Requiem For A Paperweight

Don't let the title fool you, this is a feel good story.  And we deserve it. 

We are a people.  We are a culture.  We are a city. 

And more, we are a champion.  Events have proven that.  Take a victory lap.

Better yet, take another sip of your CDM, Mimosa, or Bloody Mary, light one if you wish, sit back and relax with the paper today and tomorrow.

For unlike the protagonist of Rod Serling's classic Requiem for a Heavyweight, Mountain Rivera, who never threw a fight, the late Times-Picayune took an intentional dive in an elaborately staged imaginary duel between print and digital news delivery, yet hoped to remain the bully of New Orleans.  But, the curtain has dropped.  They are gone.  We are still here.

Cheers!!  In order for sure.  But like any print worth the ink, this should be clipped and cut to the true skinny. 

Today is the 7th day of home delivery of the New Orleans Edition of  The Advocate.

Like many others who consider themselves lifelong New Orleanians, I lived some four years in the Baton Rouge area.  It was many years ago.  And during those years, I read The Morning Advocate daily.  Note the word "Morning" in the masthead; no doubt an artifact of even earlier times when Baton Rouge, too, had an evening paper.  I'm certain I haven't read more than ten to twenty Advocate issues in the last thirty plus years. 

I always thought it a quality publication.  Still, I don't know how to say this more politely, so here goes:  In my experience it has always been stupidly conservative, editorially.  But it was also pretty damn good at covering its beat.  And that is what counts. Over the long haul, institutional outlook can, and often does, change; and, where it really matters, outlook is up to you, dear reader.  If the assigned duty is secured, that is all that counts.  So I will leave the rest of this to the publisher of The Advocate, David Manship.

This from Manship in the Monday, October 1, 2012 New Orleans Edition of The Advocate:

 

"We understand that people make decisions about how they consume news on an individual basis, and our products are available in many formats, including online and an E-edition, but we also have The Advocate Daily New Orleans edition for Crescent City readers who want a printed daily newspaper delivered to their home or workplace.

 

We know the daily paper has an important role in the community, especially New Orleans, and with your support, we will meet your demands for quality reporting of the news of the day in and around New Orleans.

 

A few months ago, New Orleans was in the  national spotlight because it seemed slated to become the largest American city without a daily newspaper.

 

That was supposed to happen today, Oct. 1.

 

But, it hasn't happened.

 

At The Advocate, we think New Orleans and its citizens deserve a quality newspaper printed each and every day, and we intend to provide one."