New Times was founded in 1970 and grew to become the largest alternative chain in the country prior to its merger with the Voice. The company started with Phoenix New Times, whose writers have won the Arizona Press Club’s Journalist of the Year award eight out of the past eleven years. In 1983, the company began expanding, first acquiring Westword in Denver and ultimately growing to include Miami New Times, the Dallas Observer, the Houston Press, SF Weekly in San Francisco, Cleveland Scene, the Riverfront Times in St. Louis, The Pitch in Kansas City, and New Times Broward-Palm Beach in Ft. Lauderdale.

In 2006, New Times, Inc merged with Village Voice Media, Inc, taking on the name Village Voice Media and six newspapers: Village Voice, LA Weekly, OC Weekly, Minneapolis City Pages, and Nashville Scene. Village Voice Media continues in the footsteps of both companies, by providing its readers with solid journalism and in-depth stories.