houston press's new direction

Pioneering Houston alternative media outlet sold to mysterious new owner

The Houston Press will have a new owner.

Photo via Houston Press

Houston’s most pioneering voice in alternative journalism will have a new owner.

The Houston Press, the city’s first arts and entertainment weekly newspaper (now strictly online) announced on November 9 that its ownership company Voice Media Group will sell to a new — and unnamed — buyer.

This new owner promises to “continue the normal operations of the Houston Press for years to come,” per a company statement.

Voice Media Group (VMG), via its digital arm V Digital Services, will continue to service and support its digital agency customers in Houston, per the announcement. “VMG is proud of its history in Houston and is excited to move forward serving its digital customers in the Bayou City,” the company added in a statement.

Longtime Press editor Margaret Downing, the publication’s stalwart force in the local journalism community, declined to comment to CultureMap on the pending sale. The Press has yet to provide any information about the new owner or ownership group's identity.

Press publisher Stuart Folb also did not return CultureMap’s request for comment.

VMG will continue to operate the other local publications in its portfolio: Denver Westword, Phoenix New Times, Miami New Times, the Dallas Observer, and New Times Broward-Palm Beach, the company noted.

Founded in 1989, the Press quickly rose to prominence and popularity with its irreverent, edgy tone and aggressive investigative reporting.

Severe budget cuts forced the laying off of a large majority of the publication’s editorial fulltime staff, as well as a move from weekly print publishing to a digital-only presence, one that included reader donations for additional financial support.

Honors for the paper include first-place for staff blog in the 2016 Association of Alternative Newsmedia Awards; winner in the 2016 Clarion Awards for feature writing; winner for Outstanding Newspaper Article in the national 2016 GLAAD media awards; three first places in the 2016 First Amendment Awards competition for Texas and Oklahoma; and seven first places in the statewide 2016 Lone Star Awards.

Notable alumni include award-winning food critic Robb Walsh and reporter Steve McVicker, who penned the novel I Love You Phillip Morris: A True Story of Life, Love, and Prison Breaks, later to become a Jim Carrey-led film in 2009.

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H-Town's Moo Deng

Houston Zoo welcomes Akobi, an adorable pygmy hippopotamus

Akobi is Houston Zoo's newest pygmy hippoptamus

Photo by Jackelin Reyna/Houston Zoo

Houston Zoo welcomes itOH MY THAT IS ADORABLE

The Houston Zoo welcomes Akobi, its newest pygmy hippopotamus right as the species is having a massive resurgence in popularity.

Thanks to Moo Deng, a baby pygmy hippo born Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Si Racha, Chonburi, Thailand this summer, pygmy hippopotami are more popular than ever. Moo Deng became a viral sensation thanks to cute videos of him playing and drinking from a spraying hose. He was even parodied on Saturday Night Live, where he was played by Bowen Yang.

Akobi is a four-and-a-half-year-old, 477-pound male pygmy hippopotamus who recently moved from San Francisco to Houston as part of an Association of Zoos and Aquarium (AZA) Species Survival Plan (SSP) Program. His name means “first born” in Yoruba. This is definitely one California transplant all Texans can agree on.

As their name suggests, pygmy hippos are quite a bit smaller than their more famous counterparts. Common hippos can weigh up to 4,000 pounds and are among the most dangerous megafauna in the world because of their fierce territoriality. By contrast, pygmy hippos rarely get above 500 pounds and are comparatively docile.

Unlike their larger cousins, pygmy hippos spend most of their time on dry land and live solitary lives rather than in large herds. Akobi is the first pygmy hippo in the Houston Zoo since the death of Silas, their previous pygmy hippo. Acquired in 2020, Silas quickly became a favorite of zoo visitors. He died in 2022 after a short illness.

Akobi comes at a time of massive expansion and progress for the Houston Zoo. The 55-acre zoological garden just opened its massive Birds of the World exhibit, featuring bird species across three continents. It also swept a series of industry awards for its innovative Galapagos Island area, which introduced penguins to the zoo among a host of other species. These were all part of the Houston Zoo’s centennial celebration.

Hopefully, Akobi will have an easier time than Moo Deng. Visitors to the viral star’s enclosure would sometimes spray water or throw items at the hippo, leading to the zoo having to build more security to protect Moo Deng. Houston Zoo visitors should remember that pygmy hippos (and all zoo animals) should not be disturbed or molested for their health and the visitor’s safety.

akobi houston zoo pygmy hippopotamus