Beginning next month, the Village Voice you hold in your hands will be noticeably different. Here's the way they'll try to spin it: The entire paper will have the potential to be in color, and the pages will be stapled to keep them from falling out. What will get buried under those changes: The physical size of the paper is being reduced from 12 to 11 inches. Okay, the VV isn't ignoring the change; they're just calling it a more "convenient" size to hold.
When a prominent white man is surprised when there’s backlash after he calls his dead journalist friend a nigger at a Society for Professional Journalists gathering, we all really need to step back an analyze what is going on in this country. Michael Lacey, the co-owner of the alternative newspaper chain behind the Village Voice and all the various incarnations of New Times papers, called Tom Fitzpatrick, the late Pulitzer Prize winner, a nigger and gave a speech peppered with vulgar phrases while accepting an award at an SJP ceremony in Phoenix.
Here’s his apology:
Somehow Village Voice editors convinced Michael Musto it would be a good idea to reimagine Lindsay Lohan's insta-classic New York magazine photo shoot by having its own gossip columnist vamp for the camera. Shockingly, the idea turned out to be not half bad: Naked Musto isn't entirely as unappealing as some thought. CONTINUED »
A naked Lindsay Lohan caused New York magazine's website traffic and newsstand sales to spike, so just imagine what a naked Michael Musto will do for the Village Voice's numbers. Musto, the weekly's longtime gossip columnist, will spoof Lohan's Marilyn Monroe photo shoot "posed in a blond wig, biting at a pink scarf." Shame they already give VV away for free, 'cause that paper is gonna fly off the freebie kiosks like, well, the Learning Annex's course listing. [P6]
From: Musto, Michael
Sent: Monday, January 28, 2008 2:35 PM
To: [redacted]
Subject:Hi, all. Please click on my daily blog. You don't even have to read
it–just click on it!Love, Michael Musto
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/dailymusto/
Bobbing for pageviews, are we?
In today's Marketwatch, our favorite slow-to-catch-on media columnist Jon Friedman puts his (cough) credibility on the line to vouch for Howard Kurtz, who's taken a beating in the press (and on unimportant media blogs) over that plagiarism kerfuffle and subsequent cover-up attempt. To prove his point—by making a flimsy unrelated one—Friedman commends Gawker's recent addition Maggie Shnayerson on her top notch, behind-the-scenes reporting.
Writes Friedman:
The biggest flap occurred when Gawker's Maggie Shnayerson did some terrific fact-checking and revealed that Kurtz's work contained a passage that had originally appeared in David Blum's 2004 book on "60 Minutes."
We're sure the fact that the enterprising Maggie used to WORK FOR BLUM at The Village Voice (a possibly-related factoid she readily discloses in her coup!) had absolutely nothing to do w/ that "terrific fact-checking."*
Picked up a copy of the Village Voice lately? Based on their latest circulation estimates, we're guessing not. But you should! Lest you miss out on this wordy (and surprisingly entertaining) profile on Laurel Touby, sometimes-drunk and founder of the suddenly lucrative website, Mediabistro.com.
So, sit back, read and watch as Touby transforms from geek to almost-chic before your eyes. Marvel in her gradual transition from uninvited wannabe-journalist to frizzy-haired, boa-wearing sort-of journalist. Smile as Touby's own friends describe her as "not cool" and make fun of her snorting, chortle-laugh and Sally Jessy Raphael spectacles.
And cry as you realize that, even if you ditch your colored contacts for coke-bottle glasses, cultivate a Steve Urkel inspired laugh and start prancing around in a feathered boa, no one will ever turn around and offer you a check for $23 million.
Former Village Voice editor and maybe-racist David Blum has recently been named as the EIC of the (also) fledgling New York Press.
His first objective?
"To compete more vigorously with the Voice."
Translation: To act out some sort of crazy revenge-fantasy against the assholes who fired him six months into the job, leaked details of his low tolerance for black people and generally left his professional reputation in tatters.
Fortunately for the not-at-all-still-bitter Blum, trash-talking the Voice is pretty much the New York Press' sole raison d'etre.
• Wunderkind publisher Jared Kushner often works on the Lord's Day. Possibly because he's Jewish, definitely because he's "motivated."
• Conrad Black fraud trial to start this week. Which is great, cause we haven't had a media circus since the days of Scooter Libby and Anna Nicole!
• David Carr quietly wonders whether Village Voice might be slightly better off if its editorial director weren't a "hayseed" living in Phoenix.
