New Orleans Times-Picayune
Encyclopedia
The Times-Picayune is a daily newspaper
published in New Orleans
, Louisiana
, USA.
, the paper's initial price was one picayune
—a Spanish coin equivalent to 6¼¢ (1/16 $US).
Under Eliza Jane Nicholson, who inherited the struggling paper when her husband died in 1876, the Picayune introduced innovations such as society reporting (the "Society Bee" columns), children's pages and the first women's advice column, written by Dorothy Dix
. Between 1880 and 1890, the paper more than tripled its circulation.
It became The Times-Picayune after merging in 1914 with its rival paper, the New Orleans Times-Democrat. S.I. Newhouse
bought the morning daily The Times-Picayune and the other remaining New Orleans daily, the afternoon States-Item, in 1962, and merged the papers in 1980. The merged paper was called The Times-Picayune/The States-Item from 1980 to 1986. Specific community editions of the newspaper are also circulated and retain the Picayune name (e.g., Gretna Picayune for nearby Gretna
). The paper is owned by Advance Publications
, owned by the Newhouse
family. In the vernacular of its circulation area the newspaper is often called the TP.
The Times-Picayune funds the Edgar A. Poe Award
for journalistic excellence, presented annually by the White House Correspondents' Association
. The award is named for the newspaper's distinguished long-time national correspondent, Edgar Allan Poe.
and O. Henry
have worked for the paper. The Louisiana historian Sue Eakin
was formerly a Times-Picayune columnist.
The paper was awarded a 1997 Pulitzer Prize
for a series analyzing the threatened global fish supply; that same year staff cartoonist Walt Handelsman
was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning
. For its coverage of Hurricane Katrina
, the paper received the 2005 George Polk Award
for Metropolitan Reporting, as well as a pair of 2006 Pulitzer Prize
s. The Times-Picayune is also the journalistic home of British-American satiric
columnist
James Gill
. The Times-Picayune has primary publishing rights for James Gill
's columns.
in state and federal elections. It endorsed George W. Bush
for president in 2000, but endorsed no presidential candidate in 2004. In 2008, the paper endorsed Democrat Barack Obama
for president. In gubernatorial contests it endorsed Mike Foster and later Bobby Jindal
. In the mayoral race of 2006
, The Times-Picayune endorsed right-leaning Democrat
Ron Forman
in the primary election and Lieutenant Governor
Mitch Landrieu
in the runoff.
The Times-Picayune is a predictable opponent of the State of Louisiana's high homestead exemption
, which is phenomenally popular in suburban Jefferson Parish where it was championed by longtime assessor
Lawrence Chehardy and his family and their political friends. In those areas an endorsement by the Picayune can have the effect of the "kiss of death" but does nothing to blunt the newspaper's circulation in the political mix of Louisiana. Through careful business practices, focused editions for certain suburban and outlying Louisiana parishes, ability to attract advertising, frugality, excellent writers and photographers such as Ted Jackson
, and other attributes The Times-Picayune has enjoyed a virtual monopoly on daily print journalism in New Orleans since 1962, long before the merger of other U.S. metropolitan dailies elsewhere.
became a significant part of the history of The Times-Picayune not only during the storm and its immediate aftermath but for years afterward in repercussions and editorials.
On NOLA.com, meanwhile, tens of thousands of evacuated New Orleans and Gulf Coast residents began using the site's forums and blogs, posting pleas for help, offering aid, and directing rescuers. NOLA's nurturing of so-called citizen journalism
on a massive scale was hailed by many journalism experts as a watershed, while a number of agencies credited the site with leading to life-saving rescues and reunions of scattered victims in the days and months after the storm.
After deciding to evacuate Tuesday, August 30, because of rising floodwaters and possible security threats, the newspaper and web staff set up operations in Baton Rouge
, on the Louisiana State University
campus. A small team of reporters and photographers volunteered to stay behind in New Orleans to report from the inside on the city's struggle, looting, and desperation. They armed themselves for security and worked out of a private residence.
The August 30, August 31, and September 1, 2005 editions were not printed, but were available as PDFs online, as was the paper's breaking news weblog. A weblog entry for August 30 written by Bruce Nolan
gave a summary of the disaster:
After three days of online-only publication, the paper began printing again.
In a January 14, 2006 address to the American Bar Association
's Communications Lawyers Forum, Times-Picayune editor Jim Amoss
commented on perhaps the greatest challenge that the staff faced then, and continued to face as the future of New Orleans is contemplated:
The paper shared the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for public service with The Sun Herald
in similarly affected Biloxi
, Mississippi
. In addition, the paper's staff was awarded a Pulitzer for breaking news reporting, and former Times-Picayune editorial cartoonist Mike Luckovich
won the Pulitzer for his cartoons in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
, some of which were also featured in New Orleans Magazine.
to President George W. Bush in its September 4, 2005 edition, criticizing him for the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina
and calling for the firing of Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) chief Michael D. Brown
. Brown tendered his resignation eight days later.
