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78-465: Village Voice Media or VVM is a newspaper company. It began in 1970 as a weekly alternative newspaper in Phoenix, Arizona . The company, founded by Michael Lacey (editor) and Jim Larkin (publisher), was then known as New Times Inc. (NTI) and the publication was named New Times . The company was later renamed New Times Media. By 2001, the company (NTI) had grown to 13 newspapers in major cities across

156-492: A 900 number, punching in the appropriate voice mailbox number included in the print ad, and leaving a message for the advertiser. The advertiser could then listen to the responses and answer those that interested him or her. In this way, electronic matchmaking was born years before most people had heard of the Internet. The Phoenix proposed to handle all aspects of the operation, with the individual papers responsible only for running

234-523: A back seat. That fact, combined with a lack of sound business practices (most were organized as collectives), the end of the Vietnam War, and harassment by the U.S. government, predestined a rather short life for them. By the early 1970s, the majority had ceased publication. A few, grounded in a different publishing philosophy that followed many of the examples set by the Voice and The Realist , survived and formed

312-521: A big nose as a visual signature. From 1948 until 1971, his work was syndicated by the McNaught Syndicate . In 1951, Manning won a Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning for an editorial cartoon entitled "Hats", which was a commentary on the Korean War . Several of his books deal with Arizona and its cacti in particular, such as What Kinda Cactus Izzat? (also known as The Cactus Book ), and What

390-492: A competitor to Village Voice Media's LA Weekly , and Village Voice Media ceased publishing Cleveland Free Times , a competitor to New Times Media's Cleveland Scene . The US Justice Department launched an antitrust investigation into the agreement. The case was settled out of court with the two companies agreeing to make available the publishing assets and titles of their defunct papers to potential competitors. The Cleveland Free Times recommenced publication in 2003 under

468-492: A decidedly outsiders' viewpoint of the power structure of Phoenix, was not seen in a kind light by banking interests. Finally in the summer of 1987, one banker, Gary Driggs, decided to take a chance on the small company and NTI was able to establish adequate borrowing and credit capacity allowing it to buy out all of the 200-plus outstanding stockholders who were left from the ill-fated 1973 public offering. Only Larkin, Lacey and three key managers were left with equity positions after

546-1085: A different business model than daily papers. Most alternative papers, such as The Stranger , the Houston Press , SF Weekly , the Village Voice , the New York Press , the Metro Times , the LA Weekly , the Boise Weekly and the Long Island Press , have been free, earning revenue through the sale of advertising space. They sometimes include ads for adult entertainment, such as adult bookstores and strip clubs , which are prohibited in many mainstream daily newspapers. They usually include comprehensive classified and personal ad sections and event listings as well. Many alternative papers feature an annual "best of" issue, profiling businesses that readers voted

624-445: A failure to hold any Board of Directors meetings for more than a year, and a loss of focus on local issues. This led the previous leaders of the company including Lacey and Larkin to devise a plan to take back the newspaper. On March 19, 1977, the former leaders staged what came to be known as "the coup." After Adams was voted out by supportive shareholders, they loaded up all of New Times ' meager office equipment and supplies from

702-400: A freelancer. In 1926, The Arizona Republic hired Manning as a photographer and artist. At first, Manning's work appeared in several forms in the paper. Although he was interested in drawing comic strips, the popularity of his editorial work led him to focus on editorial cartoons. His work was syndicated in as many as 170 newspapers. Manning often used a small anthropomorphic cactus with

780-520: A gigantic "personals" industry were sown in these pigeonholes. In 1983 the New Times company made its first newspaper acquisition: Westword , a Denver fortnightly that had been founded by Patricia Calhoun in 1977. Calhoun graduated from Cornell in 1976 and shortly thereafter founded her first paper, The Sandpiper , in New Jersey. A year later she decided to close it and move west to Colorado where Westword

858-486: A habit that bred a lifelong interest in journalism. Lacey had attended Catholic schools in Newark before moving west to attend Arizona State University (ASU). He had already dropped out of school when he and a pair of students, Frank Fiore and Karen Lofgren, felt compelled to report accurately on the campus anti-war protests, which they believed were either being ignored or misrepresented by the ultra-conservative local media led by

