New York Magazine's lengthy feature asks: Can the "potty-mouthed new owner" make the legendary downtown paper "relevant again?" In a colorful interview, New Times' executive editor reveals his hopes "that the Voice employees would realize a union wasn’t necessary" and says that he likes "the arts coverage. But we’ve got to work on the front of the book." In response to charges of conservatism, Lacey argues that his "papers have butt-violated every goddamn politician who ever came down the pike" before concluding, "Of course, you want people who love the place, but this is a business that is based on performance. It isn’t a legacy." VVM CEO David Schneiderman and several present and former Voice staffers also offer their thoughts on changes at the paper.

Continue ReadingMichael Lacey Talks About the Village Voice

Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley calls a column by LA Weekly's Harold Meyerson and a letter to the editor of the Wall Street Journal written by New Times' Michael Lacey "self-interested positions staked out by those who are directly affected by this investigation." Cooley claims he reads LA Weekly "because it is a valuable news organ" and says New Times LA was "occasionally very funny, on occasion very insightful, on occasion very cruel." He argues that "It's wrong ... to attribute political motives to government agencies that are just doing their jobs. ... we're at the investigative stage. At the end of the exercise, there may be a determination that what's been uncovered falls short of establishing a violation of the law."

Continue ReadingLA Prosecutor Responds to Meyerson, Lacey

When you call us wealthy monopolist bullies, "(d)o you mean this in the positive sense of wealthy, monopolist bullies?" New Times' Michael Lacey asks the Wall Street Journal, which last week ran a commentary by Daniel Akst on the New Times-Village Voice Media antitrust investigation. In his letter to the editor, Lacey says the Justice Dept. "is trying to create legal theory with this ... probe", which he calls a "stunning grab for unprecedented federal power." In a separate letter, Dan Savage, editor of The Stranger (and AAN Editorial Awards Host-for-Life), says his paper was "distressed to be lumped in with other alternative weekly papers."

Continue ReadingLacey, Savage Respond to WSJ Commentary