• Would U.S. News make up fake data in its college rankings? And if so, would it target those "hot artsy chicks" over at Sarah Lawrence?
CONTINUED »
Since the Village Voice doesn't exactly have a media beat of its own these days, there was little place else to break the news of the indie-but-not-really paper's new chief: the Observer's supposed-to-be-revamped-but-not-really website. Michael Calderone chimes in that 11-year New Times veteran Tony Ortega is taking over for David Blum, who was fired on Friday.
Ah, the Village Voice. Making news faster than it breaks news.
The Village Voice's fearless leader was sent packing this past Friday afternoon after only six months on the job. David Blum, who has previously taken heat for predominantly hiring white, Columbia J-school alums, was reportedly dismissed for tarnishing the Voice's sterling reputation,** and for making an off-color remark at Wednesday staff meeting.
Gawker first broke the story late Friday afternoon, which was confirmed by Mediabistro after the Village Voice issued a statement, citing "concerns about the management of the paper" as the reason behind Blum's dismissal.
And while it still remains to be determined whether Blum was terminated for his racism, inefficacy or merely his"alleged" partiality to Morningside Heights, all parties seem to agree on one thing, namely: the Voice is only good for "really, really long subway rides." And, of course, the sex column.
The official statement (and Blum's unconfirmed racist remarks) after the jump!
**Seriously!
CONTINUED »
• Eddie Murphy addresses rumors that he's obnoxious and difficult to work with by sulking over his Oscar loss and storming out of the awards show.
Al Gore may have won the Oscar for An Inconvenient Truth. But how long until Bush demands a recount?
• Djimon Hounsou to take off his pants for Calvin Klein.
• The Village Voice gets itself a brand new Managing Editor; the Sun loses one of its most valued readers contributors.
• Diddy's twelve year old son enjoys a sleazy lap-dance four or five years before it's even "borderline acceptable."
• It turns out the Bob Woodruff story also features the less-interesting narratives of a bunch of non-famous war veterans.
• Judith Regan enjoys fasting and impromptu 21-day liquid diets, as well as publishing hypothetical tell-alls by not-so-hypothetical killers.
• The Village Voice is reportedly having trouble convincing anyone that they should work for The Village Voice.
• Slate offers the Sulzbergers free advice on how to "take the NYT private." In exchange; Slate requests bi-annual invites to the Sulzberger mansion and 2 years free membership to Times Select.
• Heroes may have used its superpowers to save NBC president Jeff Zucker's job.
• YouTube to share its revenues with You, possibly giving You that extra monetary incentive to illegally record Saddam Hussein's execution on your cell phone cam.
• Bill Gates says "with tv, in five years, people will laugh at what we've had." Related: Bill Gates' sense of humor reportedly 'almost as funny' as binary code.
Just nine months on the job, David Schneiderman has resigned his position as president of Village Voice Media, a gig he fell into during the merger with New Times. Poster Boy Keith Kelly, only able to weigh in twice weekly, arrives this morning with the details of how the exit went down.
However, few expected him to stay for long as he was clearly a man without a power base. He was given the job of exploring Web opportunities for the company, an area in which he had scant expertise. Even after he immersed himself in the new role, it didn't impress the new cowboys from Phoenix.
"The new guys held him in complete disregard," said one insider. It got so bad that one source said that while Schneiderman was in New Orleans recently delivering a presentation on the company's Web progress, Larkin made a point of taking out a newspaper and reading it while Schneiderman spoke.
And here we have it, folks. Just like Tom Freston, we lose Schneiderman for missing out on MySpace. Let's just add that to the tally of 28 previous also-rans, shall we?
VOICE BOSS GAGGED [Keith Kelly, NYP]
In the midst of the Village Voice's hacking half its masthead, it almost slipped our mind that David Blum was starting at the alt-weekly next week. And yesterday, at 3 pm, the remaining Voice staffers gathered somberly into the office to hear, from their new EIC, what the hell the pub plans to do with itself.
Today, six days before his official Sept. 12 start date, Blum told the remaining staff that no more layoffs were in the works, and that any future dismissals would go through him, according to a staffer present at the meeting.
"I felt it was important for them to hear from me," Blum said.
As in, Voice staffers better start kissing Blum's ass. It's up to him now who stays and who goes, and, uh, future dismissals sound kind of inevitable. Though, they're also hiring … so if you're really looking for some unemployment to go on vacation with these holidays, this is the best place to apply.
Voice Editor Blum, "Union Guy," Meets Underlings Today, Overlings Tomorrow [Michael Calderone, Media Mob]
Editorial Director
