It’s a Christmas miracle: The Village Voice is making a comeback.
More than two years after the alternative weekly paper ceased operations, Street Media has acquired the brand and is leading a relaunch in early 2021.
Street Media, parent of L.A. Weekly, bought the title from Peter Barbey, who wound down The Village Voice in September 2018 after about three years at the helm.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
At the time of its closure, Barbey said the venerable title had bore the brunt of “the increasingly harsh economic realities” facing those creating journalism.
In the years since, its website and social channels have been refreshed with articles posted from the vault.
From next year, the site will get a revamp with fresh content. Also, the New York Times quotes Street Media CEO Brian Calle as saying the Village Voice will include a print periodical, expected to be published each quarter.
“I think a lot of people will be hungry for this and I’m superoptimistic,” Calle told The Times.
The Village Voice was the country’s first alternative newsweekly, founded in 1955 by a group that included legendary writer Norman Mailer.
The title “represents one of the most iconic papers in our nation and the very best of local media,” Calle enthused in a statement. “For more than six decades, it was the heart of New York City and the voice of the community it served. We are proud to be able to revive both the digital and print editions of this paper.”
It has received three Pulitzer Prizes and many other awards over the years for its coverage of news, music, art, theater, film, politics, activism and more.
Bob Dylan was the cover star of its final issue, published in September 2017.
