the merger we've all been waiting for

Despite consistent denials that everyone seemed to know were not sincere, it's now been reported that New Times will acquire Village Voice Media. There has been a lot of discussion about this matter. The alt.media sphere tends to lean against corporatization of any sort, so generally speaking folks have been concerned that this will create monopolistic media markets.
The deal will be subject to a Department of Justice review due to a past anti-trust situation. The Bay Guardian has been a particularly loud voice against New Times and undoubtedly we'll hear more from them soon. John Dicker, who wrote the Wal-Mart book we profiled recently, weighed in on the deal on The Huffington Post today, as did Dan Savage editor of The Stranger in Seattle. The Stranger competes against Seattle Weekly, a VVM paper.