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NEW YORK (AFX) - The new management of the Village Voice has fired five of its senior editors and three members of its design staff, adding yet another dose of turmoil to the famed alternative weekly newspaper.
Among those let go on Thursday was music critic Robert Christgau, who had been with the paper since 1969 and is considered one of the leading rock 'n' roll journalists of his time.
Village Voice Media, the Phoenix-based company formerly known as New Times Media that merged with the Voice in October, said in a statement that the layoffs were intended to "reconfigure the editorial department to place an emphasis on writers as opposed to editors."
As the company put it: "Painful though they may be in the short term, these moves are consistent with long-range efforts to position the Voice as an integral journalistic force in New York City."
Among those let go were the paper's theater editor, its dance editor, a senior editor of the books section and its art director.
Tom Robbins, a union representative and veteran Voice reporter, called the changes "counterproductive" and said the loss of some of the paper's best talent would hurt its reputation.
The newsroom at the Voice has been in a near constant state of flux since the merger.
The Voice's editor in chief for nine years, Don Forst, quit in December. His interim replacement, Doug Simmons, left in March after one of his reporters acknowledged fabricating material for an article. Publisher Judy Miszner resigned in January. Columnist Sydney Schanberg, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1976 with The New York Times, quit in February.
In June, the paper announced it had hired Washington City Paper editor Erik Wemple as its new chief, but he later turned down the job.
David Blum, a journalist who has written for New York magazine, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times Magazine, is set to start as editor in chief this month.
Village Voice Media's 17 papers, including those from merger partner New Times Media, have a combined weekly circulation of 1.8 million. Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
Copyright 2006 AFX News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