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936-459: A mailbox number. Readers could respond by mailing a written reply to New Times using that mailbox number. The sealed letters would be placed in a pigeonhole (the "mailbox") in the New Times office. Once a week all the letters in a mailbox would be gathered up and mailed to the original advertiser. A large number of alternative newspapers had similar operations. The seeds for what would later become

1014-563: A more level-headed approach in part because he had something few of the other New Times staffers did – a spouse and two children to support. After working all day at the paper, "he would drive to the Nantucket Lobster Trap where he worked all night as a waiter." But in the early days, New Times was not an organization upon which a major newspaper group could be built. The company, which had incorporated as New Times Inc. in October 1971,

1092-528: A much wider appeal. With Lacey's stewardship of the paper's journalistic content steaming ahead , he and Larkin seeded the company with key personnel who would form a foundation for future growth. Among the most prominent were: Bob Boze Bell: Bell began at New Times in 1978 carrying the title of visuals editor. A talented cartoonist and humorist, Bell created the Honkytonk Sue comic strip, which along with hundreds of other two-page satirical drawings graced

1170-454: A torch in one ("arson") and a knife ("deadly assault") in the other. The caption: "Hang ivy on me and call me a student". The cartoon angered Michael Lacey, the Binghamton, New York -born son of a sailor turned New York City construction worker. Although his father was not college educated, Lacey later recalled, he had insisted that his son read the daily New York Journal-American every day,

1248-527: A union dispute at the Republic was inaccurate. While the suit was eventually dismissed, the enmity between the two publications grew. Ultimately Tully was forced to resign as publisher of the Republic after it was revealed that he had falsified his claims he had served as an Air Force fighter pilot in Korea and Vietnam. In fact he had not served in Korea or Vietnam and had never been in the military at all. Fights with

1326-469: A vibrant marketplace that was different than daily newspaper classifieds. One of the long-standing features in the classifieds of New Times and other alternative papers was the personals section. These often-quirky ads did not allow personal contact information to be included. Readers devoured them and occasionally someone would recognize the writer and attempt to contact them. But there was no direct way for someone to respond to such an ad. That changed in

1404-591: Is Arizona Really Like?: A Guide to Arizona's Marvels . Reg Manning did exceptional copper wheel engravings on crystal glass. See his book Desert in Crystal (1973). He also produced postcards, jewelry, stationery and water colors, all dealing with Western themes. Manning died on March 10, 1986, in Scottsdale, Arizona. His papers are held at Wichita State University , Arizona State University . and Syracuse University . This profile of an American cartoonist

1482-616: Is a contingent of conservative and libertarian alt-weeklies. Styles vary sharply among alternative newspapers; some affect a satirical, ironic tone, while others embrace a more straightforward approach to reporting. Columns commonly syndicated to alternative weeklies include " The Straight Dope ", Dan Savage 's " Savage Love ", Rob Breszny's " Free Will Astrology ", and Ben Tausig 's crossword puzzle "Ink Well." Quirky, non-mainstream comics , such as Matt Groening 's Life in Hell , Lynda Barry 's Ernie Pook's Comeek , Ruben Bolling 's Tom

1560-576: Is a type of newspaper that eschews comprehensive coverage of general news in favor of stylized reporting, opinionated reviews and columns , investigations into edgy topics and magazine -style feature stories highlighting local people and culture. Its news coverage is more locally focused, and their target audiences are younger than those of daily newspapers. Typically, alternative newspapers are published in tabloid format and printed on newsprint . Other names for such publications include alternative weekly , alternative newsweekly , and alt weekly , as

1638-901: The Aquarian Weekly in North Jersey , the Colorado Springs Independent , the Good Times in Santa Cruz , California, New Times in San Luis Obispo and the Sun in Northern Santa Barbara County , California. Canadian examples of owner-operated, non-chain owned alternative papers include Vancouver's The Georgia Straight , Toronto's NOW Magazine , Edmonton's Vue Weekly and Halifax's The Coast . Examples outside

