Daily Report has confirmed that New Orleans businessman John Georges has signed a letter of intent with the Manship family to acquire The Advocate. Details of the agreement, which was signed today, are unknown, and earlier Friday sources told Daily Report the letter of intent would only lay out the general terms of the deal and that a document outlining the specifics of the acquisition will not come until later. Georges, reached Friday night, declined to comment, citing a confidentiality agreement. The Advocate's publisher David Manship did not return calls for comment earlier this week. Industry sources have calculated the paper's value at somewhere between $30 million and $40 million, not including its some $30 million debt load. Manship has told Daily Report on previous occasions his family was asking "way more than the paper's worth." —Stephanie Riegel
Nearly one month after The Advocate stunned Baton Rouge readers by announcing it is in serious sales talks with a potential buyer—later identified by Daily Report to be New Orleans businessman John Georges— negotiations between the two sides continue with no word on if or when a deal may come together. Advocate Publisher David Manship, who is not directly involved in the negotiations, says it is his understanding the ball is in Georges' court right now. "It's strictly up to him. … I guess he's thinking about it," says Manship. "Frankly, I'll be glad when it's all over." Manship declines to discuss the asking price for the family-owned paper, though he says it is more than $50 million. "I'm telling you it's high," he says. "It's not worth what we're asking for it." The value of the privately held paper is unknown because its financials are not public. However, industry experts have estimated it could be between $25 million and $50 million, not...
Sources familiar with negotiations between the Manship family and New Orleans businessman John Georges over the possible sale of The Advocate say talks have been accelerated because of publicity surrounding the possible deal, and that purchase agreements could be exchanged within the next two weeks. Sources stress, however, that no firm offer is on the table yet because of the complexities surrounding the deal and the many different ways it could be structured. Though no one knows for sure what The Advocate is worth, given that its financials are not made public, publisher David Manship has said the paper still owes approximately $30 million on the Siegen Lane printing presses it bought several years ago. Sources say that debt will factor prominently into how the deal is structured. According to newspaper analyst John Morton of The American Journalist Review, an industry rule of thumb to determine a newspaper's value is to use a multiplier of between $300 and...
New Orleans businessman John Georges has confirmed he is the interested buyer of The Advocate, as Daily Report first reported Saturday. At the time, Georges would not confirm he is in acquisition talks with the Manship family, which owns the Baton Rouge daily newspaper. But earlier today he told The Advocate he "loves Louisiana and loves to buy and own Louisiana companies." News of the possible sale came late Friday, when The Advocate reported on its website it is in serious talks with a potential buyer. In an interview this morning, publisher David Manship told Daily Report his paper decided to run the story when it did and with limited details because word of the deal was getting out and "we didn't want our employees to find out from someone else." Manship says he cannot discuss terms of the possible deal, nor will he confirm Georges is the potential buyer, because he has signed a confidentiality agreement. However, he says he expects a deal to...
On Sunday, CBS's 60 Minutes will air a story on the declining nature of print journalism by highlighting the transformation that has taken place at The Times-Picayune since the New Orleans newspaper scaled back its print publication schedule in October and increased emphasis on its online product. The story, titled "The Paper" and reported by veteran journalist Morley Safer, is slated to air at 6 p.m. In a preview of the story CBS released on Thursday, 60 Minutes says the new business model the New Orleans newspaper is experimenting with will be "a fate many more newspapers face as the Internet becomes the source of almost instantaneous news." In a post Thursday, Times-Picayunecolumnist Dave Walker says Safer visited New Orleans in September to do interviews for the segment, shooting footage inside the newspaper's Howard Avenue newsroom and...
The University of New Orleans is teaming up with NPR station WWNO to launch a nonprofit multimedia news initiative. The plans announced today call for creating a newsroom that produces "in-depth local reporting" on topics including government, criminal justice, business, education and the environment. The reports will be featured on a website, neworleansreporter.org and on WWNO radio. The site currently redirects to a page asking for donations to the new project, while the partners plan to launch the news by the end of the year. Content will be available, free of charge, to other news outlets. UNO says the initiative is being built on a public radio funding model, and will rely on a mix of corporate and foundation sponsors, as well as donations from readers and listeners. A release announcing the initiative says it aims to produce "thought-provoking, original reporting on key beats including public accountability and government,...
