ideological narratives over balanced analysis, contributing to perceived declines in across . Internally, the newsroom exhibited persistent ideological fault lines, fostering a fractious environment where contributors clashed over political purity and coverage priorities. A notable rift pitted radical separatist , whose writings faced accusations of and , against civil libertarian , a critic who opposed , advocated socially conservative positions on select issues like free speech absolutism, and endorsed the 2003 —highlighting tensions between black nationalist fringes and more eclectic liberal individualists within the staff. Similar divides surfaced in AIDS reporting, where Hentoff pushed for mandatory testing and professional repercussions for those refusing disclosure, conflicting with empathetic stances from reporters like Robert Massa who emphasized patient privacy and destigmatization. These tensions occasionally escalated into personal confrontations, as in 1984 when black columnist and gay letters editor Ron Plotkin engaged in a shouting match outside editorial director Kit Rachlis's office over disputed edits, veering perilously close to exchanges laced with racial and homophobic undertones. The paper's perceived anti-Israel bias, noted by some readers and staff amid coverage, further strained relations between political writers and cultural sections, with the latter viewing the former's activism as overly dogmatic. Ownership transitions amplified these issues; following the 1985 sale to new publisher David Schneiderman, staff debated the paper's evolution, with some urging expansion into business and to attract younger readers (under 25, per Scarborough Research surveys showing an aging audience) while others resisted diluting its radical ethos, culminating in one of the most bitter internal periods in its history. Such disputes underscored a core newsroom dynamic: a commitment to that often turned inward, prioritizing ideological combat over cohesive operations.

Decline, Transformations, and Legacy

On August 22, 2017, The Village Voice announced the cessation of its print edition after 62 years of weekly publication, transitioning to a digital-only format to redirect resources toward online operations. The decision, made by owner Peter D. Barbey, reflected broader industry pressures including plummeting print advertising revenue and the rise of consumption, which had eroded the economic viability of physical distribution. The final print issue appeared on September 21, 2017, featuring on the cover as a nod to the paper's countercultural roots. Post-transition, the publication maintained its website for content delivery, aiming to sustain , arts criticism, and local reporting through web-based advertising and subscriptions, though staff reductions accompanied the shift. Despite the pivot, the digital model proved unsustainable amid ongoing financial losses; by August 31, 2018, Barbey shuttered operations entirely, citing "intractable financial problems" and the harsh economics confronting independent outlets. This closure marked the end of The Village Voice as an active entity until later revival attempts, underscoring the challenges of monetizing digital alternatives for legacy alt-weeklies reliant on print-era revenue streams.

Recent Developments and Revival Efforts (2018–2025)

In August 2018, The Village Voice discontinued the production of new content, retaining only a minimal staff to maintain its online archives amid ongoing financial losses from declining circulation and advertising revenue. The publication, then owned by Peter D. Barbey, had already shifted to digital-only operations following the end of print distribution in September 2017, but these measures failed to achieve sustainability. The outlet was acquired in December 2020 by media entrepreneur Brian Calle, chief executive of Street Media and owner of the Los Angeles Weekly, who outlined plans to revive its digital presence starting in January 2021 and introduce quarterly print editions shortly thereafter. Calle hired R.C. Baker, a former Voice editor, as senior editor to coordinate content and emphasized rehiring alumni to preserve the publication's irreverent tone and focus on New York culture, politics, and investigative reporting. The website relaunched in January 2021, followed by the first print issue on April 17, 2021—the publication's initial physical edition since 2017—distributed free at newsstands and featuring contributions from returning writers such as Ross Barkan on the New York mayoral race, Eileen Markey on landlord practices, and on Oscar predictions. Musto characterized the content as capturing the Voice's historical spirit, though some journalists voiced reservations about Calle's leadership given prior staff reductions at his other properties. Initial plans called for four print issues annually, with aspirations to increase frequency to monthly. By 2025, The Village Voice maintained an active online presence with regular publications, including new articles on topics like pop culture events such as the . To mark its 70th anniversary on October 26, 2025, the outlet initiated a year-long series highlighting archival and seminal pieces from its history, underscoring efforts to blend legacy content with contemporary output while sustaining digital operations under Calle's ownership. Social media engagement remained consistent, promoting coverage of New York life and cultural commentary.

Cultural and Journalistic Impact

The Village Voice shaped alternative by introducing a format that prioritized investigative depth, cultural critique, and coverage of underrepresented voices, serving as the prototype for alt-weeklies across the . Launched on October 26, 1955, it diverged from establishment media by focusing on Greenwich Village's bohemian milieu, local politics, and emerging social movements, thereby influencing the rise of independent urban weeklies that challenged mainstream narratives with unvarnished reporting. Its journalistic impact extended to fostering rigorous criticism and exposés, particularly in areas like civil rights, , and corruption, where it amplified stories ignored by dailies; for instance, it provided early, sustained attention to African American and Latino community issues, filling gaps in national coverage. The paper's allowed contributors to pursue adversarial , producing influential pieces on topics from police brutality to artistic innovation, which trained and launched careers for figures who later defined investigative standards in outlets like and . Culturally, the Voice documented and propelled New York City's countercultural evolution from the 1960s Beat scene through 1970s punk and hip-hop origins, offering platforms for artists, filmmakers, and musicians that mainstream press overlooked. It was instrumental in popularizing genres like rap by providing the first dedicated coverage, such as articles on block parties in the late 1970s, and addressed the starting in 1981 with frontline reporting that pressured public health responses. The publication's music section, under critics like , elevated rock and pop analysis to intellectual discourse, with the annual poll—debuting in 1971 and aggregating votes from hundreds of critics—emerging as a pre-internet standard for gauging artistic consensus, influencing industry awards and listener tastes for decades. This dual legacy, however, reflected the Voice's evolution from eclectic provocateur to a more ideologically aligned voice by the , where its emphasis on stylistic flair sometimes overshadowed factual rigor, contributing to broader critiques of alternative media's drift toward over . Nonetheless, its role in democratizing cultural commentary—through reader contributions and classifieds that networked underground scenes—enduringly modeled how print could capture urban dynamism and dissent.

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