July 10, 2007
For Immediate Release

Veteran journalist Matt Smith will be the new managing editor at City Pages, Village Voice Media announced today. He replaces Michael Tortorello, who is resigning to pursue other interests.

Smith has nearly twenty years of experience as an editor and writer for major city and regional magazines. He is the former managing editor of VVM’s SF Weekly in San Francisco, and before that held positions as news editor of the Los Angeles Times magazine, senior editor of California magazine (owned by Texas Monthly), and associate editor of New West (a sister publication of New York magazine). For several years he made his living as a freelance editor and writer, and he served for six years as the fundraising director of a non-profit employment agency for homeless people in Los Angeles.

“I’m really looking forward to working at City Pages and returning to Village Voice Media,” said Smith. “One of the things I like best about alt-weeklies is that there are no restrictions on the stories you can tell. You can write about anything from hard news to the arts, as long as it’s a good read. And I know there are a lot of good stories to tell in the Twin Cities.”

“I’m thrilled that Matt will be joining the paper,” said City Pages editor Kevin Hoffman. “He’s a consummate professional, and we’re lucky to have found someone with his talent and experience to work with our staff.”

Smith has lived in the Twin Cities since 2002. Before his move to City Pages, he worked as a public and media relations specialist for Twin Cities Public Television. He lives in St. Paul.

Smith takes the chair as managing editor on Monday, July 16.