0
So much for being the city that never sleeps. While we New Yorkers were busy barbecuing away the second-to-last weekend of the summer season, those mellow Northern Californians were actually breaking some big news. The San Francisco Bay Guardian has unearthed internal Village Voice Media documents outlining the long-alleged merger between VVM and its heretofore alt-weekly rival, the New Times chain.
The merger, which the Bay Guardian says is outlined in a draft agreement dated May 27 and is perhaps scheduled to close on Nov. 30 of this year, would create an 18-paper alt-weekly chain mostly controlled by the New Times side. And the news gets worse: "[I]n the end, at least four of the board members - and almost certainly more - will be venture capitalists," writes Bay Guardian executive editor Tim Redmond. "There may be as few as four directors who have any background in publishing or journalism.
On the upside, VVM CEO David Schneiderman will receive a $500,000 bonus for his work on the merger. Which we're sure his employees are thrilled to hear about, just after he unilaterally cut their piece fees by 20 to 45 percent.
Merger on the March [SFBG]
