The Times- Picayune`s Downsizing And Its Impact On Federal Flacks

The decision to reduce the number of days that the New Orleans Times-Picayune is bad news for residents of the Crescent City, for journalism as a whole, and for Federal flacks.

I'm not just one of those individuals dubbed "newsprint sentimentalists" by New York Times columnist David Carr in a recent column.  Really.  And it's not because of any residual competitive feelings I have about the Newhouse family, which owns both the Times-Picayune and the Newark Star Ledger, which I competed against as a daily journalist in New Jersey.

My beef is with every media company that thinks it can save money by reducing the number of print editions, firing reporters and requiring those staff left employed to write for the web site.  Oh, and to write more often so there is always new content.

Think about it. There will be fewer reporters covering the Big Easy and they will be required to file stories more often.  This is part of a disturbing trend in American journalism...fewer staff posting more content. Some flacks think this is a positive trend because reporters will be more reliant on press releases and have less time to spend asking questions.

 I don't.

Press releases only tell part of the story, which results in reporters picking up the phone or dashing off an email to a government flack. Putting links to additional resources in press releases is a good tool.  So is making background information easily available on government websites.  The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is a good example. BOEM's website has links to statistical information, fact sheets and a slew of other information.