It's unclear who instigated the move. But VVM didn't make life easy for Ochoa.

Critics say LA Weekly's quality began declining after it was merged into New Times (now VVM) in 2005. The alt-newspaper chain reportedly went over Ochoa's head in late 2006 to install an unpopular news editor.

There's no word yet on what Ochoa's next move is — and the Weekly has no replacement lined up.

UPDATE: Marc Cooper, a former LA Weekly senior editor now on faculty at USC, writes:

It was inevitable. Laurie defied laws of gravity for four years. She protected the little she could and kept the peace. When everyone was gone and she was no longer needed they disposed of her as well.

(Again, we haven't verified that this was VVM's decision.)

(Pic: Ochoa, right, celebrates a Pulitzer Prize for food critic Jonathan Gold, left. Via On The Media.)

"For those of us who are making work that requires a kind of intellectual conversation, we rely on that talk to do the work of getting people interested," said Mr. Rudin, who produced No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood, two Oscar-nominated and critically championed films last year. "All of the talk about No Country, all of the argument about the ending, kept that film in the forefront of the conversation" and helped it win the best picture Oscar. ...

Mr. Lacey added that the [New Times] chain still has five full-time film critics and that worrying about whether each city had its own critic seemed silly at a time when major metropolitan dailies can't afford to cover the presidential race. (The loss of a critic in New York, where some films see their only light of day, would seem to be more problematic.)

We, too, went on the record with Carr today to espouse our only slightly obvious belief in the power of the Web, where much of Rudin's beloved "intellectual conversation" actually took place and where old-schooler Lacey would do well to invest resources as opposed to slashing them. When "new media" like the Internet finally take off one of these days, we'd hate to see such progressive cultural pillars caught ill-prepared.

[Photo Credit: Getty Images]

• Now on the Endangered Species List: Movie Critics in Print [NYT]

What a neat clusterfuck! We're sure there's a chatroom somewhere on the web, maybe "DSBRD LWYRS 4 LUV," where they can go spend some time with former Duke-case-handling D.A. Mike Nifong.

Jack Shafer, who once worked for Lacey and Larkin and maintains a favorable opinion of the two, waggled his finger in Arizona's direction: "Never pick a fight with people who buy their whiskey by the truckload, their ink by the tanker, and their pixels at wholesale."

This morning, the state's largest newspaper, the Arizona Republic, went to court to ask that all filings in the case be unsealed. Their Sunday editorial explained that they're often "leery of New Times' style of free-for-all journalism. But, in this appalling overreach of government intrusion, both the New Times and the public were grievously wronged."

I'd shoot myself before I had anything like Julia Allison in this paper. What you're pitching sounds like the 256th version of Sex in the City, and that's so played out. I'm satisfied with the two sex columns I have now, and I really don't have room for additional columns at the moment. But thanks for thinking of us.

- Tony

Now, while I appreciate his distaste for a dating column and it being "played out" I don't think he had to take it to "shooting himself in the head" levels. I mean really!!! And while I did mention Julia Allison and the idea that, love her or hate her, she has readers, I wasn't pitching a column LIKE Julia's. I was pitching a relationship column that like Julia's, people would ACTUALLY READ, since I don't know ANY women who are reading the Voice these days. And like it or not, relationship columns are classic and people read them, even if only to make fun of them.

• Tina Brown's new book on Princess Diana will be excerpted in Vanity Fair. Perhaps this means her book party will be at the Waverly Inn. [ETP]
  
• Former Seattle Weekly writer Philip Dawdy responds to his credibility-questioners. [Furious Seasons]
  
• A middle-school principal in Bethlehem, PA was found naked in his office watching gay porn. He also had crystal meth and sex toys. No, it has nothing to do with New York or the media, but it's a fucking crazy story, okay? [MSNBC]
  
• Compiling the worst emails of all time. [ThinkBeforeYouSend]

The absolute best bit concerns the Seattle Weekly:

Another point cited in [new editor] Fefer's favor, though, is that he's more sophisticated than managing editor Mike Seely, who joined the paper after the merger and ran it between Berger's departure and Fefer's arrival. Seely, this former staffer complained, is "kind of a backwards-hat guy." Dawdy, too, is a vocal Seely critic, and references an e-mail exchange he had with Seely last October to bolster his case. The conversation began with Seely citing a story from the East Bay Express, the company's paper in Oakland, as an example of the kind of stuff he'd like from Dawdy, who specializes in mental-health issues. The article in question, by Lauren Gard, was on the link between the Internet and sex addiction. "One thing the writer hints at here are the tendency for massage parlors to double as hand-job factories or more," Seely wrote. "I'd love for someone to gauge whether this sort of thing is going on in Seattle."

