Change at the TP

By Andre M. Perry
Contributing Columnist

Moses delivered the word on two stone tablets. The town crier eventually lost his voice. Paper in and of itself is an antiquated medium. The means by which the Times-Picayune is distributed should change as society does. New Orleans is intensely diverse, and we should be more concerned if prevailing news outlets represent information accordingly.

Change holds constant. Unfortunately, inaccessibility and inequity are equally stubborn. Advancements in technology have always burdened those who didn’t control it. In defense of preserving the TP, polemics have rightly raised that the poor and elderly would not have access to news in a manner that’s familiar and accessible. However, preserving the TP shouldn’t translate into wanting status quo. In addition, resisters have to be very careful to not assume that the Picayune was the primary news source of the masses.

Should we be surprised that communities of color are not mourning the announced reduction in print editions of the Picayune. Black and brown people are not running to its rescue. As one tweet read, “I’m interested to see what the makeup of the crowd at the Save the TP rally will look like.” The rally certainly did not look like a city that is more than 60 percent Black.

Herein lies a profound concern regarding the future delivery of news. Regardless of who owns the Picayune, the public should demand a more multicultural platform. The historic positions taken by the TP’s editorial board against integration still resonate particularly among older, Black New Orleanians. In addition, media outlets throughout the country are now examining how their images contribute to implicit racism and unconscious bias that befall upon people of color. The New Orleans market must do the same. Moreover, let’s not make arguments to preserve the newspaper without arguing for a more diverse administrative staff and writing corps.

Besides, accessibility to a newspaper is not the deeper inequity. Poor people who might have electricity regularly will continue to have limited access to digital information. Closing the digital divide is not a newspaper’s responsibility. The city and state must improve the infrastructure to disseminate news in ways that is appropriate for the information age.

There’s also the problem of consumption. A profound result of an injurious and ineffective schools system is mass illiteracy. New Orleans has historically had one of the highest illiteracy rates in the country. Communities with literacy gaps need multiple platforms so everyone can receive critical news and information.

Multiculturalism and diversity isn’t just about race, gender and economics. It is also about literacy, language and culture. We should demand our flagship news enterprises to disseminate information to the range of voices that are affected by it. For a newspaper, that means expanding access to those who can’t read.

A multifaceted approach to delivering news isn’t a reduction in standards. The unique demands of a community as diverse as New Orleans should necessitate changes in news delivery. News­papers shouldn’t wag the community tail.

In addition to fighting for an improved Picayune, a greater share of New Orleanians must also embrace ethnic media and other weekly publications. Likewise, African-American and Latino owned organizations should reach out to advertisers, writers and readers with the aim of reaching a larger audience. However, these organizations must also address access and financial needs that precipitated the adjustments in the Times Picayune.

While I probably lean towards any change that aims for improvement, I am very sympathetic to the growing disregard for labor in this cresting wave of market-driven reform. It’s the human nature of the business that makes changes at the TP a tough pill to swallow. Professional enterprises like the TP are akin to extended-family businesses as opposed to robot-operated assembly lines. There’s limited space for labor in the new acceptable profit margin. Even family isn’t spared in the market zeitgeist. Nothing seems sacred but money.

Too many times New Orleanians are placed in a fighting position to conserve the past without demanding that we grow from it. The Picayune must change. Some New Orleanians need it to.

This article was originally published in the June 11, 2012 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper