Village Voice

There's news to report on the who's-paying-our-salary front: The Village Voice is now under new ownership.

Our parent company, Village Voice Media, has been sold to a group of the company's editors and publishers in a deal that includes the Voice and our 12 sister publications across the country. The deal does not include Backpage.com, which was previously owned by VVM, but will now be a separate company with separate owners.

The new company is called Voice Media Group, and will be headed by Chief Executive Officer Scott Tobias, who previously was VVM's chief operating officer. Christine Brennan, executive managing editor of VVM for the past 19 years, will become executive editor, and Jeff Mars, vice president of financial operations at VVM, will become chief financial officer.

"Voice Media Group will center its attention on the growth of the renowned weekly publications and continue its expansion into new and exciting mobile and online platforms," Tobias says. "We are focused on building a dynamic media business that allows our advertisers to target local audiences through multiple platforms. We will continue to offer advertisers a national footprint with hyper-local reach, and we will continue to provide high-caliber and comprehensive content to our readers."

In a letter to staff announcing the sale, VVM Executive Editor Mike Lacey says he and business partner Jim Larkin "never wished to be the last ones at this remarkable party."

"We started the company's first weekly, Phoenix New Times, in 1970 as a protest over the war in Vietnam and in reaction against the mainstream media," Lacey says. "Nothing about our attitude has changed."

Our new owners share that attitude and pledge a commitment to the intense local coverage and hard-hitting investigative journalism for which the Voice is known.