Village Voice Media Sells 'Nashville Scene'

By: E&P Staff Village Voice Media (VVM) said Wednesday it is selling the alternative weekly Nashville Scene and the lifestyle magazine Nfocus to Nashville-based SouthComm.

For SouthComm, the purchase not only puts the Scene back in local hands, it adds to a growing chain that has been acquisitive in recent months. Among its buys was LEO Weekly, the Louisville, Ky., alternative weekly. SouthComm also bought several Nashville papers, including The City Paper.

SouthComm had Chris Ferrell is a former publisher of the Nashville Scene.

VVM said the deal is expected to close on Friday, Aug. 21. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

VVM, the nation's largest alternative newspaper publisher, acquired the Scene in 2006.