Village Voice Media Sheds Voices

Times are tough if you happen to work at one of Village Voice Media's alt-weeklies, especially if you happen to hold the position of assistant calendar editor, which the chain of alt-weeklies has eliminated entirely. Gawker has details from the greater VVM empire on Thursday to follow its report on Wednesday that flagship Village Voice laid off senior editor Ward Harkavy and City Hall columnist Harry Siegel. The New York Observer's Kat Stoeffel noted on Wednesday that "the Voice is on the late end of a wave of layoffs affecting all New Times papers that has now claimed more than twenty editorial positions." And on Thursday, Gawker's Hamilton Nolan started documenting the batch of staff writers and editors let go by VVM papers nationwide. It's a big staff cut, punctuated by the chain's wholesale elimination of a position: "We also hear that the entire chain is eliminating everyone holding the title of 'Assistant Calendar Editor,' a position at some but not all VVM papers." Hard times, indeed.