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1716-743: The Hartford Advocate and New Haven Advocate . Creative Loafing , originally only an Atlanta -based alternative weekly, grew into Creative Loafing, Inc. which owned papers in three other southern U.S. cities , as well as the Chicago Reader and Washington City Paper . Village Voice Media and New Times Media merged in 2006; before that, they were the two largest chains. The pre-merger Village Voice Media, an outgrowth of New York City's Village Voice , included LA Weekly , OC Weekly , Seattle Weekly , Minneapolis City Pages , and Nashville Scene . New Times Media included at

1794-1148: The Pacific Sun , the Bohemian in California's Sonoma and Napa counties, the San Diego Reader , Isthmus in Madison, Wisconsin , Flagpole Magazine in Athens, Georgia , the Boulder Weekly , Willamette Week in Portland, Oregon , Independent Weekly , Yes! Weekly , Creative Loafing , and Triad City Beat in North Carolina , the Austin Chronicle in Texas , The Stranger in Seattle, Washington , Artvoice in Buffalo, New York ,

1872-576: The Phoenix Gazette and quickly became renowned for his coverage of the quirky and obscure corners of life and culture in Phoenix. His writing and headline creation skills earned him numerous awards over his twenty-plus years at the paper. Hal Smith: Smith, a marketing student at Arizona State University, joined the sales department in 1979. He soon became advertising director and infused the sales and marketing departments with tools and strategies that drove

1950-529: The Republic aside, one of the first important initiatives for New Times was to increase circulation. The paper was distributed free at locations chosen to attract the young readers coveted by advertisers. The Chicago Reader had pioneered free circulation in the early 1970s and Larkin eagerly embraced the concept. By 1984 weekly circulation reached 140,000. The paper also expanded its coverage beyond news and feature stories to include extensive listings, as well as music, food, film and arts coverage that gave it

2028-476: The Republic . They planned to publish their own paper, which after missing its own first deadline, made its debut on June 9, 1970, as The Arizona Times . Rechristened New Times , the paper began weekly publication in September 1970. It was neither a hard-core underground publication nor a mainstream journalistic enterprise. It began to develop a unique identity, like a number of other post-underground papers around

2106-854: The 1960s , these publications appeared in virtually every city and large town (especially college towns) in the United States. At one point Newsweek estimated there were more than 500 underground papers with a combined distribution of between 2 million and 4.5 million copies. Among the most prominent were the Berkeley Barb , Los Angeles Free Press ("Freep"), The Rag (Austin) and the Great Speckled Bird (Atlanta). The Village Voice and Paul Krassner 's The Realist — an amalgam of Mad -magazine-style satire and alternative journalism first published in New York City in 1958—are often cited as

2184-433: The 1990s. Pay-per-call applications dated back to as early as 1971. Typically a caller would dial an advertised phone number with a 900 or 976 prefix. The caller would be billed a fixed amount per minute by the phone company. The phone company kept a portion of the revenue with the balance going to the sponsor of the call. There were many pay-per-call services: sports scores, weather forecasts, even dating lines. A new twist

2262-713: The Booker T. Washington Elementary School. Built in 1926, the school had been the center of the African-American community in Phoenix during decades of segregation, first de jure (Arizona was a Jim Crow state) and then after 1954, de facto . NTI re-furbished the historic structure and today it remains the headquarters of the Phoenix New Times . Despite its outward success, NTI had difficulty establishing banking relationships for many years. The alternative newspaper model, with no paid circulation, no real tangible assets, and

2340-644: The Dancing Bug , and Ted Rall 's political cartoons are also common. The Village Voice , based in New York City , was one of the first and best-known examples of the form. Since the Voice's demise in 2018, Marin County 's Pacific Sun , founded in 1963, is now the longest-running alternative weekly. The Association of Alternative Newsmedia is the alternative weeklies' trade association. The Alternative Weekly Network and

2418-519: The NTI voice-personals business and created a freestanding phone company to support it. In later years he was responsible for identifying and pursuing acquisition opportunities and was primarily responsible for the creation of a fully operational national trade Association for Alternative Newsweeklies (AAN). Lee Newquist: Newquist was hired directly out of college in 1982 as an assistant to Hal Smith. He rose to become publisher of Westword in 1985, and in 1992

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2496-589: The Phoenix area's sacred cows. In 1989 she was named editor of the paper, succeeding Lacey, who became executive editor for the growing group of NTI newspapers. In 1982 the Arizona Press Club awarded her the Virg Hill Newsperson of the Year Award. She later wrote the defining book on infamous Arizona trunk murderess Winnie Ruth Judd— The Trunk Murderess. Dewey Webb: Webb joined the paper in late 1978 from

