A statewide publication grows in Louisiana
For this item, I turn it over to my colleague Rick Edmonds, Poynter’s media business analyst.
Georges Media Group expanded into a fourth Louisiana city Monday with the launch Monday of the digital Shreveport-Bossier City Advocate. Other Georges holdings are The Times-Picayune/NOLA.com in New Orleans, The Advocate in Baton Rouge, and the Acadiana Advocate in Lafayette.
That gives the company, headed by food distribution millionaire John Georges and his wife Dathel Coleman Georges, a presence in the state’s four largest cities.
The new digital report will begin with 10 locally based news staffers. In a press release, the company’s vice president of news, Rene Sanchez, said, “Leaders across Shreveport and Bossier City have told us how much they value (local news) and how much it’s missing. Our plan is to provide in-depth local news from a team of journalists who care about this community.”
Shreveport, like Lafayette, is served by a daily publication owned by Gannett. Spokesperson Lark-Marie Antón declined to provide staffing numbers but said in an e-mail, “For more than 150 years, the Shreveport Times has covered the Shreveport-Bossier area, and we remain committed to providing readers with trusted news and content.”
The move is part of a trend in which financially strong local publications are branching out statewide. The Post and Courier in Charleston, South Carolina, distributes and has small bureaus in Columbia, Greenville and Myrtle Beach. The Star Tribune in Minneapolis covers northern Minnesota with an operation in Duluth.
Because it’s the right thing to do
Over the weekend, during an interview with Maria Bartiromo on Fox News, Donald Trump didn’t commit to participating in the first Republican presidential debate next month. He said he hadn’t made up his mind, but also said, basically, that he has such a big lead in the polls that it makes no sense for him to debate anyone.
But Fox News’ John Roberts, on “America Reports,” gave a good reason why Trump should participate.
“Because it’s the democratic process,” Roberts said. “You want voters to get a look at all the candidates, and if you want to prove that you’re the candidate that they should vote for, let’s see how you react to the questions that are being asked.”
Mediaite’s Ken Meyer has more, including a clip.
Big changes at Politico
John Harris, who co-founded Politico in 2007, is returning to the newsroom as Politico’s new global editor-in-chief. He will take over for Matt Kaminski, who will finish up his role as editor-in-chief at the end of August to become an editor at large, concentrating on writing.
Harris had been editor-in-chief until he stepped down in 2019. Since then, he has been chair of Politico’s advisory board.
In a memo, Politico’s chief executive, Goli Sheikholeslami, said, “To be clear: John is not returning to a job he once had. To the contrary, he is stepping into a new role as the single top editorial executive in the company, with newsrooms in the United States and Europe reporting to him.”
Sheikholeslami said Harris’ return to the newsroom “marks a significant moment for our company.”
In an interview with The Washington Post’s Jeremy Barr, Harris said, “There are really cool opportunities in front of us, and I found myself interested in them, curious about them, and passionate about them in ways that I haven’t felt in a long, long time. I am more interested in the place and its future than I have been for a while.”
About Kaminski, Sheikholeslami wrote, “He will produce his own journalism, contributing regular pieces on American and global affairs, and representing the publication where needed. He is eager to re-engage that side of his professional life that first established him as one of his generation’s top journalists and delivering for our readers his unique perspective and wit. I have also asked him to continue to serve as a strategic adviser to me on our global ambitions.”
The New York Times’ Benjamin Mullin and Katie Robertson wrote, “The change is the latest to the top ranks of Politico. In March, the executive editor, Dafna Linzer, who reported to Mr. Kaminski, stepped down after a year in the job. Mr. Kaminski acknowledged in an email to staff at the time that he and Ms. Linzer ‘saw ourselves diverging’ over Politico’s strategic direction.”
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