Village Voice sold to Pa. newspaper owner

The United States’ first alternative newsweekly has a new owner.

New York’s The Village Voice, founded six decades ago, has been sold to the owner of a Pennsylvania newspaper whose family has been involved in the industry for generations.

Peter Barbey told The New York Times the Voice has “a unique journalistic role.”

Barbey’s family has been the longtime owner of The Reading Eagle. He bought The Village Voice for an undisclosed sum from the Voice Media Group, which owns a number of weekly newspapers.Barbey bought the Voice through his investment company Black Walnut Holdings LLC, which is separate from the company that runs the Reading newspaper.

  • WHYY thanks our sponsors — become a WHYY sponsor

The sale was announced Monday.

The Village Voice has won three Pulitzer Prizes.

WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.

Want a digest of WHYY’s programs, events & stories? Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Together we can reach 100% of WHYY’s fiscal year goal