The New Orleans Times-Picayune May Reduce Frequency of Publication -- NY Times

Change the "maybe" to "confirmed."

http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2012/05/nolamediagroup.html

 

This is stunning. When I think of all of the great people there that will be out of a job or who will take a massive paycut, it makes me sick to my stomach.

I guess it's the kind of situation where the living envy the dead.

When I think of a city the size and national importance of New Orleans without a daily newspaper, I'm stunned. That paper was an essential part of the community, especially during Katrina. It was one of Newhouse's crown jewels, won a ton of awards, did a ton of special projects, like the recent Louisiana prisons series and the "Washing Away" series that was awfully prophetic of Katrina's wrath.

I wonder if Mobile is next? What is McClatchy going to do with the Sun-Herald, which is limping along with no SE and an empty news room? Speaking of the Sun-Herald, Ricky Matthews was publisher there when they were gouged with huge staff cuts before moving to Mobile and now, he's going to be publisher of a much-diminished Times-Picayune. Coincidence?

 

Holy shit.

 

Romanesko hints within this link that yes, Mobile is next (and Birmingham and Huntsville, too):

http://jimromenesko.com/2012/05/24/new-orleans-times-picayune-to-cut-staff-may-reduce-publication-schedule/

 

Ugh. Saw that comment. A lot of friends there. That website redesign didn't help the Newhouse papers.

 

Good lord. All three Bama papers, too? Ouch.

 

http://www.businessalabama.com/Business-Alabama/January-2012/News-Futures/

He said this in an interview in January. Say one thing. Do the other. :

 

AnnArbor.com was definitely a test case for all of Newhouse - and, I'm afraid, possibly other chains, too. Newhouse didn't hide that, either, as it was tossing Ann Arbor News staffers onto the street.

 

Here's the Gambit's piece on it (Gambit is the biggest of NOLA's alternative weeklies). Again, the story isn't appalling so much for what the newspaper company is doing, but how they are going about it:

http://www.bestofneworleans.com/blogofneworleans/archives/2012/05/24/times-picayune-employees-in-shock-tonight-as-extent-of-newhouse-cuts-begins-to-emerge

 

I cannot fathom the idea of a newspaper that covers an NFL team not having a Monday edition.

 

Then again, I'm a fan of an NFL team and I get all the news I want on that team without ever picking up a newspaper. Granted, it's the Skins, which means the news isn't all that great, but still.