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.

media

supreme suburbs

2 Houston neighbors shine as top-10 best places to live in the U.S.

City of Pearland - Government/Facebook

All eyes are on Pearland.

The Houston suburbs of Pearland and League City have landed among the top three best places to live in 2025, according to U.S. News & World Report.

New for the 2025-2026 "Best Places to Live in the U.S." rankings, U.S. News expanded its coverage from 150 to 250 U.S. cities, and updated its methodology to examine each city based on five livability indexes: Quality of life, value, desirability, job market, and net migration.

Pearland ranked No. 3 nationwide, earning a 7.0 score alongside No. 1-winning Johns Creek, Georgia and No. 2 winner Carmel, Indiana.

Pearland also landed on top of U.S. News separate rankings of the best places to live in Texas for 2025-2026.

Some facts about Pearland that put it at the top of the list include its median household income ($115,504), its median home values ($319,753), and its bustling population of nearly 124,000 residents.

Housing costs in Pearland are extremely attractive compared to other places in the country, as the national average home is worth over $370,000. It's no wonder this Houston neighbor has been adding more high-income households than many other places in Texas.

Pearland's population is a healthy mix of young individuals and families, with 29 percent of residents being under 20 years old and 36 percent of the population being between the ages of 20-44. Nearly a quarter of Pearland's population is between 45-64-years-old, while only 12 percent of residents are over 65, the report says.

Pearland's reputation as one of the safest cities in America is also boosting its community appeal.

Pearland Pear Trail Pearland's Pear-Scape Trail is a popular public art trail that residents, families, and visitors can enjoy. The sculptures are scattered all over the city.City of Pearland - Government/Facebook

"Finding a community to be part of can play a major role in making a place feel like home," U.S. News said. "If you’re a parent with young children, you may want to live in a neighborhood with other people in that phase of life. If you’re a professional moving to a hot job market for your field, you may want to live in an apartment close to the office or within walking distance of friends and colleagues."

Pearland also enjoys a better job market than other cities, the report added. Pearland's unemployment rate as of 2023 was only 3.6 percent, lower than the national average unemployment rate of 4.5 percent.

However, if people are looking for a public transportation-friendly city, they may need to look elsewhere. Almost all commuters in Pearland drive to their workplaces, making access to a vehicle absolutely necessary for living in the suburb. Pearland's 31.2-minute average commute time is also 9.2 minutes higher than the national average, U.S. News said.

Other Houston-area suburbs
League City only ranked three spots behind Pearland as the 6th best place to live in the U.S., and No. 2 in Texas. The city boasts a median household income of $120,670, and affordable median home values at $327,511.

Workers in League City also predominantly rely on vehicles for their daily commutes, and only 3.7 percent of the population use public transport to get to work. Commuters spend an average time of 27.5 minutes driving to work, U.S. News determined.

More than half (63.5 percent) of all League City residents are married, and 54 percent of the population are between the ages of 25 and 64-years-old.

Here's how other Houston-area cities faired among the top 100:

No. 16 – Sugar Land
No. 44 – The Woodlands
No. 45 – Katy
No. 67 – Missouri City
No. 73 – Spring

Houston drops out of the top 100
Though Houston proper made substantial improvements to land among the top 100 best places to live in U.S. News' 2024-2025 report, the city has once again plummeted toward the bottom of the list for 2025-2026.

Houston slumped into No. 381 this year, and only ranked No. 63 in the statewide comparison, showing that the city has lost its charm in favor of its appealing suburban neighbors.

The top 10 best places to live in the U.S. are:

No. 1 – Johns Creek, Georgia
No. 2 – Carmel, Indiana
No. 3 – Pearland, Texas
No. 4 – Fishers, INdiana
No. 5 – Cary, North Carolina
No. 6 – League City, Texas
No. 7 – Apex, North Carolina
No. 8 – Leander, Texas
No. 9 – Rochester Hills, Michigan
No. 10 – Troy, Michigan