Jun 18, 201207:00 AM
The Editor's Room
Weekly Commentary with New Orleans Magazine’s Errol Laborde
The Editor's Room Editors
The Times-Picayune: Amoss' and Newhouse's Comments
In Jim Amoss’ defense of the decline of The Times-Picayune which appeared on the front page of last Thursday’s issue, there was one line in particular that stood out to me: “Readers no longer want today’s news tomorrow. They want it now.” That line was hard to miss because it was even used as a pull quote on a back page.
That line, it occurred to me, reflects the essence of the issue and why it is a disaster to reduce printing from daily to three times a week. First, let me say that I have always had respect for the T-P’s Editor. I just disagree vehemently with what is happening to the newspaper. The point is not so much that readers want today’s news now; that information is already available. As I am writing this there are various beeps from TV station web sites, NOLA.com and even government agencies, telling me about a crime and accidents or the latest on the Saints investigations.
We do not need for a great daily newspaper to gut itself to provide the services that we already have. Instead, we need for a daily to be a daily, that morning summary of the news that also offers opinions analysis and gives the details about the stories for which we were beeped the day before. There is nothing like a daily newspaper. That’s why so many people are upset about what is happening.
In keeping with the spirit of the times, and since you are reading this on the Internet, here’s my own news update:
Ping. T-P’s ownerships just do not get it. On the day of the staff cutbacks The New York Times quoted Steven Newhouse, Chairman of Advance.net, the Newhouse web division, saying, “We have no intention of selling no matter how much noise there is out there.”
So now we see the mindset of the opposition’s leadership, a guy in New York who dismisses all of our concerns as “noise.”
We’re trying to save the dignity of our city, Mr. Newhouse. That’s not noise, that’s passion.
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Errol Laborde holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of New Orleans and is the editor in chief of Renaissance Publishing. In that capacity he serves as editor/associate publisher of 
Reader Comments:
Ping. Right on the money, Errol.
I agree Errol.
There are so many other ways of getting internet information that already exist and are better than nola.com,which I find difficult to navigate. I say we should all shun their site and stick to the local news stations and other sites around town, maybe our noise will make more sense to them when their ad revenue from nola.com dries up due to lack of traffic.
The "Almighty Dollar" seems to be paramount to Mr. Newhouse but without advertising revenue he will be cut off at the knees. So to all those large advertising "noises" who signed a petition to keep the daily paper running, you now know you don't have to advertise with nola.com or any Newhouse enterprise----you can take your "$$$noise" elsewhere.
My husband and I already hate the amount of time we spend on the computer for things with no other option. We will not add any more to it by reading the news that way. I guess we will spread the Sunday paper over 3 days,the others over 2 days, and supplement with Gambit and New Orleans magazine at the breakfast table . That is, unless someone starts a new daily. I predict almost all of the TP subscribers would defect to it with me.
Here's what you can't do with an online newspaper --
Read it in the car as a passenger.
Read it at the breakfast table without a mouse in your hand.
Flip through the pages to find articles of interest.
Scan quickly an article to see if you want to read more.
Do a crossword puzzle with a pen.
Read it on your patio in broad daylight.
Share sections with someone else so you can both read at the same time without looking over a shoulder.
I'm sure there's more, but I haven't taken the time to figure out all the possibilities.
Newspapers are part of my life, and have been for a long time.
Shame on anyone who thinks pixels will replace ink. Especially someone with links to a historically important newspaper family.
@RickyB
Here are some more things to add to your list:
Try these with your Ipad:
Swat a fly.
Put it under your boiled crawfish.
Cover the bottom of the bird cage.
Paper train your dog.
Well said Errol and spot on. The newspaper's case is flimsy. Amoss did not look or sound believable in his video. The analogy to the federal floods in his print piece were despicable.
The Some-Times Picayunes claims that it will be better are lies. It is a travesty that some rich, soulless people in New Jersey can take advantage of us like this, especially given the blood, sweat and tears we have invested in rebuilding this great city. The perception this move creates does us all a great disservice and disgusts me. I could go on and on and on.
Thanks Errol for your appropriate remarks. There will be less "cha-ching" noise from a lot of us in the Newhouse coffers.
Changing technology is likely to mean that only major, economically important cities will have a daily newspaper. Even the NYT is struggling to maintain its relevancy and profitability in today's brave new world.
Newspapers, and all media for that matter, are for profit businesses that should be run as the owners see fit. Sometimes owners make good decisions and profit. Sometimes they make poor decisions and suffer for it. But it is their right to make that decision.
Trophywife has it right. If all of these passionate citizens will put up some money and operate a daily print newspaper, it appears that there is plethora of newly available journalists ready to whip out some great content for this new enterprise. If there is market for your product, you will quickly put NOLA.com and the "new TP" out of business and prove that that the owners of the TP are either just evil Klingons, or bumbling buffoons who just didn't how profitable their newspaper here was. Maybe they will have some recourse against their accountants and financial advisers for getting it so wrong.
And here’s a bonus; since profit is such an evil thing, you can donate all of your net proceeds to a charity of your choice, or reduce the cost of the paper so that you never make a profit, or give all of the employees a fabulous raise and benefit package. This will ensure endless invitations to all of the best cocktail parties.
Profit is NOT a dirty word, LANATIVE. Not at all. I'm all for profit. Since Newhouse/Advance Pub. is privately owned, we can't prove just how much the newspaper is making now. It is many millions-- that we know. I LOVE profit-- and if you can serve the community, be appreciated, AND make a profit-- all the better. What we do know is that an astute businessman named Warren Buffett is buying daily papers across the country, and thinks they are money makers. We also know that the T-P said they are worried about FUTURE profits, not current profits (that's because the paper was prosperous enough last year to give out bonuses and is doing rather well right now).
I do agree with you that we need to have a competitor put them out of business. And no, we won't give away the profits. We fully expect entrepreneurs to enjoy the fruits of their work. None of us is criticizing Benson for making money. All the more power to him. It was the fact that Advance Publications used a "one size fits all" to make their decision re the Times-Picayune. I agree with you that they have the right to do any thing they damn well please. I don't think that philosophy serves them well, because you can lose your client base with that philosophy. That's what is happening here now. The city wants nothing to do with them and their plans, and hopefully we will shut them down and support their replacement. Long live "for profit" in America!!! Hip, hip, hooray. The new people can even raise the price of the paper. We'll pay it!! Profit is just peachy! :-)
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