Groundbreaking Alternative Newspaper Village Voice Shuts Down

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) - The publisher of The Village Voice says the venerable alternative weekly will cease publication.

Friday's announcement by Voice owner Peter Barbey comes three years after Barbey bought the paper and one year after it ceased publishing in print and shifted to digital-only.

Barbey called Friday "a sad day for The Village Voice and millions of readers." He said the paper has been subject to "the increasingly harsh economic realities" facing those creating journalism.

He said staff members have been working to ensure that the print archive of the Voice is made digitally accessible.

The Village Voice was the country's first alternative newsweekly, founded in 1955 by a group that included writer Norman Mailer.

Known for its coverage of politics, music, theater and the gay community, it has received three Pulitzer Prizes and many other awards over the years.

Legendary local writers Wayne Barrett and Nat Hentoff, music critic Robert Christgau, and entertainment columnist Michael Musto are among the many well-known writers whose work have appeared in the Voice over the years.

Barbey bought the paper in 2015. He is the president and chief executive officer of The Reading Eagle newspaper in Pennsylvania.

(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)