Facing Isaac, Times-Picayune looks to digital to cover hurricanes
Facing Isaac, Times-Picayune looks to digital to cover hurricanes
The New Orleans Times-Picayune has gone through some massive changes since it won a series of Pulitzer’s for its coverage of Hurricane Katrina. Starting in October the paper will only print three issues a week. Host Kai Ryssdal talks with the director of content of NOLA.com about what these changes mean for the coverage of Hurricane Isaac and future storms.
“One of the things that happened in Katrina is we became one of the most smartphone-intensive cities in America because a lot of people didn’t even replace their land lines after the storm,” says James O’Byrne, director of content at NOLA.com.
O’Byrne says that in times of trouble, the digital space will become even more important for people to be able to communicate.
“It’s important to remember that in the most critical hours probably in the city’s history, we didn’t have a printed paper. But what we did have was great journalists doing great journalism. I think you don’t need news print to do great journalism. In times of hurricanes and crisis like this where power is limited, transportation is difficult, the digital space is even more vital and has become the way that people find out information. I think going into the future that will not change,” he says.
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