Dawdy then mentioned knowing a therapist whose business consists largely of Internet-porn addicts working at Microsoft. Seely asked if the therapist would go on the record. Dawdy said it was doubtful, but that details could probably be gleaned from online chat rooms. To which Seely responded:
"yep. think it might be futile to start from there and simply replicate this story. frankly, if you were up to visiting some massage parlors to see if certain practitioners would finish you off, that's the sort of street-level expose i'd be up for running. but i'd never force you to do that."
Dawdy took a pass. A week later, he quit.

In an e-mail, Seely confirmed this exchange, but noted that Dawdy wrote a story on a Star Wars-loving, gay-porn-producing, suicide-committing Seattle-ite that ran that same month.

Less well-known, but equally telling, is the hostility [Village Voice Media executive editor Mike] Lacey and his lieutenants reportedly have for what they term "victim stories." Broadly speaking, these seem to be stories in which a member of some marginal group — the physically disabled, the mentally ill, the poor — is ill-used by a particular system or society at large. According to several current and former staffers, Lacey and his editors generally balk at these pieces unless something sets them apart, like a counterintuitive twist (victim as victimizer!) or plenty of lurid detail. So defined, "victim stories" were the specialty of Gonnerman, arguably the Voice's best young reporter before her resignation last year. They were also the stock in trade of Jarrett Murphy, who wrote extensively on poor neighborhoods for the Voice and recently left the paper. And they were the kind of pieces Dawdy frequently wrote for Seattle Weekly.

"Anything where there is an identifiable victim, or a little-guy hero, for lack of a better term — any story that has that kind of narrative arc — they hate on sight, without even reading it," argues Dawdy. "They consider it veritable socialism to get any little person's back. I'm not that ideological as a journalist, but sometimes you do end up in those places, and you end up writing those stories." "Nobody is willing to do these stories," adds a current VVM staffer.

In a weird way, this piece is kind of the ultimate "victim story": Who's more marginalized than alt-weekly journalists? Also? "Star Wars-loving, gay-porn-producing, suicide-committing Seattle-ite " should so be a T-shirt.

Culture war [Boston Phoenix]

It seems to us that's the implicit question raised in Gabe Sherman's thorough look at the ur-alt-weekly's recent tumult:

[Village Voice Media editorial chief Michael] Lacey made it clear that though his chain had bought The Voice, he didn't have much taste for the newspaper as it was constituted....

In a phone conversation, Mr. Lacey said that all the changes are designed to create space for more magazine-style reported pieces. Commentary, at least as currently practiced in The Village Voice, has no place in the New Times regime....

"All that chatter, all that blogging — it's people writing about what other people have reported. We can our wrap our hands around the throat of the beast, find out what happened, and give that to readers," he said. "It's fun. It's a kick-ass way to make a living. We have found a way for all the troublemakers at the back of the school bus to make a living. You want to sit in your room and ruminate? Not on my nickel."...

"The original Voice was an iconoclastic newspaper," said New Yorker media critic Ken Auletta, who covered city politics for The Voice in the early 70's. "Increasingly, the paper became predictable. You would pick up a headline and know what's in a story. Despite the fact it's now free, you'd walk by it and not read it because you'd know what's in it."...

Actual, unexpected, compelling, reported articles in the Voice? Perhaps from some fresh voices? That Lacey's a madman.

Can 'Village Voice' Make It Without Its Lefty Zetz [NYO]

Editor in chief wanted:

The Village Voice, America's flagship alternative weekly, is seeking an editor in chief to carry on the paper's storied tradition of investigative journalism, feature-length storytelling, and cutting-edge cultural criticism. Applicants should have a fine touch with copy, significant experience crafting stories in magazine style, and strong reporting chops. They should be able to help staff generate superior in-depth stories that explain how New York City works, and guide beginning writers as well as accomplished ones. The ideal candidate will be able to edit and write, leading by example rather than by dictate.

Qualified candidates should send a cover letter, r sum , and clips to:

Christine Brennan
c/o Westword
969 Broadway
Denver, Colorado 80203

Denver being where the New Times company is located — though we hear it's really village-y out in Colorado.