2574-529: The Ruxton Group are national advertising sales representatives for alternative weeklies. Some alternative newspapers are independent. However, due in part to increasing concentration of media ownership , many have been bought or launched by larger media conglomerates . The Tribune Company , a multibillion-dollar company that owns the Chicago Tribune , owns four New England alternative weeklies, including

2652-530: The Tempe offices and transported them to a new location at the Westward Ho Hotel in downtown Phoenix. There the modern New Times company was reborn. Litigation ensued, but within a few months the new management group had prevailed. Larkin became the publisher/president and Lacey soon joined him as editor. With circulation now at a low point of 17,000 copies, the new managers knew they faced an uphill struggle. Luck

2730-460: The United States and Canada include Barcelona's BCN Mes . Reg Manning Reginald W. Manning (April 8, 1905 – March 10, 1986) was an American artist and illustrator , best known for his editorial cartoons. Manning was born in Kansas City, Missouri , but he came to live in Phoenix, Arizona . Manning's only art training occurred during high school. After graduating, Manning worked as

2808-501: The United States. Most of these publications were acquired via purchase from the current owner/publishers. In 2006, with the acquisition of The Village Voice , the company took the name Village Voice Media Holdings . The company is often referred to in this article as NTI/VVM after that date. Alternative newspapers trace their beginnings to 1955 and the founding of The Village Voice in New York City . Dan Wolf , Ed Fancher , and Norman Mailer together chipped in $ 10,000 to start

2886-513: The University of Arizona in Tucson, Van De Voorde began his career as New Times ' calendar editor, but quickly moved up in the editorial department. He rose to become music editor and later was named a staff writer. In 1995 he succeeded Brennan as managing editor at Westword and in 1998 moved into corporate management as NTI's executive associate editor, overseeing writer recruitment and hiring for

2964-439: The advertisements in print each week. The Phoenix and the newspaper would then split the net revenues after the phone company took its cut. NTI saw even greater opportunity. It purchased its own Audiotext machines and contracted directly with the phone companies, eliminating the middleman and eventually even forming its own telephone company to bypass most of the charges. Alternative newspaper An alternative newspaper

3042-413: The autumn of 1983, when New Times introduced a new category in the classified section that immediately followed the personal ads. It was called "Romance," and from a business perspective it was immediately successful. "Romance" ads were paid for by the word. The advertiser could write a brief description about themselves and the traits they were looking for in a prospective partner. The ad would be assigned

3120-494: The beginning of a new alternative press. These included the San Francisco Bay Guardian , The Boston Phoenix and The Georgia Straight (Vancouver). Another of these survivors was Phoenix New Times in Phoenix. The impetus for the creation of Phoenix New Times ( New Times ) was provided by opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War and specifically President Richard Nixon 's decision in

3198-515: The best of their type in the area. Often these papers send out certificates that the businesses hang on their wall or window. This further cements the paper's ties to local businesses. Alternative newspapers represent the more commercialized and mainstream evolution of the underground press associated with the 1960s counterculture . Their focus remains on arts and entertainment and social and political reportage. Editorial positions at alternative weeklies are predominantly left -leaning, though there

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3276-469: The buyout was completed. At almost the same time, NTI acquired its third newspaper – The Wave , a small alternative paper that had begun publishing in Miami Beach in 1986. The purchase price was less than $ 100,000, but the newly acquired credit line, combined with the growing profits at Phoenix New Times , allowed Lacey and Larkin to invest $ 1.4 million to jump-start the paper. Key to NTI's Miami strategy

3354-462: The collapse happened. They would stand unoccupied for years. It took a number of years for NTI to right the Westword ship; ultimately Westword became one of the twin pillars upon which NTI built its national footprint. The other pillar, Phoenix New Times , continued to grow throughout the 1980s. Recognizing the need for more office space, the company purchased a historical building near downtown Phoenix,

3432-470: The company in much the same precarious financial position as it was prior to the sale – only now with more than 200 individual shareholders. In 1974, Larkin was named publisher and president of the company, a move that presaged his future role as CEO of the largest group of alternative newsweeklies in America. By 1975 many of the paper's staffers had begun to leave the company. Low pay and the collective nature of

