The Village Voice kills paper, goes digital-only

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NEWS) - The Village Voice has been a staple in New York City for decades. You walk down the street and pick it up for free every week. But you won't be seeing the paper in this form anymore.

After 62 years, the left-leaning weekly paper is going digital. The Village Voice was the country's first alternative weekly newspaper tackling issues like the gay rights movement early on and launching the careers of several investigative journalists. Staffers won three Pulitzer prizes. 

Michael Musto started his column in 1984 and it lasted 29 years. He said his editor gave him free rein to do whatever he wanted.

Village Voice owner Peter Barbey said that making the paper available strictly online will reach an audience every day instead of just once a week and that the paper "reflected the times and the ever-evolving world around it."

"I want the Village Voice brand to represent that for a new generation of people and for generations to come," Barbey said.

Jon Friedman teaches journalism at Stony Brook University. He said the move to online probably won't be an easy one for the Village Voice. He said an old, venerable print brand trying to keep up with digital times is very tough exactly because of its age.

No word yet when the final printed paper will be published.