Media: Blog of New Orleans, Gambit

Y@ Speak goes to the rave

Lauren LaBorde — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 13:58:00 -0500

Hey y'all Bacchanal does not play rave music, that's the Buku Fest downriver, so please dont call the cops on us anymore
— Bacchanal Wine (@Bacchanalwine) March 10, 2013

The second annual BUKU Music + Project, which I predict has left the Mississippi River covered in a sheen of glow stick juice and littered with sodden furry animal hats, was either the best weekend of your life or a noisy nuisance depending on your attitudes toward rave drugs, electronic dance music and teenagers. Also this week: celebrities' opinions on McDonald's and NOLA.com has a retweet snafu.…

Bill seeks to eliminate Jindal's favorite excuse for keeping records under seal

Charles Maldonado — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 16:08:53 -0600

A bill filed this week by state Rep. Jerome "Dee" Richard, Independent of Thibodaux, and Sen. Rick Gallot, Democrat of Ruston, would repeal an exemption to the state Public Records Act called the "deliberative process privilege." The privilege protects deliberative (or pre-decisional) communications within the governor's office — though it's unclear just what is meant by "deliberative" and "governor's office."…

Y@ Speak: The Beyonce Blackout Bowl edition

Lauren LaBorde — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 11:53:00 -0600

Lights out!!! Any questions??
— Mr. Carter (@S_C_) February 4, 2013

All the lights are out!!…
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Super Bowl Media Day: Ray Lewis, gay marriage, root beer glazes and Edgar Allan Poe

Alex Woodward — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 16:20:00 -0600

The Super Bowl Committee estimates more than 5,000 reporters arrived in New Orleans to cover Super Bowl XLVII. Today, buses unloaded them all, seemingly, into the Superdome for Media Day.…

Louisiana scores a C+ for government website transparency

Charles Maldonado — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 13:41:08 -0600

Government transparency watchdog organization Sunshine Review has released its first ever assessment of "proactive disclosure" on state, county, city and school district websites. Based on the group's 10-point transparency checklist — including current and archived budget information, contracts, lobbying activity and contact info for elected representatives — the state of Louisiana scores an overall C-plus, 33 out of 50 states for website transparency, just behind Montana.…

The New Yorker on Letten's office and "online trolls"

Alex Woodward — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 16:15:00 -0600

The recent shakeups and breakups under U.S. Attorney Jim Letten amid an online comment controversy caught the eyes at The New Yorker, where Jack Hitt gives the blow-by-blow in "How Forensic Linguistics Identified Online Trolls in New Orleans." Just how exactly did investigators nail down NOLA.com commenters Henry L. Mencken1951 and eweman as Sal Perricone and Jan Mann?

Here's the (brief) saga of James Fitzgerald, "forensic linguistics" specialist and the FBI agent who helped link the Unabomber to Ted Kaczynski.…

The Daily Beast congratulates Mitch Landrieu on school reform

Stephanie Grace — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 08:48:00 -0600

There’s no question that Mayor Mitch Landrieu has crafted an image as a creative, modern-thinking chief executive. And this week, The Daily Beast/Newsweek recognized him as such when it featured Landrieu as one of the “Most Innovative Mayors in the U.S.”

There’s just one catch: The innovation that earned him the prized spot on the roster, the dramatic transformation of the city’s public schools, wasn’t exactly his.

“Under Mayor Mitch Landrieu, the Crescent City has aggressively embraced education reform,” the piece says.…

Y@ Speak: Blue Christmas

Lauren LaBorde — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 12:00:00 -0600

I am very disturbed by the massacre in Connecticut and the way some of uscovered it... especially interviewing helpless children.
— norman robinson (@normanrobinson1) December 15, 2012

With sexy Santas and Jackson Square carolers, it's obvious Christmas is around the corner (although the weather is unseasonably warm). But Friday's shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. is just a horrible, sad thing that weighs heavy on the mind during the holidays.…

Y@ Speak: The naughty list

Lauren LaBorde — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 13:04:00 -0600

Eggs...that's cute. Lol.
— Courtney Roby (@robyslyfe) November 29, 2012

While many — even dive bars — begin to get in the holiday spirit, it seems others are asking to get coal in their stockings this year.…

News of the day: Zoe Sullivan on Pretrial Services; The Lens on deliberative process; T-P tours Grand Isle Shipyard bunkhouse

Charles Maldonado — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 11:36:18 -0600

A few interesting news items:

Last week I wrote a little bit about the Vera Pretrial Services budget controversy, specifically critics' comparison of the program to the Philadelphia Pretrial Services Division. Independent journalist Zoe Sullivan has since done an interview with Orleans Parish First Assistant District Attorney Graymond Martin, who speaks at length about pretrial services.…

New Orleans named America's Best City

Alex Woodward — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 10:45:00 -0600

Oh, Travel + Leisure. You thought you had us pegged as a smelly town with some OK food likely eaten by total freaks or whatever you think hipsters are.…

Y@ Speak: Bye, Times-Picayune

Lauren LaBorde — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 10:23:00 -0500

Yes, I was nude; as bare as a loon. The sun was shining and so was the moon.…
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Forbes: The Warehouse District ranked 10th in "America's Best Hipster Neighborhoods"

Alex Woodward — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 17:05:00 -0500

In a move that beautifully illustrates everything terrible about lists and the void-staring media butt-scratchers' obsession with defining "hipster," Forbes.com comes along and uses a dang formula ("a quantitative approach") to come up with a Top 20 of places everyone already recognizes as "pretty cool" now designated "hipsterdom."

