Anchorage Daily News publisher Mike Sexton announced today that the newspaper will stop publishing the Voice of the Times, a half-page editorial section that has appeared in the Daily News for 15 years.
The exact date publication will cease was not immediately available, but the contract between Voice of the Times and the Daily News expires this month.
Voice of the Times is published by Veco Corp. chief executive officer Bill Allen, who pleaded guilty Monday to bribery and conspiracy charges. But in a news release, Sexton said Allen was informed last week that the Daily News would allow the contract to expire.
By contract, executed when The Anchorage Times went out of business in 1992, Allen had complete control over what Voice of the Times published in the space, which he paid for. The contract was originally to last 10 years and was extended to 2007.
“We believe the arrangement added to diversity of debate and discussion in Alaska but have intended for some time to move beyond it to embrace an even greater range of opinion,” Sexton said in a written statement.
Reporter Kyle Hopkins can be reached at khopkins@adn.com.
