And it looks as if the New Orleans Times-Picayune will be the latest victim. No more daily Times-Picayune for New Orleans; the paper will restructure to publish only three days a week. Staff and management employees are in shock this afternoon.
Tonight, in private homes, on porches and at least one bar, employees of The Times-Picayune gathered to collectively absorb the shock of a New York Times report that the paper is about to undergo a massive restructuring that will leave New Orleans without a daily published newspaper —
Here’s the memo outgoing publisher Ashton Phelps sent to staff this morning.
A snippet:
We wanted to make you aware of a news story that will be posted on NOLA.com regarding the future of the company, and to alert you that we will be scheduling meetings to discuss it with groups of employees today.
The story, which can be accessed through this link, details the formation of NOLA Media Group, a digitally focused company that will launch this fall and that will develop new and innovative ways to deliver news and information to the company’s online and mobile readers. NOLA Media Group will be led by Ricky Mathews. Also this fall, The Times-Picayune will begin publishing a more robust newspaper on a reduced schedule of Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays only.
Mr. Mayor comments.
“For 175 years, The Times-Picayune has been a mainstay in this region. Through wars and floods, the `Aints and a Saints Super Bowl victory, the TP has been and remains an integral part of our daily routine and our culture. It is a part of our identity.
So is this another cruel blow to the culture and tradition of a great American city? Maybe its just another statistic in the “death of print media” progression, but it seems somehow a sad postscript to Ashley Morris’ famous rant.