Voices
MICHAEL
SIGMAN
HUFFINGTON
09.09.12
Whither
Alt
Weeklies?
A Reality
Check
THE LATEST WAVE of layoffs at
the Village Voice and its sister Village Voice Media (VVM) papers
LA Weekly, OC Weekly and Minneapolis City Pages has sparked renewed talk of impending doom for
the Voice and a flurry of “whither
alt weekly?” commentary.
The themes run the gamut:
“How Management Killed The
Village Voice,” “The End of Alternative Media,” “Are Alternative
Weeklies Toast?” and “Village
Voice Is Not Dead Yet.”
ILLUSTRATION BY LINCOLN AGNEW
The troubles at VVM echo the
dire straits of such other leading
alt weeklies as the Chicago
Reader, which was sold three
months ago for a song to the
owner of the daily Chicago
Sun-Times; the Boston Phoenix,
which is being replaced by
a glossy magazine called The
Phoenix; and the Atlanta-based
Creative Loafing chain, which
Michael
Sigman is
a writer/
editor, media
consultant
and the
president of
the music
publishing
company
Major Songs