After The Advocate publisher David Manship coyly told Business Report in June that the family newspaper is "not very adventurous" and would take a wait-and-see approach to entering the New Orleans market, The Advocate this morning laid out an ambiguous plan for moving into the Crescent City this fall with no mention of specifics or how many reporters it may staff there. Nonetheless, observer Bob Mann, a mass communications professor at LSU, calls it a "bold move." Since The Advocate pulled away its single correspondent in New Orleans in 2009, Mann says it would be surprising if the newspaper tries to staff a new bureau with more than two or three reporters. "There's a lot of Associated Press wire copy that's already coming out of New Orleans," Mann says, and the newspaper could use that to beef up its New Orleans-centric front page. A front page reworked for New Orleans, Mann says, wouldn't be unique: many large newspapers do it for other markets and it's...
Richard Manship, president and CEO of Capital City Press—publisher of the The Advocate—says the Baton Rouge daily newspaper plans to expand into the New Orleans market with a specialized print edition in the fall. The Advocate is laying the groundwork to reach into the market following the announcement by The Times-Picayune that the newspaper will reduce publication to three days a week this fall while beefing up its online report. Manship says The Advocate will add staff to supply coverage of the New Orleans area, but did not provide specific numbers, and says plans are still evolving. The Times-Picayune, which is owned by Advance Publications Inc., announced plans in June to convert the 175-year-old New Orleans daily to a 24-hour digital news operation with a print edition only on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The newspaper also cut about 200 positions. Poynter reports The Advocate plans to enter the market in October,...
A who's who of notable New Orleans residents—including Archbishop Gregory Aymond, former New Orleans Saints quarterback Archie Manning, jazz artist Wynton Marsalis and Treme star Wendell Pierce—are reportedly pressing 22 members of the Newhouse family to sell The Times-Picayune, which has announced plans to move to a three-day-a-week publication schedule this fall. "If you have ever valued the friendship you have shared with our city and your loyal readers, we ask that you sell the Times-Picayune," reads a letter from The Times-Picayune Citizens' Group—which includes more than 70 businesses and community groups—to the Newhouse family. The Times-Picayune reports others signatories include Tulane University President Scott Cowen, Xavier University President Norman Francis, Loyola University President Kevin Wildes, restaurateur Ralph Brennan, and Saints and Hornets owner Tom Benson and his wife, Gayle. "Our city wants a daily printed...
When the corporate owners of New Orleans' 175-year-old daily, The Times-Picayune, announced last month they were going to scale back publication to three days a week and gut the paper's newsroom staff, it sent shock waves through a state that treasures its traditions and clings fiercely to its historic institutions. The news touched a nerve in Baton Rouge, too, with many wondering if The Advocate might move into the New Orleans market to fill the void—or if Baton Rouge's daily might be in danger of facing a similar fate as New Orleans'. For now, Advocate Publisher David Manship says neither is an option. But ultimately, change will come to The Advocate, as it has to The Times-Picayune and a growing number of newspapers around the country. "The economics of the business are in permanent long-term decline, so it's inevitable," says Tom Baker, a New Jersey-based media consultant who was co-founder and general manager of The Wall Street Journal...
When the corporate owners of New Orleans' 175-year-old daily, The Times-Picayune, announced last month they were going to scale back publication to three days a week and gut the paper's newsroom staff, it sent shock waves through a state that treasures its traditions and clings fiercely to its historic institutions.
(From The Daily Beast) On today's MediaBeast, Jacob Bernstein talks with two of New York's top media reporters, Lucia Moses of Adweek and Joe Pompeo of Capital New York. The topics: the fate of the Times-Picayune, and the New York Times's investigation of the Horace Mann School.
The Times Picayune today announced job cuts for 201 employees as it reduces a third of its staff. In the news operation alone, 84 of the 173 people currently employed in the newsroom were notified today that they will lose their jobs and be given severance packages. Employees who were not laid off were offered new jobs to begin this fall with Nola Media Group, the new company that will oversee news coverage for The Times-Picayune. Among the more notable names on the list of newsroom employees slated for layoffs are longtime sports columnist Peter Finney, award-winning restaurant critic Brett Anderson and religion writer Bruce Nolan. The newspaper announced the layoffs here. Finney, it should be noted, has been asked to write a sports column on a freelance basis, Editor Jim Amoss said. "Peter Finney has a permanent seat in the press box in Tiger Stadium for any...
