During an interview before his SXSW keynote address with Wired editor Chris Anderson, Kawasaki says that he's been told that Village Voice Media papers are "doing quite well." The web publishing entrepreneur uses that example to say he doesn't believe all newspapers face the decision to charge for content or go under. "It's something to look at. It can be done," he says. "I don't think it's a situation where everything is going to die."
The State Bar has dismissed the final two complaints pending against Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, including one about his handling of the 2007 investigation of Phoenix New Times that ended with the arrests of Village Voice Media executive editor Michael Lacey and CEO Jim Larkin. "No one in their right mind has ever looked to the Arizona Bar as a beacon of courage, and it has certainly upheld its longstanding reputation with this dismissal today," Larkin says.
The Simpsons creator and longtime alt-weekly cartoonist tells CNN that, after 22 years, "Life in Hell" is being dropped by its flagship paper. The cut is part of Village Voice Media's suspension of all syndicated cartoons. Groening hints he's thinking of discontinuing the cartoon. "I'm still in a bunch of other papers, so I may continue to do my strip," he says, "but it doesn't look good."
Among the 43 attorneys that California Lawyer magazine gave California Lawyer Attorneys of the Year Awards to are the three lawyers who worked the Bay Guardian's predatory-pricing case against SF Weekly and Village Voice Media. Ralph Alldredge, Rich Hill and Craig Moody "deftly made the case" for the Guardian, California Lawyer says in a press release.
VVM's digital publishing strategy has been in the news quite a bit lately, whether it was the company's partnership with a social-networking site or its use of Digg to help drive traffic to its stories. Chief operating officer Scott Tobias and web and digital operations director Bill Jensen spoke with AAN News this week about where the paper is going with web publishing. They tell us that digital is a growth area for VVM, both in terms of pageviews and revenue, and they talk about new projects like geo-targeted ads and a national food website.
Tom Tomorrow broke the news yesterday on his blog that the ailing economy is forcing Village Voice Media to suspend publication of syndicated cartoons "at least through the rest of the first quarter, and quite possibly beyond." City Pages editor Kevin Hoffman tells the Minnesota Independent he expects some reader backlash, but says the suspension is part of an effort to "trim where we can while inflicting the least damage -- realizing that we're already cutting bone." MORE: Syndicated cartoonists Jen Sorensen and Derf weigh in.
"(VVM) ... is using a social-networking company it owns to erode the wall between editorial content and advertising by promoting its advertisers under the guise of community buzz," reports The Stranger. The Seattle alt-weekly made the claim after scouring the user-generated reviews on the Yelp-like LikeMe.net and purportedly discovering that a majority were thumbs-up recommendations written by VVM ad staff. But in a response posted on Seattle Weekly's website, VVM says its employees posted the reviews to "test drive" the new site, which had yet to be officially announced, and that the number of posts do not constitute a majority. VVM also notes that earlier reports that it owns a controlling interest in the new "local recommendation engine" are erroneous.
In an interview with New England Ethnic News, Brad Mindich explains why, when other media companies are slashing staff, he thought buying Boston's El Planeta newspaper was a good move. "This is a good niche product that expands what we do," he says, adding that the new acquisition will retain complete editorial control but will share content with the group's other titles when it makes sense. When asked why Phoenix Media chose El Planeta over other Spanish-language publications, Mindich says: "If you look at the other Hispanic newspapers published in this area, with all due respect, they are not very good." That comment has raised the ire of said publications.
In a Dec. 31 memo to all Village Voice Media staffers, CEO Jim Larkin and executive editor Michael Lacey say "this year we have found it necessary to make staff reductions and have placed all staff openings on hold." The memo also details "additional measures" being taken by the company to weather the current economy storm. All VVM senior managers and officers (including Larkin and Lacey) are taking 15 percent pay cuts, all publishers and editors are taking 10 percent pay cuts, and VVM is suspending its match into the company's 401(k) plan. MORE: Westword loses three editorial staffers, The Pitch lays off several, City Pages parts ways with two, and New Times Broward-Palm Beach eliminates several positions.
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