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Village Voice: Top Journalist Fired, Writers Resign Following Merger with New Times Media
We focus on the shakeup at the Village Voice, where one of the paper's top investigative reporters was fired and two of its prize-winning writers resigned following a merger with the New Times Media - a chain of weekly newspapers based in Phoenix. In this week's issues, about 20 staffers wrote an open letter protesting the dismissal of James Ridgeway - the paper's Washington correspondent and one of its chief investigative reporters covering national news. Ridgeway had written for the paper for over 30 years. We speak with Ridgeway as well as Village Voice reporters Nat Hentoff, Tom Robbins, Sydney Schanberg - who recently resigned from the paper - and two reporters who have been following the story closely, Mark Jacobson and Tim Redmond.
We turn now to the situation at the Village Voice were one of the paper's top investigative reporters has been fired and two of its prize-winning writers have resigned.
The shake-up is taking place just months after the Voice merged with the New Times Media - a chain of weekly newspapers based in Phoenix.
In this week's issues, about 20 staffers wrote an open letter protesting the dismissal of James Ridgeway - the paper's Washington correspondent and one of its chief investigative reporters covering national news. Ridgeway had written for the paper for over 30 years.
Major changes have already been seen at the paper since February 1 when the new owner and executive editor of the paper Michael Lacey first traveled to New York to meet with Voice staffers. After that initial meeting the Voice's prize winning press critic Sydney Schanberg quit.
According to one account of the meeting, the new owner criticized the news section of the Voice because it was full of commentary and criticism of the Bush administration. That same week the new owners cancelled the Voices" online blog called "The Bush Beat." Then last week Jennifer Gonnerman resigned.
On Wednesday, we reached longtime Voice reporter Tom Robbins who is leading the effort to get management to re-hire Ridgeway.
* Tom Robbins, reading letter signed by 20 Village Voice reporters calling on management to "reverse discharge" of James Ridgeway.
We also reached Nat Hentoff at his home in New York. He has been writing for the Village Voice since 1957. We asked him about his thoughts on the firing of Ridgeway and about the new management.
* Nat Hentoff, longtime Village Voice columnist.
For more on the Village Voice, we are joined by three guests:
* James Ridgeway, in addition to being the paper's former Washington correspondent he is the author of several books. His latest is titled: "The Five Unanswered Questions About 9/11." He also runs a website on video journalism at Ridgewayng.com
* Sydney Schanberg, former press critic at the Village Voice. He resigned in February following the sale of the paper. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting in Cambodia during the 1970s and his story inspired the film "The Killing Fields."
* Mark Jacobson, a reporter with New York Magazine. In November he wrote a major piece on the Voice-New Times merger titled, "The Voice From Beyond the Grave." He is a former writer at the Village Voice.
* Tim Redmond, executive editor at the San Francisco Bay Guardian.
LISTEN ONLINE:
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/04/13/145245
The shake-up is taking place just months after the Voice merged with the New Times Media - a chain of weekly newspapers based in Phoenix.
In this week's issues, about 20 staffers wrote an open letter protesting the dismissal of James Ridgeway - the paper's Washington correspondent and one of its chief investigative reporters covering national news. Ridgeway had written for the paper for over 30 years.
Major changes have already been seen at the paper since February 1 when the new owner and executive editor of the paper Michael Lacey first traveled to New York to meet with Voice staffers. After that initial meeting the Voice's prize winning press critic Sydney Schanberg quit.
According to one account of the meeting, the new owner criticized the news section of the Voice because it was full of commentary and criticism of the Bush administration. That same week the new owners cancelled the Voices" online blog called "The Bush Beat." Then last week Jennifer Gonnerman resigned.
On Wednesday, we reached longtime Voice reporter Tom Robbins who is leading the effort to get management to re-hire Ridgeway.
* Tom Robbins, reading letter signed by 20 Village Voice reporters calling on management to "reverse discharge" of James Ridgeway.
We also reached Nat Hentoff at his home in New York. He has been writing for the Village Voice since 1957. We asked him about his thoughts on the firing of Ridgeway and about the new management.
* Nat Hentoff, longtime Village Voice columnist.
For more on the Village Voice, we are joined by three guests:
* James Ridgeway, in addition to being the paper's former Washington correspondent he is the author of several books. His latest is titled: "The Five Unanswered Questions About 9/11." He also runs a website on video journalism at Ridgewayng.com
* Sydney Schanberg, former press critic at the Village Voice. He resigned in February following the sale of the paper. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting in Cambodia during the 1970s and his story inspired the film "The Killing Fields."
* Mark Jacobson, a reporter with New York Magazine. In November he wrote a major piece on the Voice-New Times merger titled, "The Voice From Beyond the Grave." He is a former writer at the Village Voice.
* Tim Redmond, executive editor at the San Francisco Bay Guardian.
LISTEN ONLINE:
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/04/13/145245
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