Starting today, all five of restaurateur Ralph Brennan's New Orleans restaurants will begin serving a special "Save the Picayune" cocktail, reports The Times-Picayune. The drinks are part of the Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group's Cocktail for a Cause program. It was conceived in response to last month's announcement that The Times-Picayune will cease operating as a daily newspaper this fall, printing instead on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday of each week while shifting to a smaller, digitally focused news operation. And the drinks will be offered every day, not just three days a week. Brennan's group says its restaurants are pledging their support for "keeping The Times-Picayune in our collective hands seven days a week. RBRG aims to keep the award-winning staff working and reporting on the stories that matter most to New Orleanians, so 20 percent from each of the cocktail's proceeds will benefit adversely impacted The Times-Picayune employees." To read more...
Hundreds of people, some wearing shirts emblazoned with The Times-Picayune logo and carrying protest signs, gathered in the parking lot of Rock 'n' Bowl in New Orleans on Monday for a rally in support of the newspaper and its employees. A host of business and civic leaders—including the heads of Ochsner Health System and Entergy New Orleans Inc.—also signed their names to a letter urging Advance Publications Inc., the owner of The Times-Picayune, to rethink its plan to cut publication of the city's only daily newspaper to three days a week. The Times-Picayune reports more than 70 community members and organizations, organized as the Times-Picayune Citizens Group, say their purpose is to "ensure the continuation of the delivery of a high-quality, seven-day-a-week newspaper, with access to the entire community." Meanwhile, a petition titled "Save The Times-Picayune!" on change.org had...
About 50 business and civic leaders and organizations have joined together in an attempt to stop a recently announced plan to reduce the print publication of The Times-Picayune from once a day to three times weekly, the New Orleans newspaper reports. Calling itself the Times-Picayune Citizens' Group, the body says in a press release issued today that its purpose is to "ensure the continuation of the delivery of a high-quality, seven-day-a-week newspaper, with access to the entire community." The group is hoping to begin communicating with Advance Publications Inc., owner of The Times-Picayune, and other interested parties to achieve that goal. The press release does not detail how the group believes that would be accomplished. The group's introduction comes just hours before a rally in support of the newspaper and its employees is scheduled to take place at 4...
News alert: Georges signs letter of intent to buy Advocate
Daily Report has confirmed that New Orleans businessman John Georges has signed a letter of intent with the Manship family to acquire The Advocate. Details of the agreement, which was signed today, are unknown, and earlier Friday sources told Daily Report the letter of intent would only lay out the general terms of the deal and that a document outlining the specifics of the acquisition will not come until later. Georges, reached Friday night, declined to comment, citing a confidentiality agreement. The Advocate's publisher David Manship did not return calls for comment earlier this week. Industry sources have calculated the paper's value at somewhere between $30 million and $40 million, not including its some $30 million debt load. Manship has told Daily Report on previous occasions his family was asking "way more than the paper's worth." —Stephanie Riegel
'Advocate' deal up to Georges, publisher says
Nearly one month after The Advocate stunned Baton Rouge readers by announcing it is in serious sales talks with a potential buyer—later identified by Daily Report to be New Orleans businessman John Georges— negotiations between the two sides continue with no word on if or when a deal may come together. Advocate Publisher David Manship, who is not directly involved in the negotiations, says it is his understanding the ball is in Georges' court right now. "It's strictly up to him. … I guess he's thinking about it," says Manship. "Frankly, I'll be glad when it's all over." Manship declines to discuss the asking price for the family-owned paper, though he says it is more than $50 million. "I'm telling you it's high," he says. "It's not worth what we're asking for it." The value of the privately held paper is unknown because its financials are not public. However, industry experts have estimated it could be between $25 million and $50 million, not...
Talks on 'Advocate' sale to Georges accelerating
Sources familiar with negotiations between the Manship family and New Orleans businessman John Georges over the possible sale of The Advocate say talks have been accelerated because of publicity surrounding the possible deal, and that purchase agreements could be exchanged within the next two weeks. Sources stress, however, that no firm offer is on the table yet because of the complexities surrounding the deal and the many different ways it could be structured. Though no one knows for sure what The Advocate is worth, given that its financials are not made public, publisher David Manship has said the paper still owes approximately $30 million on the Siegen Lane printing presses it bought several years ago. Sources say that debt will factor prominently into how the deal is structured. According to newspaper analyst John Morton of The American Journalist Review, an industry rule of thumb to determine a newspaper's value is to use a multiplier of between $300 and...
Manship: Asking price for 'The Advocate' is 'a lot more than it's worth'
New Orleans businessman John Georges has confirmed he is the interested buyer of The Advocate, as Daily Report first reported Saturday. At the time, Georges would not confirm he is in acquisition talks with the Manship family, which owns the Baton Rouge daily newspaper. But earlier today he told The Advocate he "loves Louisiana and loves to buy and own Louisiana companies." News of the possible sale came late Friday, when The Advocate reported on its website it is in serious talks with a potential buyer. In an interview this morning, publisher David Manship told Daily Report his paper decided to run the story when it did and with limited details because word of the deal was getting out and "we didn't want our employees to find out from someone else." Manship says he cannot discuss terms of the possible deal, nor will he confirm Georges is the potential buyer, because he has signed a confidentiality agreement. However, he says he expects a deal to...