3510-414: The company. He has continued in that role at Voice Media Group. With sales now growing at an ever-increasing rate, and a redesign completed that converted the paper into a classic tabloid format , Larkin and Lacey began to look toward other opportunities for growth and expansion. Innovative ideas were infused into the company, creating an environment that grew revenues as well as the quality and quantity of

3588-403: The country. Over the next two years, New Times explored a variety of social and political issues, both local and national. Revenues crept up, and small successes became beacons of hope. In April 1972 the paper attracted J.C Penney , which ran a series of full-page advertisements. In that same summer, Phoenix native Jim Larkin joined the paper. Part of a blue-collar family that had deep roots in

3666-696: The creation of the Portland Phoenix . From 1992 through 2005, PM/GC owned and operated the Worcester Phoenix in Worcester, Massachusetts , but PM/GC folded that branch because of Worcester's dwindling art scene. Nonetheless, a number of owner-operated, non-chain owned alternative papers survive, among them Metro Silicon Valley in San Jose , Pittsburgh City Paper in Pittsburgh , Salt Lake City Weekly ,

3744-461: The desert metropolis, Larkin had grown up reading many of the same magazines as Lacey, whose attention he got by sending New Times a detailed written analysis of the city's political and media scene. A fellow college dropout who had attended school in Mexico before returning home, Larkin quickly became the paper's business and sales leader, injecting some practical thinking into its operations. Larkin took

3822-421: The exponential growth of the company over the following two decades. Under his leadership revenues grew from $ 699,000 in 1980 to $ 9.9 million in 1987, an increase of more than 1300 percent. Scott Spear: Spear, the former owner of a chain of record stores, joined New Times in 1980 with a mandate to organize the business side of the paper and manage the rapidly growing free-circulation strategy. He later pioneered

3900-443: The fledgling paper at that time. Later editions were much larger. Smith's sales and marketing skills kicked in; thousands of premiums were custom-made and delivered to potential advertisers followed by sales calls enticing them to run ads in the special issue, as well as in the weeks before and after its publication. Winners received plaques and winners' certificates they could display in their businesses. Advertising campaigns heralding

3978-405: The hundreds of display advertisers appearing in the papers every week, a classified advertising section began to grow. And unlike the free classifieds that were a mainstay of many alternative papers, a large portion of these ads were paid. There was strong reader response thanks to the provocative and humorous nature of many of the ads; combined with the publications' growing circulation, this created

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4056-450: The main sources of inspiration for underground newspapers. But there were differences. Although the Voice and The Realist had a distinctly liberal bias, they also gave favorable treatment to multiple opinions and put an emphasis on quality writing. Radicalism and activism were not their focus. This was not the case for the underground press. Activism and social and political change was its raison d'être. Journalism and editorial quality took

4134-427: The majority circulate on a weekly schedule. Most metropolitan areas of the United States and Canada are home to at least one alternative paper. These papers are generally found in such urban areas, although a few publish in smaller cities, in rural areas or exurban areas where they may be referred to as an alt monthly due to the less frequent publication schedule. Alternative papers have usually operated under

4212-549: The organization had taken its toll. Lacey left in 1974, followed by Larkin in 1975. Larkin was replaced by Phillip Adams, a shareholder and board member who was also a certified public accountant. Adams and his business partner, Al Senia, also owned the Casa Loma apartments in downtown Tempe, where they headquartered the New Times . But the Adams era was short-lived. Complaints came from stockholders: A lack of communication from management,

4290-529: The pages of New Times for more than a decade. After a stint as a morning radio personality in the Phoenix area, Bell purchased True West Magazine in 1999 where he remains as owner and publisher. Jana Bommersbach: Bommersbach, a star reporter for the Arizona Republic , was hired in August 1978. In addition to her duties as managing editor of New Times , she wrote a weekly column in the paper skewering many of

4368-539: The paper's editorial content. The "Best Of" concept was first used in Phoenix in 1979. While a few other alternative newspapers (notably The Real Paper in Boston) had tried this concept, New Times took it to heights previously thought unreachable. Originally conceived as an insider's guide to the city, "Best Of" was a once-a-year respite from the regular New Times practice of "eviscerating people and displaying their entrails." The first issue, totaled 40 pages—a big jump for

