City Pages publisher leaves

City Pages Publisher Mark Bartel left the paper Wednesday after 13 years at the helm of the Twin Cities alternative weekly co-founded by his brother.

Kurtis Barton, group publisher for the paper's owner, said he met Tuesday night with Bartel, who left the newspaper the next day. Barton gave no specific reason for the management change but said it was an "absolutely mutual" decision.

Bartel became publisher in 1997, when his brother Tom resigned after selling the paper, now owned by Village Voice Media, which also owns the Village Voice in New York and LA Weekly in Los Angeles. Mark Bartel had worked at City Pages for 29 years, starting as a receptionist. He could not be reached to comment.

City Pages, like many newspapers, has seen ads and pages shrink. In December, the paper cut its circulation from 90,000 to 80,000.

No replacement publisher has been named. Barton, who is based in Phoenix, said he is in town to help lead the paper in the interim.