'60 Minutes' to explore digital evolution of 'Times-Picayune' on Sunday
On Sunday, CBS's 60 Minutes will air a story on the declining nature of print journalism by highlighting the transformation that has taken place at The Times-Picayune since the New Orleans newspaper scaled back its print publication schedule in October and increased emphasis on its online product. The story, titled "The Paper" and reported by veteran journalist Morley Safer, is slated to air at 6 p.m. In a preview of the story CBS released on Thursday, 60 Minutes says the new business model the New Orleans newspaper is experimenting with will be "a fate many more newspapers face as the Internet becomes the source of almost instantaneous news." In a post Thursday, Times-Picayune columnist Dave Walker says Safer visited New Orleans in September to do interviews for the segment, shooting footage inside the newspaper's Howard Avenue newsroom and...
UNO, WWNO partner to launch nonprofit news initiative
The University of New Orleans is teaming up with NPR station WWNO to launch a nonprofit multimedia news initiative. The plans announced today call for creating a newsroom that produces "in-depth local reporting" on topics including government, criminal justice, business, education and the environment. The reports will be featured on a website, neworleansreporter.org and on WWNO radio. The site currently redirects to a page asking for donations to the new project, while the partners plan to launch the news by the end of the year. Content will be available, free of charge, to other news outlets. UNO says the initiative is being built on a public radio funding model, and will rely on a mix of corporate and foundation sponsors, as well as donations from readers and listeners. A release announcing the initiative says it aims to produce "thought-provoking, original reporting on key beats including public accountability and government,...
'Advocate' plans to move into New Orleans called 'a bold move'
After The Advocate publisher David Manship coyly told Business Report in June that the family newspaper is "not very adventurous" and would take a wait-and-see approach to entering the New Orleans market, The Advocate this morning laid out an ambiguous plan for moving into the Crescent City this fall with no mention of specifics or how many reporters it may staff there. Nonetheless, observer Bob Mann, a mass communications professor at LSU, calls it a "bold move." Since The Advocate pulled away its single correspondent in New Orleans in 2009, Mann says it would be surprising if the newspaper tries to staff a new bureau with more than two or three reporters. "There's a lot of Associated Press wire copy that's already coming out of New Orleans," Mann says, and the newspaper could use that to beef up its New Orleans-centric front page. A front page reworked for New Orleans, Mann says, wouldn't be unique: many large newspapers do it for other markets and it's...
'The Advocate' planning New Orleans edition
Richard Manship, president and CEO of Capital City Press—publisher of the The Advocate—says the Baton Rouge daily newspaper plans to expand into the New Orleans market with a specialized print edition in the fall. The Advocate is laying the groundwork to reach into the market following the announcement by The Times-Picayune that the newspaper will reduce publication to three days a week this fall while beefing up its online report. Manship says The Advocate will add staff to supply coverage of the New Orleans area, but did not provide specific numbers, and says plans are still evolving. The Times-Picayune, which is owned by Advance Publications Inc., announced plans in June to convert the 175-year-old New Orleans daily to a 24-hour digital news operation with a print edition only on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The newspaper also cut about 200 positions. Poynter reports The Advocate plans to enter the market in October,...
N.O. notables urge 'Times-Pic' owners to sell newspaper
A who's who of notable New Orleans residents—including Archbishop Gregory Aymond, former New Orleans Saints quarterback Archie Manning, jazz artist Wynton Marsalis and Treme star Wendell Pierce—are reportedly pressing 22 members of the Newhouse family to sell The Times-Picayune, which has announced plans to move to a three-day-a-week publication schedule this fall. "If you have ever valued the friendship you have shared with our city and your loyal readers, we ask that you sell the Times-Picayune," reads a letter from The Times-Picayune Citizens' Group—which includes more than 70 businesses and community groups—to the Newhouse family. The Times-Picayune reports others signatories include Tulane University President Scott Cowen, Xavier University President Norman Francis, Loyola University President Kevin Wildes, restaurateur Ralph Brennan, and Saints and Hornets owner Tom Benson and his wife, Gayle. "Our city wants a daily printed...