4446-406: The paper's growing reputation as a purveyor of sophisticated cultural criticism. In 1989 she was named managing editor at Westword and in 1993 was named executive managing editor of New Times Media, the number two editorial position in the company, reporting directly to Lacey. Upon the sale of NT/VVM to Voice Media Group she became the executive editor for that new company. Deborah Laake : Laake

4524-520: The paper. It soon became a unique focal point for a variety of viewpoints and intellectual positions in New York City and beyond. However, in the late 1960s a new type of journalistic enterprise began to emerge in the United States and elsewhere: the underground newspaper. Fueled by the growth of the anti-war movement , radical politics , the Civil Rights Movement and the counterculture of

4602-466: The person who owned the mailbox could listen to the recorded message at a later time and respond appropriately. In 1989 The Boston Phoenix , a large alternative newspaper in Boston, introduced a variation of this system to the alternative press at the group's annual trade convention. It was an instant hit. Personal ads were a mainstay of almost all the papers. Now, readers could respond to print ads by calling

4680-526: The phrase "Best Of" with those papers, so much so that in 1996 New Times chief legal counsel Steve Watkinson proposed acquiring a trademark for the name "Best of Phoenix" and the other four papers then owned by NTI. In 1997 the United States Patent and Trademark Office granted these trademarks in Phoenix, Denver, Miami, Dallas, and Houston. Ultimately NTI/VVM registered the "Best Of" trademark for 15 of its publications. The company successfully defended

4758-508: The publication group Kildysart LLC, while the assets of New Times LA were sold to Southland Publishing and relaunched as LA CityBeat . On October 24, 2005, New Times Media announced a deal to acquire Village Voice Media, creating a chain of 17 free weekly newspapers around the country with a combined circulation of 1.8 million and controlling a quarter of the weekly circulation of alternative weekly newspapers in North America. The deal

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4836-619: The residents of Maricopa County would have no place to read the report— except, that is, in the newly re-formed New Times . For weeks the paper ran installments of the IRE investigation. Papers flew off the stands and the paper established a readership foothold in the Valley of the Sun. The IRE report was far from the last time New Times would clash with the Republic . In 1980 the daily and its publisher Duke Tully sued New Times for libel, claiming its coverage of

4914-460: The small Phoenix paper of 1979 (about 32 pages on average) to more than 160 pages every week by the middle of the decade. Sales packages were constructed for, and sold to, advertisers small and large. The largest advertisers were offered extremely low rates in exchange for large volume commitments. Over time, the number of ads in each week's edition, rather than gross revenue, became the primary benchmark for measuring growth and success. In addition to

4992-537: The spring of 1970 to expand the war and launch an invasion of Cambodia . The spark came from the shooting deaths of four students at Kent State University by National Guardsmen. College campuses across the country erupted into demonstrations and strikes, including Arizona State University in Tempe. The state's dominant newspaper, The Arizona Republic , published an editorial cartoon by Pulitzer Prizewinner Reg Manning . The cartoon showed "a dirty, longhaired young fellow (labeled "campus terrorist") draped in vines with

5070-448: The time of the merger Cleveland Scene , Dallas Observer , Westword , East Bay Express , New Times Broward-Palm Beach , Houston Press , The Pitch , Miami New Times , Phoenix New Times , SF Weekly and Riverfront Times . In 2003, the two companies entered into a non-competition agreement which stated that the two would not publish in the same market. Because of this, New Times Media eliminated New Times LA ,

5148-503: The trademark and fended off attempts by other companies to use the same term. Most notably NTI/VVM won cases in federal court against corporate giants Ticketmaster-Citysearch— then controlled by media mogul Barry Diller — in 2001 and again in 2012 versus Yelp . Revenues continued to grow throughout the decade in Phoenix and later in Denver and Miami. Phoenix's growth in particular was exponential: Smith's sales and marketing machine transformed

5226-444: The upcoming "Best Of" issue were purchased, including local radio, television and billboards. It became common for the entire press run of "Best Of" issues to disappear from more than 1,500 distribution points within 24 hours. By June 1984, Best of Phoenix was being printed in two sections and totaled 288 pages. The company installed a "Best Of" issue in each publication it acquired from 1983 through 2001, and readers began to identify