The post-Katrina experience affected the paper's staff. On August 8, 2006 staff photographer John McCusker was arrested and hospitalized after he led police on a high-speed chase
and then used his vehicle as a weapon apparently hoping that they would kill him
. McCusker was released from the hospital by mid-August, saying he could not recall the incident at all, which was apparently sparked by the failure to receive an insurance settlement for his damaged house. He will still face criminal charges. The episode led to the establishment of a support fund for McCusker and for other Times-Picayune staff, which collected some $200,000 in just a few days. In October, columnist Chris Rose
admitted to seeking treatment for clinical depression
after a year of "crying jags" and other emotionally isolating behavior.
The Times-Picayune long continued to editorialize on FEMA. A searing editorial on April 18, 2009 lambasted FEMA and labeled "insulting" the alleged "attitude" of its spokesman Andrew Thomas toward people who were cash-strapped after the evacuation" from Hurricane Gustav
, which in the meantime had become part of the melange of problems associated with hurricanes and governmental agencies; a second editorial on the same day blasted the State of Louisiana's Road Home
program and its contractor ICF
.
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
published in New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, USA.
History
Established as The Picayune in 1837 by Francis Lumsden and George Wilkins KendallGeorge Wilkins Kendall
George Wilkins Kendall was a journalist, war correspondent, and pioneer Texas sheepman, known as the father of the Texas sheep business. Kendall County, Texas is named for him...
, the paper's initial price was one picayune
Picayune
A picayune was a Spanish coin, worth half a real. Its name derives from the French picaillon, which is itself from the Provençal picaioun, meaning "small coin." By extension, picayune can mean "trivial" or "of little value."...
—a Spanish coin equivalent to 6¼¢ (1/16 $US).
Under Eliza Jane Nicholson, who inherited the struggling paper when her husband died in 1876, the Picayune introduced innovations such as society reporting (the "Society Bee" columns), children's pages and the first women's advice column, written by Dorothy Dix
Dorothy Dix
Dorothy Dix , was the pseudonym of U.S. journalist Elizabeth Meriwether Gilmer....
. Between 1880 and 1890, the paper more than tripled its circulation.
It became The Times-Picayune after merging in 1914 with its rival paper, the New Orleans Times-Democrat. S.I. Newhouse
Samuel Irving Newhouse, Sr.
Samuel Irving Newhouse, Sr. was an American broadcasting businessman, magazine and newspaper publisher. He was the founder of Advance Publications, eventually taken over by his son, Samuel Irving Newhouse, Jr..-Biography:...
bought the morning daily The Times-Picayune and the other remaining New Orleans daily, the afternoon States-Item, in 1962, and merged the papers in 1980. The merged paper was called The Times-Picayune/The States-Item from 1980 to 1986. Specific community editions of the newspaper are also circulated and retain the Picayune name (e.g., Gretna Picayune for nearby Gretna
Gretna, Louisiana
The city of Gretna is the parish seat of Jefferson Parish, in the US state of Louisiana. Gretna is on the west bank of the Mississippi River, just east and across the river from uptown New Orleans. It is part of the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area...
). The paper is owned by Advance Publications
Advance Publications
Advance Publications, Inc., is an American media company owned by the descendants of S.I. Newhouse Sr., Donald Newhouse and S.I. Newhouse, Jr. It is named after the Staten Island Advance, the first newspaper owned by the Newhouse family...
, owned by the Newhouse
Samuel Irving Newhouse, Sr.
Samuel Irving Newhouse, Sr. was an American broadcasting businessman, magazine and newspaper publisher. He was the founder of Advance Publications, eventually taken over by his son, Samuel Irving Newhouse, Jr..-Biography:...
family. In the vernacular of its circulation area the newspaper is often called the TP.
The Times-Picayune funds the Edgar A. Poe Award
Edgar A. Poe Award
The Edgar A. Poe Memorial Award is a prize for journalistic excellence that is awarded by the White House Correspondents Association . The prize, which paid $2500 in 2011, is funded by the New Orleans Times-Picayune in honor of its distinguished correspondent Edgar Allan Poe. Mr...
for journalistic excellence, presented annually by the White House Correspondents' Association
White House Correspondents' Association
The White House Correspondents' Association is an organization of journalists who cover the White House and the President of the United States. The WHCA was founded in 1914 by journalists in response to an unfounded rumor that a Congressional committee would select which journalists could attend...
. The award is named for the newspaper's distinguished long-time national correspondent, Edgar Allan Poe.