Letters [VV]

Practically, employee affairs will remain status quo. Your payroll dates will remain the same. Our banking relationships will not change. Your email address will not change. Your local health benefits provider will remain the same, and your supervisor or Publisher will remain the go-to person for any questions you may have.

So, uh, it means nothing? Yeah, well, it's amazing what you'll tell staffers when you're drunk on POWER. After the jump, the full memo from the man behind the curtain.

********************

Date: Mon, 30 Jan 2006 08:59:51
To:"Everyone(VV)"
Subject: Note to Village Voice Media staffers from Jim Larkin

Dear Staff Member:

Monday, January 30, 2006 marks the first day of our new company, Village Voice Media. As you know, VVM has merged the six weekly alternative papers of Village Voice Media with the eleven papers of New Times Media. The VVM group today also includes 17 metropolitan websites and a national advertising sales outfit, The Ruxton Group. We think we have a unique opportunity to bring more editorial resource, financial strength, and organizational skill to all 17 of the VVM weeklies and websites and that is what we intend to do.

Practically, employee affairs will remain status quo. Your payroll dates will remain the same. Our banking relationships will not change. Your email address will not change. Your local health benefits provider will remain the same, and your supervisor or Publisher will remain the go-to person for any questions you may have.

I am available an anytime by email at jlarkin@villagevoice.com or phone (602) xxx-8403 if you have comments or questions regarding Village Voice Media going forward.

Regards,

Jim Larkin
Village Voice Media

After the jump, Misner's sentimental emails and New Times CEO Jim Larkin's decidedly less sentimental emails.

From: "Miszner, Judy"
Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2006 18:59:33
Subject: Farewell

Dear Colleagues,

I am writing to let you know that today is my last day as Publisher of the Village Voice. I thank all of you for making these the 7 best years of my career. During this period we have faced incredible challenges: 9/11, blackouts, a transit strike, the proliferation of free dailies and the transformation of the internet into a major competitor. Through it all, you have shown unsurpassed loyalty and commitment to the Voice.

I am confident that a successful future lies ahead for you in the new
organization and wish you the best of luck. I will miss you.

Best regards,
Judy

——————————————

From: "Larkin, Jim"
Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2006 20:07:25
Subject: Judy Miszner's Depature

Dear Village Voice Staffers:

I wish to add my sentiments to Judy Miszner's announcement of her departure from her duties as Publisher of the Voice. Judy has done an outstanding job, as all of you know, running the Village Voice over the past seven years in a very challenging publishing environment. I am sorry to see her go and I wish her well in her future endeavors.

Judy will continue to consult with the Village Voice over the next two months.

Jim Larkin
Village Voice Media

—————————————————

From: "Larkin, Jim"
Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2006 20:11:14
Subject: Michael Cohen named Village Voice Publisher

Dear Village Voice Staffers:

I am pleased to announce that Michael Cohen has accepted the position of Publisher of The Village Voice. Cohen is currently Publisher of Miami New Times, a position he will resign immediately. He will take the Voice helm on Monday January 30, 2006.

Michael has been in the alternative weekly publishing business for
22 years and has worked with New Times in South Florida for ten of those years. He has published or launched alt weeklies in Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Miami. He has been responsible for 5 weeklies in the New Times organization since 2004 and has molded the New Times papers in Dade-Broward-Palm Beach counties into one of the strongest weekly groups in the country with circulation of 170,000. Cohen graduated from the University of Maryland in 1983. He is married and has one son.

When you see Michael in the halls next week please welcome him aboard the Voice.

thanks,

Jim Larkin
Village Voice Media

I have submitted my resignation today as editor-in-chief to Judy Miszner, effective December 31, 2005. A number of prospects have presented themselves and I think this is an opportune time to explore them.

These nine years have been exciting for me because of what this paper does and what it represents to the city; and that's because of all of you. I am proud of what we have accomplished together.

I thank you for sharing your talent with me and wish you and the Voice good times and great fortune.

Effective, oh, ten seconds ago, managing editor Doug Simmons will now oversee the editorial department in the interim. Merry, merry.

From: [xxx]
Date: Mon, 28 Nov 2005 13:26:52
To: "Everyone(VV)"
Subject: Announcement from David Schneiderman

Everyone,

I am pleased to inform you that the Department Justice has approved our merger with New Times. We expect to close in about a month or so. The work on integrating the two companies will accelerate, but we will still be functioning as separate entities until the closing.

David

Typo, of course, courtesy of Schneiderman. Because now he's got New Times copyeditors to handle that shit.

