NEW YORK (AP) – The newly named editor in chief of the alternative weekly Village Voice has announced he will not take the position.

Erik Wemple was to take over July 24 but said in a statement Thursday that “the paper’s ownership and I have failed to come to terms in our many discussions about moving forward, particularly with respect to newsroom management.”

Wemple said he will remain in his current job as editor of Washington City Paper, a position he has held since January 2002. He previously was senior editor and political columnist for the paper; before that, Wemple worked for Inside.com and CableWorld magazine.

Wemple’s announcement is the latest setback for the Voice, which has seen its share of turmoil following its parent company’s merger with a publisher of other alternative weekly newspapers.

Wemple was to replace interim Editor in Chief Ward Harkavy, who took over when Doug Simmons left following a scandal over a writer’s fabrication of material under his watch. Simmons held the top post following the resignation of veteran editor Don Forst in December.

In January, Village Voice Media, which runs the Voice and five other papers, merged with Phoenix-based New Times Media, the publisher of 11 alternative weeklies.

Michael Lacey, executive editor of Village Voice Media, said in a statement that “Erik’s concerns are not unreasonable.”

“The Voice is an enormous and complex horse race. We asked Erik to mount several ponies mid-stride, and he was alarmed to find us still in several of those saddles,” Lacey said.