Famous people
Throughout its history, writers like William FaulknerWilliam Faulkner
William Cuthbert Faulkner was an American writer from Oxford, Mississippi. Faulkner worked in a variety of media; he wrote novels, short stories, a play, poetry, essays and screenplays during his career...
and O. Henry
O. Henry
O. Henry was the pen name of the American writer William Sydney Porter . O. Henry's short stories are well known for their wit, wordplay, warm characterization and clever twist endings.-Early life:...
have worked for the paper. The Louisiana historian Sue Eakin
Sue Eakin
Myrtle Sue Lyles Eakin, known as Sue Eakin , was an American professor, newspaper columnist, and historian from Bunkie in Avoyelles Parish, who researched Louisiana history, particularly the Old South plantation system.-Early years:Eakin was born on the Compromise Plantation in the Lyles community...
was formerly a Times-Picayune columnist.
The paper was awarded a 1997 Pulitzer Prize
1997 Pulitzer Prize
-Journalism awards:-Letters, Drama and Music Awards:* Biography or Autobiography:**Angela's Ashes: A Memoir by Frank McCourt * Fiction:**Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer by Steven Millhauser * History:...
for a series analyzing the threatened global fish supply; that same year staff cartoonist Walt Handelsman
Walt Handelsman
Walt Handelsman is an editorial cartoonist for Newsday. He joined the paper in February 2001.-Biography:...
was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning
Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning
The Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning has been awarded since 1922 for a distinguished cartoon or portfolio of cartoons published during the year, characterized by originality, editorial effectiveness, quality of drawing, and pictorial effect...
. For its coverage of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
, the paper received the 2005 George Polk Award
George Polk Awards
The George Polk Awards in Journalism are a series of American journalism awards presented annually by Long Island University in New York in the United States.-History:...
for Metropolitan Reporting, as well as a pair of 2006 Pulitzer Prize
2006 Pulitzer Prize
The 2006 Pulitzer Prizes were announced on April 17, 2006.The board announced in December 2005, that they will consider more online material in all 14 journalism categories....
s. The Times-Picayune is also the journalistic home of British-American satiric
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
columnist
Columnist
A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....
James Gill
James Gill (columnist)
-Background:James Gill is a graduate of the University of Liverpool who emigrated to the United States in 1977. Since 1986 he has been a columnist for the Times-Picayune in New Orleans, Louisiana.-Times-Picayune columns:...
. The Times-Picayune has primary publishing rights for James Gill
James Gill (columnist)
-Background:James Gill is a graduate of the University of Liverpool who emigrated to the United States in 1977. Since 1986 he has been a columnist for the Times-Picayune in New Orleans, Louisiana.-Times-Picayune columns:...
's columns.
Editorial stance
The paper's editorial stance is moderate to conservative, depending on the subject. It generally endorses RepublicansRepublican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
in state and federal elections. It endorsed George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
for president in 2000, but endorsed no presidential candidate in 2004. In 2008, the paper endorsed Democrat Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
for president. In gubernatorial contests it endorsed Mike Foster and later Bobby Jindal
Bobby Jindal
Piyush "Bobby" Jindal is the 55th and current Governor of Louisiana and formerly a member of the United States House of Representatives. He is a member of the Republican Party....
. In the mayoral race of 2006
New Orleans mayoral election, 2006
The first round of the New Orleans mayoral election of 2006 took place on April 22, 2006; a runoff between incumbent Mayor Ray Nagin and Louisiana Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu took place on May 20, resulting in reelection for Mayor Nagin...
, The Times-Picayune endorsed right-leaning Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Ron Forman
Ron Forman
Ron Forman is the head of the Audubon Nature Institute and was one of the leading candidates in the New Orleans mayoral election, 2006....
in the primary election and Lieutenant Governor
Lieutenant governor
A lieutenant governor or lieutenant-governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction, but is often the deputy or lieutenant to or ranking under a governor — a "second-in-command"...
Mitch Landrieu
Mitch Landrieu
Mitchell Joseph "Mitch" Landrieu is the Mayor of New Orleans, former Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana, and a member of the Landrieu family. Landrieu is a member of the Democratic Party and a Roman Catholic. He is the son of former New Orleans mayor and Secretary of the United States Department of...
in the runoff.
The Times-Picayune is a predictable opponent of the State of Louisiana's high homestead exemption
Homestead exemption
Homestead exemption is a legal regime designed to protect the value of the homes of residents from property taxes, creditors, and circumstances arising from the death of the homeowner spouse...
, which is phenomenally popular in suburban Jefferson Parish where it was championed by longtime assessor
Assessor
An assessor may be:* Assessor , the assistant to a judge or magistrate* Assessor , a senior officer of the University of Oxford* Assessor , an expert who calculates the value of property...
