Baton Rouge, La. -
Crescent City residents may have a new newspaper option in a few months, just as the Times-Picayune reduces its publication schedule from seven days a week to three.
The Baton Rouge newspaper The Advocate is preparing to boost its presence in New Orleans. The Advocate will publish a New Orleans edition, with news that appeals more directly to readers here.
"This has to have significant news in it," said Richard Manship, president and CEO of Capital City Press. "This is not just an attempt to sell more papers. We will be trying to cover the news in New Orleans."
The Advocate reports that it will add staff to help cover the New Orleans area, but has not provided specific numbers.
The Advocate had a New Orleans correspondent until 2009, when it closed the bureau and laid off 49 employees amid poor economic conditions.
The Times-Picayune, owned by Advance Publications, plans to end daily publication in October and go to a Wednesday-Friday-Saturday print schedule as it refocuses on digital platforms. Some 200 employees have reportedly been laid off, including 84 newsroom staffers.
It is not clear whether The Advocate will publish its New Orleans edition on a daily basis, but Manship says The Advocate's expansion plans will coincide with the Times-Picayune's transition.
"We are looking at the day that they cease to be a seven-day newspaper and I think that's around the first of October," he told The Advocate.