And what's even better, it includes the Warehouse District, a haven for lost tourists and "art lovers," home of the towering Entrepreneur Spire the IP Building and upscale loft dwellers with vague job descriptions.

"No, that can't be," says infuriated card-carrying hipster-hating New Orleans Resident, as their straw fedora pops off in a fit of steaming rage.…

NOLA Media Group confirms move into One Canal Place — but where are the comments?

Kevin Allman — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 14:55:00 -0500

(EDITED TO ADD: Less than three hours after this story was posted, comments were restored on the NOLA.com thread described below.)

Back in June, we reported the new NOLA Media Group was eying space in One Canal Place, the office tower connected to the Shops at Canal Place:

Some employees who have been invited to remain with the company have been told those offices may be in the One Canal Place Office Tower, the 32-story office building with The Shops at Canal Place on its three lowest floors.

While navigating the parking garage at One Canal Place, exiting into downtown traffic and trying to reach freeway on-ramps would seem to be more difficult than getting out of the more centrally-located 3800 Howard location, reporters and photographers have been told they will spend most of their time out of the office and "in the field," communicating with the main office via laptops and mobile devices.

NOLA Media Group president and publisher Ricky Mathews denied that report at the time ("We’re investing heavily in downtown space — you’ll see that soon — there was a story in Gambit this morning, they got it wrong, but when we do announce what we’re doing, you’re going to be very impressed"), but the company has now made it official with a story that carried no byline either in today's Times-Picayune or on NOLA.com:

NOLA Media Group has leased 27,000 square feet on the top two floors of the Canal Place office tower in downtown New Orleans to house the new media company once renovations are complete in December, company officials announced Thursday. The Canal Place complex also includes the Shops at Canal Place and the Westin Hotel.…
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David Sedaris coming to Tulane on Oct. 24

Lauren LaBorde — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 10:46:00 -0500

WWNO announced in an email to members that the fiercely witty writer and monologist David Sedaris will come to Tulane's McAlister Auditorium on Wednesday, Oct. 24 for a reading and book signing. There is a special pre-sale for members now, and tickets go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. on Aug. 17.…

Y@ Speak: Chicken and pie

Lauren LaBorde — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 11:57:00 -0500

We've had the one and only Chick-fil-A alternative on our menu for almost 2 years. Ahead of our time?…
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News hoax artist Ryan Holiday signs book at Octavia tonight

Will Coviello — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 14:56:30 -0500

As a marketing officer and online media buyer for American Apparel, Ryan Holiday has bought millions of dollars in advertising. But he has gained a reputation for the hoaxes and pranks (more on media deceptions) that gained free publicity for his company (as well as Tucker Max, the author/professional lout he’s advised on media strategies).…

Y@ Speak: USA! USA!

Lauren LaBorde — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 10:33:00 -0500

Pres. Obama greets supporters.…
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Meet American Hipster's favorite New Orleanians

Will Coviello — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 14:35:00 -0500

A team of YouTube videographers broadcast some 2012 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival sets live. Some of those videos are still posted.…

Y@ Speak: R.I.P. Uncle Lionel Batiste

Lauren LaBorde — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 11:14:00 -0500

Locals mourn New Orleans brass band legend Uncle Lionel Batiste, who died Sunday morning at age 81. Also this week: Sean Payton gets divorced, ex-Times-Picayune people get hired at WWL-TV, Essence Fest happens and people flip out on Twitter.…

Y@ Speak: Health care, Hornets and confetti guns

Lauren LaBorde — Mon, 02 Jul 2012 12:04:00 -0500

This week the Supreme Court upheld the individual mandate portion of President Obama's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and America has officially gone the way of Europe. I'm currently writing this from a park where I'm enjoying a baguette and Brie to celebrate the completion of my grueling two-hour work day.…

Y@ Speak: Elephants, rogue dolphins, mutant spiders, oh my!

Lauren LaBorde — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 10:49:00 -0500

There's all sorts of creatures in this week's roundup including mutant albino spiders, urban elephants, an aggressive Slidell dolphin and David Vitter. Also this week: controversial tweets from Drew Brees, Snake and Jakes' position on bubblegum vodka and NOLA Pride Festival.…

Y@ Speak: The axe falls

Lauren LaBorde — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 11:08:00 -0500

The inevitable Times-Picayune bloodbath happened. Among the many casualties was award-winning food critic Brett Anderson — who was later rehired? — which really pissed off the Internet.…

The Levee offers levity amid T-P disaster

Kandace Graves — Thu, 14 Jun 2012 11:20:00 -0500

There is nothing humorous about what is happening to the 200 employees who have been laid off since Newhouse and Advance Publications announced The Times-Picayune would go to three-times-a-week publication this fall and focus on online content, leaving the city without a daily newspaper.

Thank goodness The New Orleans Levee, the city’s satirical newspaper, hasn’t lost its sense of humor.…

Y@ Speak: Drew Brees sandwich

Lauren LaBorde — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 12:03:00 -0500

Lots of important developments in this week's tweet roundup: Drew Brees didn't show up to Saints mini camp but did make an appearance at City Council (whose members have actually started showing up), Times-Picayune firings begin Tuesday (in the meantime, be sure to get a T-shirt from the opportunistic retailer of quirky "only in Nola y'all!" items of your choice), the Wendell Pierce-produced play Clybourne Park won Best Play at last night's Tony's and, perhaps most importantly, there is such thing as apple Hubig's Pie ICE CREAM. I guess things aren't so bad after all.…