Changes at Times-Picayune shake up Louisiana media landscape
When the corporate owners of New Orleans' 175-year-old daily, The Times-Picayune, announced last month they were going to scale back publication to three days a week and gut the paper's newsroom staff, it sent shock waves through a state that treasures its traditions and clings fiercely to its historic institutions. The news touched a nerve in Baton Rouge, too, with many wondering if The Advocate might move into the New Orleans market to fill the void—or if Baton Rouge's daily might be in danger of facing a similar fate as New Orleans'. For now, Advocate Publisher David Manship says neither is an option. But ultimately, change will come to The Advocate, as it has to The Times-Picayune and a growing number of newspapers around the country. "The economics of the business are in permanent long-term decline, so it's inevitable," says Tom Baker, a New Jersey-based media consultant who was co-founder and general manager of The Wall Street Journal...
All the news that's fit for an app
When the corporate owners of New Orleans' 175-year-old daily, The Times-Picayune, announced last month they were going to scale back publication to three days a week and gut the paper's newsroom staff, it sent shock waves through a state that treasures its traditions and clings fiercely to its historic institutions.
A daily newspaper in New Orleans? Not going to happen.
(From The Daily Beast) On today's MediaBeast, Jacob Bernstein talks with two of New York's top media reporters, Lucia Moses of Adweek and Joe Pompeo of Capital New York. The topics: the fate of the Times-Picayune, and the New York Times's investigation of the Horace Mann School.
One-third of 'Times-Picayune' staff given notice
The Times Picayune today announced job cuts for 201 employees as it reduces a third of its staff. In the news operation alone, 84 of the 173 people currently employed in the newsroom were notified today that they will lose their jobs and be given severance packages. Employees who were not laid off were offered new jobs to begin this fall with Nola Media Group, the new company that will oversee news coverage for The Times-Picayune. Among the more notable names on the list of newsroom employees slated for layoffs are longtime sports columnist Peter Finney, award-winning restaurant critic Brett Anderson and religion writer Bruce Nolan. The newspaper announced the layoffs here. Finney, it should be noted, has been asked to write a sports column on a freelance basis, Editor Jim Amoss said. "Peter Finney has a permanent seat in the press box in Tiger Stadium for any...
News you can booze
Starting today, all five of restaurateur Ralph Brennan's New Orleans restaurants will begin serving a special "Save the Picayune" cocktail, reports The Times-Picayune. The drinks are part of the Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group's Cocktail for a Cause program. It was conceived in response to last month's announcement that The Times-Picayune will cease operating as a daily newspaper this fall, printing instead on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday of each week while shifting to a smaller, digitally focused news operation. And the drinks will be offered every day, not just three days a week. Brennan's group says its restaurants are pledging their support for "keeping The Times-Picayune in our collective hands seven days a week. RBRG aims to keep the award-winning staff working and reporting on the stories that matter most to New Orleanians, so 20 percent from each of the cocktail's proceeds will benefit adversely impacted The Times-Picayune employees." To read more...
Rally, petitions for 'Times-Picayune' not likely to stave off cuts
Hundreds of people, some wearing shirts emblazoned with The Times-Picayune logo and carrying protest signs, gathered in the parking lot of Rock 'n' Bowl in New Orleans on Monday for a rally in support of the newspaper and its employees. A host of business and civic leaders—including the heads of Ochsner Health System and Entergy New Orleans Inc.—also signed their names to a letter urging Advance Publications Inc., the owner of The Times-Picayune, to rethink its plan to cut publication of the city's only daily newspaper to three days a week. The Times-Picayune reports more than 70 community members and organizations, organized as the Times-Picayune Citizens Group, say their purpose is to "ensure the continuation of the delivery of a high-quality, seven-day-a-week newspaper, with access to the entire community." Meanwhile, a petition titled "Save The Times-Picayune!" on change.org had...
Times-Picayune Citizens' Group hopes to save daily paper
About 50 business and civic leaders and organizations have joined together in an attempt to stop a recently announced plan to reduce the print publication of The Times-Picayune from once a day to three times weekly, the New Orleans newspaper reports. Calling itself the Times-Picayune Citizens' Group, the body says in a press release issued today that its purpose is to "ensure the continuation of the delivery of a high-quality, seven-day-a-week newspaper, with access to the entire community." The group is hoping to begin communicating with Advance Publications Inc., owner of The Times-Picayune, and other interested parties to achieve that goal. The press release does not detail how the group believes that would be accomplished. The group's introduction comes just hours before a rally in support of the newspaper and its employees is scheduled to take place at 4...