Village Voice archive
This collection of Village Voice came from the vault in Dixon Springs, Tennessee (a stone’s throw from the old Hartsville nuclear plant). Much of what we found appeared in bad shape, but I’ve salvaged a few iconic years; 1967, 1968, and 1970.
I’ve omitted the classifieds, but the meat and potatoes remain; music, film, and articles.
Founded in 1955 by Norman Mailer, Dan Wolf (editor), publisher Edwin Fancher, and John Wilcock, the Village Voice was only available downtown and cost five cents. Nell Blaine designed the original logo. Mailer eventually departed after about four months, citing creative differences in the direction of the paper.
Village Voice. August 21, 1969
The Voice boasted a formidable roster of names who contributed over the years: Jules Feiffer, Wayne Barrett, Jill Johnston, Michael Musto, Robert Christgau, Nat Hentoff, Ellen Willis, J. Hoberman, Amy Arbus, Andrew Sarris, Jonas Mekas, and Jay Levin (future LA Weekly founder) to name just a few.
By 1970, circulation rose to about 140,000 and ran to 80 pages thick. Some of the early success was due to the end of the Herald-Tribune and two other dailies, leaving the New York Times, the Post, and the Daily News to serve New York City.
Of course, the Voice wasn't the only bohemian anti-establishment rag that appealed to students and longhairs - there were a few other titles, albeit slightly rougher around the edges: Avatar, Scenes, The East Village Other (founded by former Voice co-founder John Wilcock and edited by Allan Katzman) and Rat.
Rupert Murdoch
The newspaper changed ownership in 1977 when Australian media tycoon Rupert Murdoch went on a purchasing spree. The ruthless magnate snapped up three major New York titles: the Village Voice, New York magazine, and its California counterpart, New West — all of which were run by Clay Felker. One problem pointed to New York Magazine Co. - the parent company of the Voice - which was losing money over expenses attributed to the startup costs of New West. Some put the figure at around $4 million.
Despite many new owners and staff changes, New West continued until the mid-1980s. Among the notable staff were film critics Stephen Farber and Kenneth Turan. The publication lasted slightly longer than New Times, which folded in 1978 (then owned by MCA).
The Village Voice is a little New York journal which energetically does its iconoclastic push-ups, once a week, and sort of looks about, whee! at its audience, as if to say: Have you EVER seen anybody as irreverent as us-folks?
The editors do it all with considerable panache, and although readership is confined largely to adolescents who blush with the mischievous delight of seeing four-letter words in print, it also has a readership among bitter-end belletrists who enjoy the abandon of its criticisms, and Carthusian leftists who devour its dogmas even unto the fourth generation.
William F. Buckley, 1968.
Rupert Murdoch's publishing empire in New York increased considerably since his acquisition of the New York Post - gobbled up from Dorothy Schiff for almost $30 million. And now Murdoch engineered a takeover battle with Felker, and the bitterly-contested powerplay between them played out in the Manhattan courts. Felker wasn't willing to have his titles abducted and fought to stop the impending takeover. He lost. The beleaguered Felker even enlisted help from British financier Sir James Goldsmith but was turned down.
Despite the rather humbling loss to Murdoch, Clay Felker - who passed away in 2008 - remained busy. The former reporter for Life magazine was hired in 1980 by the Daily News, returned to Esquire magazine as president, and joined Adweek as editorial director.
New Ownership
The Village Voice meanwhile endured its carousel of ownership. The new buyer was Leonard Stern. The wealthy pet food mogul purchased the newspaper in 1985 from Murdoch at a reported cost of $55 million. Stern was worth nearly a billion dollars, partly thanks to his father's company, Hartz Mountain.
In addition to several real estate holdings, including the SoHo Grand Hotel, Stern's media empire also included the Long Island Voice, the LA Weekly, and various titles in Minneapolis, Seattle, and Cleveland. In 1986, Stern toyed with emulating his flagship publication in Washington, D.C., an idea that never materialized.
Stern put the papers up for sale in 1999 with a price tag of $200 million. Stern hoped his children would continue his media empire, but they pursued other avenues (his two sons were already more involved in his real estate holdings). Circulation at that time was around 250,000.
The paper nevertheless continued to surge and racked up impressive accolades along the way. In 1980, author Teresa Carpenter was awarded a Pulitzer for her article on Dorothy Stratten, 'Death of a Playmate,' Jules Feiffer was recognized with a Pulitzer in Editorial Cartooning in 1986, and Mark Schoofs won for his 1999 article 'AIDS: The Agony of Africa.' At the helm as editor-in-chief was Jonathan Z. Larsen. The former L.A. bureau reporter for Time Magazine and editor of the defunct New Times magazine was married to Jane Amsterdam, editor at the New York Post.
Larsen resigned in 1994, and Karen Durbin took over the reins (where she formerly worked as a writer). It was a relatively short tenure; amid staff turmoil concerning Stern's decision to switch to free distribution, Durbin quit two years later. Next on board was former Newsday editor Donald Forst. Changes were rapid — Forst expanded the number of news pages and brought back the sports section (previously killed off by Durbin).
There were also changes to the staff lineup; cartoonist Jules Feiffer quit over a salary dispute, and feminist humor columnist Cynthia Heimel, Matt Groening, and longtime music critic Robert Christgau received walking papers.
Forst resigned in 2006. His predecessor, Karen Durbin, joined Mirabella as a freelance film critic and moved to Elle in 2000.
Final Days
In 2005, the Voice was bought by Phoenix-based New Times Media - the nation's largest publisher of alternative newspapers. Ten years later, Denver-based Voice Media Group took over and moved the paper from Greenwich Village to the Financial District.
By 2017, the Voice disappeared from newsstands and went digital. One year later, after 63 years, the paper ceased operations altogether.
