Gothamist reports:
Three years after buying The Village Voice, and a year after the paper shut down its print edition, owner Peter Barbey told the remaining staff today that the publication will no longer be posting any new stories.
“Today is kind of a sucky day,” Barbey told the staff, according to audio obtained by Gothamist. “Due to, basically, business realities, we’re going to stop publishing Village Voice new material [sic].”
Barbey said that half of the staff, which is around 15 to 20 people, will remain on to “wind things down,” and work on a project to archive the Voice’s material online. The rest of the staff will be let go today.
I was happy to keep writing for the site, including my recent Aretha Franklin obit, but the owner has announced there will be no new content. I hope it gets sold and stay alive. https://t.co/6wqT0mDFUg
— michael musto (@mikeymusto) August 31, 2018
"stays alive." God, I'm turning into Trump.
— michael musto (@mikeymusto) August 31, 2018
How the Village Voice—which ceased editorial operations today—changed journalism. https://t.co/t3ZTV7bkm8
— The New Yorker (@NewYorker) August 31, 2018
Legendary Voice writer Jill Johnston got her start in art criticism thanks to an @ARTnewsmag slight of Jackson Pollock: https://t.co/l0U7ccZ9jG
— The Village Voice (@villagevoice) August 31, 2018
This is a tragedy, and it hurts my heart. This is where I started my professional writing life and where I met brilliant writers – and many friends – too numerous to mention. The Village Voice ends editorial production, lays off half of staff https://t.co/dglQHotfKk via @cjr
— Manohla Dargis (@ManohlaDargis) August 31, 2018