Groundbreaking alternative paper Village Voice shuts down

NEW YORK (AP) — The publisher of The Village Voice says the venerable alternative weekly will cease publication.

Today's announcement by owner Peter Barbey comes three years after Barbey bought the paper and one year after it ceased publishing in print.

Barbey called today "a sad day for The Village Voice and millions of readers." He said the paper has been subject to "the increasingly harsh economic realities" facing those creating journalism.

He said staff members have been working to ensure that the print archive of the Voice is made digitally accessible.

The Village Voice was the country's first alternative newsweekly, founded in 1955 by a group that included writer Norman Mailer.

It has received three Pulitzer Prizes and many other awards over the years.