5304-595: Was Lacey's hiring of Jim Mullin as editor. Mullin had formerly edited the successful San Diego Reader and was living in Central America, immersing himself in Latin culture, when Lacey called. Mullin went on to lead the paper's journalistic endeavors for almost twenty years, and Miami New Times quickly became a journalistic and commercial success. In 1989 NTI adopted a new revenue-generating tool that would increase profitability many times over, and help fuel rapid expansion in

5382-403: Was added to this mix in the latter part of the 1980s. It was known as Audiotext, a relatively simple concept that combined a pay-per-call application with sophisticated answering machine technology ("IVR"). A person would call a 900 number and enter the voice mailbox number of the service or person for whom they wished to leave a message. Much like a voice-mail system in typical office environments,

5460-457: Was approved by the Justice Department and, on January 31, 2006, the companies merged into one, taking the name Village Voice Media. Phoenix Media/Communications Group , owner of the popular Boston alternative weekly the Boston Phoenix , expanded to Providence, Rhode Island in 1988 with their purchase of NewPaper , which was renamed the Providence Phoenix . In 1999, PM/CG expanded further through New England to Portland, Maine with

5538-417: Was born. New Times purchased the paper from Calhoun and her partners for about $ 67,000. Shortly thereafter the paper began publishing on a weekly basis. Calhoun remains the paper's editor today. The early days in Denver were not easy ones for New Times . Westword was acquired at the beginning of the shale oil collapse, which had begun exactly one year earlier with "Black Sunday," the day Exxon announced it

5616-650: Was hired as managing editor and staff writer for the paper in 1982. In 1983 she authored "Worm Boys," a short story published in New Times for which she won a special award from the Columbia Journalism School . She is most famous for her book Secret Ceremonies: A Mormon Woman's Secret Diary of Marriage and Beyond . In 1988 she was named the Arizona Press Club's Journalist of the Year. Laake died in February 2000. Andy Van De Voorde. Hired in 1983 directly out of college at

5694-413: Was internally organized as a collective, mirroring the thinking of a large number of its underground predecessors. This resulted in long bouts of introspection, analysis and debate. Larkin later recalled: The paper survived because there were so many people willing to work for nothing or next to nothing because they had a common vision: all that Sixties and early-Seventies bullshit. The anti-war movement

5772-594: Was named publisher of the Dallas Observer . In addition, he handled the duties of executive vice president of operations for the entire company for a number of years. In 2001 he tendered an offer to NTI ownership to purchase the Fort Worth Weekly , which he still owns and operates. Christine Brennan: Brennan joined New Times as a paste-up and production person in 1980. After moving into an editing job, she went on to oversee coverage in news and arts and help shape

5850-403: Was shuttered in 1975, but not before launching the writing career of Ron Shelton , a former minor-league ballplayer who would go on to write and direct the baseball classic movie Bull Durham . In July 1973 the company, in desperate need of capital, issued a public stock offering for Arizona residents. It raised $ 38,000, with stock priced at $ 1 per share. The money was spent in no time, leaving

5928-477: Was shutting down its Colony Project, a major shale oil production venture on Colorado's Western Slope. Low oil prices prompted other energy companies to follow Exxon's lead and the Colorado economy descended into a severe recession. "See through" buildings in what was once a revitalized downtown Denver became the norm. Thirty- and forty-story skyscrapers constructed in the optimistic heat of the boom were finished just as

6006-477: Was valid, certainly, but there were certain elements of the hippie movement that the paper took advantage of. People would work for nothing because they thought they were part of a great social experiment. In 1972 the company launched a Tucson edition. It never gained traction for a variety of reasons, including cultural differences between the two Arizona cities, a lack of advertising interest, and an editorial emphasis on Phoenix politics and issues. The Tucson edition

6084-461: Was with them. Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) was about to release a massive report entitled The Arizona Project that detailed the events surrounding the 1975 murder of Arizona Republic reporter Don Bolles . But the Republic refused to publish the report, claiming it was unfair and improperly investigated. The Bolles murder was a major story in Arizona. The refusal by the Republic meant

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