Thursday, September 11th

6-7:30PM 

This book is a study of the 2012-2013 transition of The Times-Picayune of New Orleans from a daily newspaper to a three-day-a-week publication with emphasis on its online presence (Digital First). It is instructive for all concerned with what the transformation might signify for the news profession and the role of the press in the digital age.

More than two hundred employees, including half the newsroom, were laid off in one of the poorest U.S. cities with among the lowest literacy rates and percentages of households with Internet access. The decision raised a furor in New Orleans. Beginning with an historical overview of The Times-Picayune, from its 1837 founding through the present, The Times-Picayune in a Changing Media World: The Transformation of an American Newspaper describes the crucial role the dailies played in the 1960 school desegregation crisis, as well as the impact of the switch on print coverage of hard news in the context of media developments, and provides a detailed analysis of specific print editions of The Times-Picayune and its digital formats conducted before and after the switch. This study of the evolution of The Times-Picayune is instructive for all concerned with what the transformation might portend for the news profession and for the traditional role of the press in the digital age.

Sherry Lee Alexander leads a panel discussion with co-authors: Alfred Lawrence Lorenz and Vicki Mayer, and booksigning for their book, The Times-Picayune in a Changing Media World.

If you are unable to attend, you must call the book shop to order signed books.