Log in Sign up
Back to Discover
💻

The Village Voice

technology Maturity 5-7

The Village Voice is a news paper.

1955 October cover The Village Voice.jpg
1955 October cover The Village Voice.jpg
It tells stories about a big city. It has many writers and artists. They write about music and movies. It helps us learn new things. Do you like to read stories?

44 words

The Village Voice is a famous paper.

1955 October cover The Village Voice.jpg
1955 October cover The Village Voice.jpg
It started in a small home. It was made for artists in New York City.

Many people wrote for the paper. They wrote about music and movies. They even drew funny pictures. Some writers won big prizes for their work.

Village Voice (48072654421).jpg
Village Voice (48072654421).jpg
The paper moved to many new places. It lived in many parts of the city. It even had a big office in Cooper Square.

At one time, the paper stopped printing. It moved to the internet instead. Then, it came back to print again. It is still around today.

It is a very special part of the city's history.

115 words

The Village Voice is a famous news paper.

1955 October cover The Village Voice.jpg
1955 October cover The Village Voice.jpg
It began in 1955 in New York City. Four men started it in a small home. It was made for the creative people in the city.
Village Voice (48072654421).jpg
Village Voice (48072654421).jpg
Many artists and writers worked there. They wrote about music, movies, and local politics. Some writers even won Pulitzer Prizes. These are very big awards for good news work.

The paper has had a busy life. It moved to many different spots in the city. It had a large office in Cooper Square. In 2017, the paper stopped printing on paper. It moved to the internet to share stories. Later, it started printing again as a quarterly. A quarterly is a paper that comes out four times a year.

The Voice also helped people. It supported gay rights for many years. In 1982, it gave special benefits to its workers. This helped their partners too. The paper still keeps its old stories online for everyone to read.

170 words

The Village Voice is a famous news publication from New York City. It was the first alternative newsweekly in the United States.

1955 October cover The Village Voice.jpg
1955 October cover The Village Voice.jpg
This means it focused on different topics than regular newspapers. It served the creative community of the city for many years. The paper covered arts, music, dance, and local politics. It also reported on national news and culture.
The Village Voice.svg
The Village Voice.svg

This publication worked by having many writers share their ideas.

Village Voice (48072654421).jpg
Village Voice (48072654421).jpg
Some writers wrote about movies or theater. Others wrote about music or the local club scene. Some even drew cartoons for the readers. The paper used these voices to explore new things. It could also investigate big problems in the city. This way of working helped people learn about their world.

Four men started the paper in 1955. Their names were Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer.

1955 October cover The Village Voice.jpg
1955 October cover The Village Voice.jpg
It began in a small two-bedroom apartment in Greenwich Village. By the 1960s, it grew to cover more of the city. The paper moved to many different offices over time. It lived at 61 Christopher Street for a while. Later, it moved to Cooper Square and the Financial District.

Many people did great work at The Voice. Writers there won three Pulitzer Prizes for their reporting.

Village Voice (48072654421).jpg
Village Voice (48072654421).jpg
Teresa Carpenter won in 1981 for feature writing. Jules Feiffer won in 1986 for drawing editorial cartoons. Mark Schoofs won in 2000 for international reporting. The paper also gave out the Obie Awards for theater. It even started the Siren Music Festival at Coney Island in 2001.

The paper has changed a lot since it began. In 2017, it stopped printing on paper. It moved to being a fully digital venture on the internet.

The Village Voice.svg
The Village Voice.svg
However, it did not stay digital forever. In 2021, it started appearing in print again as a quarterly. A quarterly is a paper that comes out four times a year. Today, you can still read its old stories in online archives.

345 words

The Village Voice is a famous American news and culture publication. It is widely recognized as the first alternative newsweekly in the United States.

The Village Voice.svg
The Village Voice.svg
An alternative newsweekly focuses on different topics than standard newspapers. It serves as a platform for the creative community and local culture. The publication covers a wide range of subjects including arts, music, dance, and film. It also investigates New York City politics and national news. This unique focus helped it become a significant voice in American journalism.

The publication operates through a diverse group of writers and artists. These contributors provide specialized coverage of different cultural sectors. For example, music critics like Robert Christgau provided influential surveys of the music scene. Film critics such as J. Hoberman and Andrew Sarris offered deep analysis of cinema. Cartoonists like Jules Feiffer used art to express editorial ideas.

1955 October cover The Village Voice.jpg
1955 October cover The Village Voice.jpg
This variety of perspectives allows the paper to explore many different layers of society. Writers also perform muckraking, which is a type of investigative journalism that exposes corruption.

Throughout its history, The Voice has moved through many different locations in New York City. It was founded on October 26, 1955, in a two-bedroom apartment in Greenwich Village.

1955 October cover The Village Voice.jpg
1955 October cover The Village Voice.jpg
By the 1960s, its coverage area expanded beyond its original neighborhood. In 1960, it moved to a triangular corner building at 61 Christopher Street. This location was very close to the Stonewall Inn. Later, the offices moved to 11th Street and University Place. It eventually moved to Cooper Square in 1991 and the Financial District in 2013.
Village Voice (48072654421).jpg
Village Voice (48072654421).jpg

The newspaper has achieved significant professional recognition for its reporting. It has received three Pulitzer Prizes for excellence in journalism. Teresa Carpenter won in 1981 for her work in feature writing. Jules Feiffer earned a prize in 1986 for editorial cartooning. Mark Schoofs won in 2000 for his international reporting.

Village Voice (48072654421).jpg
Village Voice (48072654421).jpg
Additionally, the publication has won the National Press Foundation Award and the George Polk Award. It also established the Obie Awards to recognize excellence in alternative theater.

The publication has undergone several major changes in ownership and format. It was originally founded by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer. Over the decades, owners included figures like Rupert Murdoch and Clay Felker. In 2005, New Times Media purchased the company. Later, Voice Media Group formed in 2012 after a change in ownership. In 2015, Peter Barbey purchased the publication through Black Walnut Holdings LLC.

Village Voice (48072654421).jpg
Village Voice (48072654421).jpg
These transitions often led to changes in the staff and the direction of the paper.

In terms of format, the paper has transitioned from print to digital and back again. For many years, it was a paid weekly newspaper. In 1996, it switched to being a free alternative weekly. On August 22, 2017, the publication announced it would cease its print edition. The final printed version was distributed on September 21, 2017.

The Village Voice.svg
The Village Voice.svg
It then operated as a fully digital venture. However, in December 2020, editor R. C. Baker announced a return to publishing. In April 2021, a new spring print edition was released as a quarterly. A quarterly is a publication that comes out four times per year.

The history of The Voice also reflects changing social views. In its early years, the paper had a reputation for a homophobic slant. During the 1969 Stonewall riots, reporters used derogatory language in their articles. The Gay Liberation Front even had to petition the paper to change its policies. Eventually, the paper changed its stance and became more supportive of gay rights. In 1982, it became the second organization in the United States to offer domestic partner benefits to employees. This demonstrated how the publication evolved alongside the community it covered.

636 words
🖼️ Images & Media (3)
File:The Village Voice.svg
The Village Voice.svg
File:Village Voice (48072654421).jpg
Village Voice (48072654421).jpg
File:1955 October cover The Village Voice.jpg
1955 October cover The Village Voice.jpg
Up Next
💻
I. F. Stone
Technology
More to explore

🔬 Go deeper

More advanced topics to explore

🪜 Step back

Simpler topics to build understanding

What is Nepedia?

A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.