Village Voice Faces Hostile Take Over

Well maybe nothing that dramatic.

The Village Voice Media will be merging with New Times to create the largest alternative newspaper network. There are, of course, concerns about the papers content that CEO David Schneiderman addressed in a company memo, stating:

I am sure most of you are aware of the bizarre charge that this merger will mark the end of alternative journalism. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Both Village Voice Media and New Times have earned a reputation for producing first-rate journalism. Both companies support and encourage their journalists to expose corruption, hypocrisy and incompetence wherever they find it. It defies logic to assert that those traditions will be undermined or abandoned as a result of this merger. In fact, I fully expect them to be strengthened.

Having read the Dallas Observer, which is a publication of New Times Media, for most of my teenage years, I was already convinced that the two were already an item. Though I understand the need for alarm and concern because the word corporate and merger are being used, having actually seen a New Times Media paper I’m not sure if the change will be that drastic. The papers produced by New Times are also free, and run on ads. Critics argue that the New Times papers tend to have a more neutral approach than papers such as the Village Voice, I suggest checking out an article for yourself.