Insiders say the most active prospect is Village Voice Media, the alt-world giant that publishes 17 papers, including the Voice. I hear that execs for Philly Weekly parent company Review Publishing L.P. met with VVM bigs in New York, and that parties differ on the scope of the deal. Review wants to package the Weekly and related South Philly Review, Atlantic City Weekly and Southwest Philadelphia Review, but VVM supposedly wants only the Weekly.

As usual, nobody talked. Village Voice Media is the former New Times Media, as the two companies merged -- i.e. New Times bought VVM and took on the more-established name -- last year. New Times doesn't like commentary -- I expect original reporting[,] not merely some lazy form of print blogging," VVM executive editor Mike Lacey said -- and the chain runs syndicated reviews. (For example, the Voice's Nathan Lee's review of 300 also ran in the East Bay Express, Cleveland Scene Weekly, Seattle Weekly, to name a few.)

Let's take a look at a blurb on the front page of Village Voice Media's website:

There are two types of blogospheric sensations: the utterly predictable (the electronic op-edification provided by the Huffington Post, the breathless bitchiness barfed up by Gawker) and the truly original. We lean toward the latter around here — you know, stuff that actually involves independent thinking. That's why we're such huge fans of "Bible Girl," Julie Lyons' religion blog for the Dallas Observer. If fellow Texan Molly Ivins became a lightning rod for conservative critics, Lyons has drawn fire by being something completely different: an evangelical Christian who believes there is such a thing as sin, yet has somehow managed to edit one of the country's most provocative alternative weeklies.

Well. Hm. Which one is my blog more like... okay. Now.. let's translate this into my situation. Oh boy. Hmm.

Starting tomorrow, Philadelphia Will Do will be re-branded "Catholic Boy," edited by the newly rededicated Catholic and Opus Dei member Daniel McQuade! Hey, I guess this works if Brian Tierney ends up buying us, too.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to mass.

Inqlings | Movers mine Mendte's lost ring [Inquirer]
March 27: Philadelphia Will Do, Even More Watered Down
Related:
Culture war [Boston Phoenix]
Alt-Weekly Death Watch