Earlier: Village Voice Sells Its Soul to New Times

But hold the phone there, Sally. Long-ago Voice vet Mark Jacobson has an interesting piece in this week's New York that, first, vividly brings to life all that collective-unconscious consciousness of Voice vitality past — yes, it really was as interesting and exciting as it's rumored to have been — and, unexpectedly, creates a decent argument that the alt-chainers from Phoenix might just be the last chance the paper has to get better.

And this much, at least, is certainly true: There's no way it's getting worse. So why not?

The Voice From Beyond the Grave [NYM]

The rumors are true: The Department of Justice is looking to give the green light to the marriage of Village Voice Media, with six weekly papers, to alt-weekly umbrella New Times, creating a 17-paper behemoth of back-page massage ads. New Times CEO Jim Larkin will be CEO of the new company, to be called Village Voice Media. Meanwhile, Voice CEO David Schneiderman steps down to President of the Internet Division — golly, wonder what sort of pretty, six-figure incentive Schneiderman got for a peaceful surrender of power.

Oh, and as for that 50th anniversary celebration on Wednesday? Two hours at B-Bar. Because newfangled alternative news juggernauts will spare no expense!

After the jump, David Schneiderman's memo, complete with a lesson in the usage of further versus farther.

****************

To: Everyone
From: David Schneiderman
Date: October 23, 2005

Sometimes, rumors turn out to be true.

Village Voice Media and New Times have agreed to a merger that will create an alternative media company with award-winning newspapers in seventeen cities in every region of the country. The new company will be called Village Voice Media. This is an exciting combination of two publishers with well-deserved reputations for fierce and independent journalism, strong management and immensely talented staffs.

New Times CEO Jim Larkin will be CEO of the new company and Michael Lacey will be Executive Editor. I will be President of the Internet division and will continue to serve on the Board of Directors. Our present investors will maintain their equity in the new entity and will sit on the reconstituted Board.

Over the last few years, I have come to know Jim and Michael, and I am confident that they will bring to Village Voice Media the same skill, passion and commitment to journalistic excellence that they have exhibited in the years they have built and run New Times. They take pride in their newspapers and staffs, and they invest in and support their journalists in both word and deed. Newspapers must constantly be looking for new and better ways to engage readers and serve advertisers. New Times will bring fresh approaches to our business and they will also learn from our successes.

Over twenty years ago when I was editor of the Voice, Rupert Murdoch was the improbable owner. It would be an understatement to say that we did not see eye to eye on most issues. He once said to me that he could not understand how a bunch of Communists could manage a paper so well. I responded that we had concluded that if we did a good job, we might live to publish another issue of the Voice. Ironically, when Leonard Stern acquired the Voice from Murdoch in 1985, many of us including me, viewed this with trepidation.

Stern, however, turned out to be a great owner. I offer this history to acknowledge that though impending change creates uncertainty, more often than not it leads to positive results. In this case, I sincerely believe that you will come to see this merger as an opportunity to grow professionally as part of an even more dynamic company.

As for me, I am excited about the prospect of leading the effort to build a robust and successful web platform for the new company. The Internet will be a critical part of our future and it is essential that we use the talent and resources of the combined company to become important players in that world.

My immediate goal is to grow our online audience by utilizing our existing resources, and to break new ground in delivering fresh and compelling content to an ever-expanding audience in any way they wish to receive it.

I am sure most of you are aware of the bizarre charge that this merger will mark the end of alternative journalism. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Both Village Voice Media and New Times have earned a reputation for producing first-rate journalism. Both companies support and encourage their journalists to expose corruption, hypocrisy and incompetence wherever they find it. It defies logic to assert that those traditions will be undermined or abandoned as a result of this merger. In fact, I fully expect them to
be strengthened.

The New Times corporate team will have operational oversight of the papers, but that will not happen for a few months. In the meantime, our corporate group, Nick DiCarlo, Susan Meisel, Matt Brennan and Peter Shin will continue working through the transition. They have done extraordinary work for VVM and have been key contributors to the success of the company.

This transaction is subject to review by the Department of Justice, which could take some months to complete. So during this time, it will be business as usual. I expect you will have questions about the future. I will be in constant touch with the publishers and editors and will try to answer as many of your questions as possible. Now that the rumors have been put to rest, I expect us to get back to publishing great newspapers with a hopeful eye on an exciting future.

Village Voice Media, New Times Announce Merger [VV]
The Village Voice, Pushing 50, Prepares to Be Sold to a Chain of Weeklies [NYT]