When the New York Press was sold to Manhattan Media in early August, the new CEO announced the paper would stop running "explicit" ads. The National Organization for Women and some op-ed writers took that opportunity to put more pressure on the Voice and New York magazine to also stop running the ads. The Voice "fired back by defiantly running eight naked ladies on the cover" a few weeks ago, the New York Observer reports. Editor Tony Ortega tells the Observer that the cheeky cover was his idea. "The subject of our adult ads has been brought up lately in the local press," Ortega says. "I thought the best response from the newsroom was to poke some fun at ourselves." Manhattan Media CEO Tom Allon tells the Observer that, while he thinks "the punchline was only clear to a small sliver of their readership," he's glad to have stirred up the attention. "Clearly it was a nod to us and to our decision," he says. "I was flattered that they thought that a decision we made warranted a Voice cover."

Continue ReadingThe Village Voice Playfully Responds to Criticism on Adult Ads

"I'm writing to announce my impending departure from the Missoula Independent after five lovely years," Brad Tyer writes in a farewell email to colleagues. Tyer joined the Independent in 2002 after spending time elsewhere in the alt-weekly universe, including the Texas Observer, Houston Press, and Willamette Week. "As much as I've enjoyed working in newsrooms, especially this one, I'm also looking forward to seeing what the world looks like through a non-alt-weekly lens for the first time since -- my God -- 1991," he says. Tyer, who expects to leave no later than Oct. 4, says he will stay in Missoula and continue writing.

Continue ReadingMissoula Independent Editor to Leave Paper