The popular cartoonist, aka Dan Perkins, is asking his fans to sign a petition in support of returning his widely syndicated strip, "This Modern World," to the print edition of the Manhattan alt-weekly. Although the cartoon still appears online at villagevoice.com, Perkins reports via his blog that it was dropped from the paper "sometime in the last two or three months."

Continue ReadingSave Sparky: Tom Tomorrow Petitions Village Voice

The Stranger's Andrew Bleeker and Seattle Weekly's Gavin Borchert will compete with 10 other finalists in the championship round of the Seattle Spelling Bee on Jan. 8, reports Bleeker in the Stranger. The event is the culmination of six months of alcohol-drenched semi-finals. "Over the course of [the] monthly events, the Seattle Spelling Bee has inspired nerves and drinking in equal measure," writes Bleeker. "This is far from a two-horse race, though -- everyone in the finals has the chops to win. ... Hearts will break, honor will flourish, and at least one person will get spectacularly drunk."

Continue ReadingShowdown: Rival AAN Staff Writers Face-Off in Seattle Spelling Bee

Veteran photographer and frequent Voice contributor Fred McDarrah is currently displaying highlights from his life's work at the Steven Kasher Gallery, reports the Villager. The exhibit features 120 of McDarrah's iconic prints from the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, including portraits of downtown legends such as Allen Ginsberg (pictured), Andy Warhol, and Susan Sontag. "I remember every photograph, every single picture, I took in my entire life," says McDarrah, whose first job at the Voice was selling ads.

Continue ReadingVillage Voice Photographer’s Work Featured in Private Gallery Show

Jeff Koyen accuses the Village Voice's new editor of failing to reinvent the alt-weekly format in his first three months on the job. "I'm ashamed to admit that I was optimistic when Blum was hired to run the Village Voice," Koyen writes in the British daily Guardian. "Unfortunately, Blum is playing by the book." Koyen, who approves of the "cleaned house" that followed the Voice's acquisition by the New Times chain, formerly competed with the Manhattan alt-weekly when he worked for a number years at the New York Press, where he was editor from 2003 to 2005.

Continue ReadingKoyen: David Blum’s First 100 Days a Disappointment

The Phoenix staff writer is leaving Beantown to become yet another fresh face at the Village Voice, reports the Boston Herald. "Anyone who knows Camille realizes that going to NYC has been a long-time goal. Her exit reminds us of what it means to be bittersweet: glad for her, sad for us," writes Peter Kadzis in an internal Phoenix email, republished by the Herald. Dodero is the second employee to jump from the Boston alt-weekly to Village Voice Media. Former managing editor Bill Jensen recently departed to oversee Web operations for VVM.

Continue ReadingBoston Phoenix’s Camille Dodero to Join Village Voice

Just in time for the gift-guide season, the venerable alt-weekly has released "The Village Voice Film Guide: 50 Years of Movies From Classics to Cult Hits," edited by former Voice film critic Dennis Lim. The anthology includes reviews from every era of the paper's storied history, and includes contributions by Jonas Mekas, Oliver Stone and J. Hoberman.

Continue ReadingVillage Voice Releases Film-Crit Compendium

An article by the Kansas City alt-weekly alleging that Board of Public Utilities officials have racked up excessive meal and entertainment expenses has resulted in an internal ethics commission investigation, according to the local ABC affiliate. The Nov. 30 article, by Pitch reporter Justin Kendall, details how BPU administrators spent $15,000 on meals and entertainment in 2004 and 2005 -- including alcohol tabs at numerous sporting events. The story breaks during a time of public anger over the rising price of electricity and water in Kansas City. The BPU Ethics Commission is scheduled to review the allegations next month.

Continue ReadingThe Pitch Puts Public Utility Officials in Hot Water

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation has purchased full-page ads in this week's editions of The Village Voice and LA Weekly, alleging that Pfizer's marketing of Viagra encourages unsafe sex. The ads, which highlight the dangers of mixing the erectile-dysfunction treatment with methamphetamine, will also eventually be placed in publications in South Florida and San Francisco, according to the Associated Press.

Continue ReadingAIDS Org Critiques Pfizer in Alt-Weekly Ads

Voice art critic Jerry Saltz (pictured), dance critic Deborah Jowitt, and film critic J. Hoberman each took top honors in a poll of artists and industry insiders commissioned by Time Out New York and conducted by Samir Husni, chairman of the department of journalism at the University of Mississippi. Critics were rated in eight different categories; the Voice was the only New York publication to win three first-place awards.

Continue ReadingThe Village Voice Grabs Three Golds in NYC Critics Round-Up