The longtime Village Voice publicist, Jessica Bellucci, left the paper after the New Times acquisition, when it was clear management didn't see the need for her job. Village Voice Media HQ in Phoenix — nee New Times Media HQ — has no publicist. So, tell us, you got a better idea on how to make a corporate announcement?

Acting editor-in-chief Doug Simmons has been fired from the Village Voice, according to several sources at the paper. Word is that Mike Lacey, the editorial top dog of Village Voice Media, made the announcement at the troubled alt-weekly's 3 p.m. editorial meeting today. Simmons, the paper's managing editor until editor-in-chief Dan Forst resigned soon after the New Times deal closed in January, assinged and edited last week's now-retracted cover story, "Do You Wanna Kiss Me?," by Nick Sylvester. Sylvester subsequently admitted the piece contained a fabricated final scene.

"I'm still here, and in good standing," Doug Simmons, the beleaguered acting editor-in-chief of the Village Voice, told Gawker by phone just a few minutes ago. Then he laughed. "Well, maybe not in such good standing."