Appears the Village Voice is going conservative/right wing. WTF?

[Robbien]

Schanberg -- explaining why he left the Voice -- quotes a definition of the new editorial line given by the new owner, Mike Lacey, to an editorial staff meeting: "He said, 'If I want to read regular criticism or bashing of the Bush administration, I'll read the New York Times. I don't want it in this paper.'”

I just read this at Doug Ireland's blog
http://direland.typepad.com/direland/2006/04/village_voice_f.html#trackback

First PBS and now the Voice and the LAWeekly.

Again
:wtf:

[frazzledmom]

1. Unbelievable...

If this idiot thinks he's going to increase readership by going conservative he's nuts. MIght as well change the name now...

[eleny]

4. Yeah - Name it: "The Village Mfghnmph"

[eleny]

2. Amy Goodmann covered this topic yesterday on Democracy Now

Try and see the video. There was a journalist that got fired from the Voice and one who quit in protest of the firing. It was a good round table discussion.

[Synnical]

5. :-)

Video at link I posted just below. I saw the show, too. It was a good, one. Not that all the shows aren't good . . . :hi:

[Robbien]

7. And one of them was the one from Cambodia's Killing Fields fame !!

I didn't catch the Democracy Now Report and am glad/sorry I caught the news over at Direland.

How do they expect to keep readership. There are so many conservative papers out there already why would the rightwing start picking up the Voice?

[eleny]

10. To shut down another voice of the left

:shrug:

[Synnical]

3. Democracy Now! did a segment on this yesterday

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/04/13/145245

Thursday, April 13th, 2006
Village Voice Shakeup: Top Investigative Journalist Fired, Prize-Winning Writers Resign Following Merger with New Times Media

We focus on the shakeup at the Village Voice, where one of the paper's top investigative reporters was fired and two of its prize-winning writers resigned following a merger with the New Times Media - a chain of weekly newspapers based in Phoenix. In this week's issues, about 20 staffers wrote an open letter protesting the dismissal of James Ridgeway - the paper's Washington correspondent and one of its chief investigative reporters covering national news. Ridgeway had written for the paper for over 30 years. We speak with Ridgeway as well as Village Voice reporters Nat Hentoff, Tom Robbins, Sydney Schanberg - who recently resigned from the paper - and two reporters who have been following the story closely, Mark Jacobson and Tim Redmond.

It sucks - I adore Tom Ridgeway!

[monarch]

6. That is very scary

Nobody is that dumb.

[villager]

8. the LA Weekly? I don't read it regularly anymore, since Ventura

left... but still, I've scarcely noticed a rightwing drift in their editorial direction...

[Robbien]

11. Wait. It has just changed ownership this month

Soon you will be seeing plenty of red.

[villager]

20. ah, shit. It won't even be worth "free" then...

n/t

[alphafemale]

9. There will be massive subscription cancellations I think.

Of course, the ultimate motivation may just be to kill it.

[valerief]

13. That sounds about right. n/t

[0007]

14. Hope the schmuck goes belly up!

[Synnical]

12. From E&P - The New Village Voice

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002158414

'Village Voice' Editor Departs--Partly Fabricated Story the Cause?

By E&P Staff

Published: March 14, 2006 5:30 PM ET

NEW YORK Two weeks after publishing an article that contained fabricated anecdotes, the acting editor of New York's alternative The Village Voice has left the paper.

The newspaper has not said whether he quit or was fired, or how closely it was related to the bogus material in the March 1-7 cover story written by Nick Sylvester

Ward Harkavy, senior editor, takes over as interim editor.

The fabricated material featured a TV writer's experience trying to pick up women at a bar. The screenwriter threatened a lawsuit. Sylvester was suspended, and the Voice apologized for "shoddy journalism."

It's just the latest earthquake at the paper. The Voice's editor in chief for nine years, Don Forst, quit in December. Publisher Judy Miszner resigned in January.

[Hissyspit]

26. kicked and recommended

[blogslut]

15. Sad

When I first read the Voice was sold, I worried about its future as the last righteous publication in America. Damn fucking damn.

[serryjw]

19. I just heard this from a friend 1 hour ago

How can we have a voice when the Village Voice is gone? They don't care if it doesn't survive in it's NEW form as long as it doesn't survive in it's OLD form :cry:

[NJCher]

16. Shakeout

Bet it has more to do with the shakeout in newspapers due to digital media.

Still. Nat Hentoff?

He was an institution at the Voice.




Cher

[Southsideirish]

17. I won't read it anymore. nt

[Hardrada]

18. Beatniks out to make it rich...

[robertarctor]

21. Lacey is part of Team Rove

I worked for one of his henchmen, who was hired as a stalking horse to see if the owner might sell to Lacey's evil McWeekly chain (he didn't). These assclowns are total sub-rosa Republican operatives.

[Robbien]

22. Do you know if that team is involved in the sale of Knight Ridder?

Keeping my fingers crossed hoping they aren't going to be one of the new owners.

[Blue_Tires]

23. i think it's still McClatchy

[robertarctor]

25. McClatchy does dailies. Village Media (formerly New Times) does weeklies.

The McClatchy deal is a whole 'nother animal. Some wingnuts on the Knight-Ridder board forced the chain to sell. McClatchy bought K-R, then turned around and flipped some papers like the Inquirer and Mercury-News.

[bobbieinok]

24. sale + poss RW tilt was discussed in DU a while back