neo-cons occupy Village Voice - shock and awe

[donsu]

http://www.sfbg.com/40/19/news_merger.html

Merger mania

Lacey to Voice staff: Drop dead

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The merger between the nation's two largest alternative newspaper chains was finally consummated Jan. 31, and the very next day, Mike Lacey, the new owner of the Village Voice, was in New York City giving the staff the facts of life.

Lacey met with Voice staffers Feb. 1, and, according to sources who were present at the meeting, announced that the Voice news section was too soft because it was full of commentary and criticism of the Bush administration. He said he didn't want any more commentary — just hard news and long-form human-interest stories.

He also insulted the entire news department by saying Voice reporters "need to stop being stenographers" and, the sources told the Guardian, warned the staff "to be ready to say goodbye to some of your friends."

When one participant said the description of the staff as "stenographers" was unfair, Lacey reportedly responded, "So, I'm unfair."

The Voice carried no news on the closure of the deal, which combines New Times Media and Village Voice Media. Scott Spear, senior vice president of the new company, announced the consummation of the merger in a terse release stating that the big chain will take the Village Voice Media name and publish alternative weeklies in 17 markets.
-snip-

PS Full disclosure: The Guardian is suing New Times (now VVM), the East Bay Express and SF Weekly, alleging that the chain is using predatory pricing to try to put an independent competitor out of business.
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so now we have another funeral to attend to

Village Voice, it was good to know you

if the media can sue each other, why can't we the people sue the media for withholding info and lying?

[JeffR]

1. RIP

Sad.
:(

[AX10]

2. How the HELL did this happen?

:wtf:?

[Leopolds Ghost]

10. It's been going on for years. Your local alt-weekly has been lying to you

About being "independent" for over a decade.

[EST]

3. Probably a good move-spend (throw away) some r/w money

Question: who used to read the Voice? Answer: progressives and "liberal subversives"
Question: who will now read the Voice? Answer: nobody.

Good move

[okieinpain]

7. a silent coup..... when they close the voice it will because reader

ship was down......

[Armstead]

4. Just anotehr example of why we should not keep ignoring mergermania

The consolidation of the economy into monopolistic concentrations is dealing a death blow to the United States on many levels.

And yet, we continue to ignore it as an issue.

Democrats shild have started challenging this trend years ago by restoring the use of anti-trust regulation. But there is no excuse to keep ignoring it now.

[MADem]

5. Well, maybe some youngsters will get off their asses and start a brand new

'underground' paper. The VV certainly were playing the corporate game with their executive salaries, at any rate. And the deal may get rescinded, though I would not hold my breath:

The US Justice Department signed off early on the deal, even though the two chains were caught in 2002 in an illegal market-allocation agreement (see "New Times Nailed," 1/29/03).

California attorney general Bill Lockyer is still investigating whether the merger could violate the consent decree the two companies signed to settle the 2002 antitrust charges and whether it will lessen competition in the state. A decision is expected shortly.

Meanwhile, documents obtained by us from a source close to the Village Voice show the New Times managers will inherit a company that, despite its progressive politics, has profound salary differentials between the executive and staff levels. While most staff writers earned between $40,000 and $50,000 in 2005, the records show, editor in chief Dan Forst, who recently left his job, was paid $324,567. While some classified sales reps and receptionists made less than $30,000, the outgoing publisher, Judy Miszner, made $238,702.

[politicat]

14. Compared to Insurance, Manufacturing?? That's a great differential!

That's only a 10x differential between average worker and Executive management.

Compared to the insurance industry, financial services, etc, where execs regularly make 300 and 500 times what their lowest paid employees make, the VV was a model of equality. Don't let New Times spin this.

[MADem]

15. Well, they weren't doing the spinning--and even if they were, it doesn't

matter anymore. The VV will be like New Coke, unless they do some serious investigative reporting. And I wouldn't count on it.

[AX10]

16. I must agree. A factor of 10 times for executive is not extreme.

[Loge23]

6. ...another management guru?

Sounds like Mr. Lacey attended the Genghis Khan School of Management.
Always a sound tactic to get staff "buy-in" to any radical changes ASAP. Mr. Lacey's off to a great start. Antagonize, threaten, insult, and then...crash and burn.
All readers of the Voice should know about this jerk.

[SmokingJacket]

8. Damn! That's tragic!

It was an excellent paper.

[Leopolds Ghost]

9. What, pray tell is an "alternative newspaper chain"

And why should I care when two of them merge?

Both chains have sucked for years. Guardians of the upper-class white
intelligentsia and gentrification in the name of "progressive urban
politics". And total, absolute hypocrites on all sorts of levels.
"Alternative", my ***. They are like the bodies of dead soldiers
occupied by Aliens in the movie of the same name. And they died back
in the 80's. That goes double for the Village Voice, the official
newspaper of Limousine Leninists.

The City Paper chain (I think owned by New Times) is even worse. At least mainstream newspapers look different from city to city! What kind of country is it where the "alternative" media is more homogeneous -- and more right wing, in a snarky, socially progressive, neoliberal sort of way -- than the MSM?

[Bushy Being Born]

11. If they kick Ward Sutton, I'm gonna throw a fit!

I'm sure I'm not alone here in finding his 'Sutton Impact' cartoons hilarious.

[DemGirl7]

17. You're not alone...I love Ward Sutton's cartoons

His "Sutton Impact" cartoons get right to the point, and are so true at the same time.

[OneBlueSky]

12. another alternative media voice silenced . . . RIP . . . n/t

.

[Initech]

13. God, I'm sick of the neocons not being able to take an ounce of criticism

I mean shit, they call US the crybabies! :grr:

[PhilipShore]

18. The News That's Not News

[applegrove]

19. "First we take Manhattan - then we take the World" Leonard Cohen

Actually - it is Berlin that they take second in the song.