Lawrence Chehardy and his family and their political friends. In those areas an endorsement by the Picayune can have the effect of the "kiss of death" but does nothing to blunt the newspaper's circulation in the political mix of Louisiana. Through careful business practices, focused editions for certain suburban and outlying Louisiana parishes, ability to attract advertising, frugality, excellent writers and photographers such as Ted Jackson
Ted Jackson
Ted M. Jackson is senior staff photographer for the Times-Picayune in New Orleans, Louisiana. He contributes to the newspaper’s extensive gallery of photographs of events in the Greater New Orleans Area....
, and other attributes The Times-Picayune has enjoyed a virtual monopoly on daily print journalism in New Orleans since 1962, long before the merger of other U.S. metropolitan dailies elsewhere.
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
became a significant part of the history of The Times-Picayune not only during the storm and its immediate aftermath but for years afterward in repercussions and editorials.
Storm damage
As Hurricane Katrina approached on Sunday, August 28, 2005 dozens of the newspaper's staffers who opted not to evacuate rode out the storm in the center of the building housing the newspaper, sleeping in sleeping bags and on air mattresses. Holed up in a small, sweltering back room called the "Hurricane Bunker," the newspaper staffers and staffers from affiliated web site "nola.com" posted continual updates on the internet all the way up until the time the building was evacuated on August 30. With the presses out of commission in the rising storm, newspaper and web staffers produced a "newspaper" in electronic format.On NOLA.com, meanwhile, tens of thousands of evacuated New Orleans and Gulf Coast residents began using the site's forums and blogs, posting pleas for help, offering aid, and directing rescuers. NOLA's nurturing of so-called citizen journalism
Citizen journalism
Citizen journalism is the concept of members of the public "playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information," according to the seminal 2003 report We Media: How Audiences are Shaping the Future of News and Information...
on a massive scale was hailed by many journalism experts as a watershed, while a number of agencies credited the site with leading to life-saving rescues and reunions of scattered victims in the days and months after the storm.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
, on the Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
campus. A small team of reporters and photographers volunteered to stay behind in New Orleans to report from the inside on the city's struggle, looting, and desperation. They armed themselves for security and worked out of a private residence.
The August 30, August 31, and September 1, 2005 editions were not printed, but were available as PDFs online, as was the paper's breaking news weblog. A weblog entry for August 30 written by Bruce Nolan
Bruce Nolan (columnist)
Bruce Nolan is a staff writer and religion columnist for the New Orleans Times-Picayune. He also writes occasionally for other publications....
gave a summary of the disaster:
-
- Hurricane Katrina struck metropolitan New Orleans on Monday with a staggering blow, far surpassing Hurricane BetsyHurricane BetsyHurricane Betsy was a Category 4 hurricane of the 1965 Atlantic hurricane season which caused enormous damage in the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana. Betsy made its most intense landfall near the mouth of the Mississippi River, causing significant flooding of the waters of Lake Pontchartrain into...
, the landmark disaster of an earlier generation. The storm flooded huge swaths of the city, as well as Slidell on the north shore of Lake PontchartrainLake PontchartrainLake Pontchartrain is a brackish estuary located in southeastern Louisiana. It is the second-largest inland saltwater body of water in the United States, after the Great Salt Lake in Utah, and the largest lake in Louisiana. As an estuary, Pontchartrain is not a true lake.It covers an area of with...
, in a process that appeared to be spreading even as night fell.
- Hurricane Katrina struck metropolitan New Orleans on Monday with a staggering blow, far surpassing Hurricane Betsy
After three days of online-only publication, the paper began printing again.
In a January 14, 2006 address to the American Bar Association
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
's Communications Lawyers Forum, Times-Picayune editor Jim Amoss
Jim Amoss
Jim Amoss is editor of The Times-Picayune. Under the leadership of him and the Publisher, Ashton Phelps Jr., the paper won two Pulitzer Prizes in 1997 for public service and editorial cartooning, and in 2006 won two more Pulitzer Prizes for its coverage of Hurricane Katrina...
commented on perhaps the greatest challenge that the staff faced then, and continued to face as the future of New Orleans is contemplated:
-
- For us, Katrina is and will be a defining moment of our lives, a story we'll be telling till the day we die. Being a part of the plot is both riveting and deeply unsettling. We don't yet know the end of this story ... It's the story of our lives, and we must both live and chronicle it.
The paper shared the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for public service with The Sun Herald
The Sun Herald
The Sun Herald is a U.S. newspaper based in Biloxi, Mississippi, that serves readers along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. It is owned by The McClatchy Company, one of the largest newspaper publishers in the United States....
in similarly affected Biloxi
Biloxi, Mississippi
Biloxi is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, in the United States. The 2010 census recorded the population as 44,054. Along with Gulfport, Biloxi is a county seat of Harrison County....
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
. In addition, the paper's staff was awarded a Pulitzer for breaking news reporting, and former Times-Picayune editorial cartoonist Mike Luckovich
Mike Luckovich
Michael Edward Luckovich is an editorial cartoonist who has worked for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 1989...
won the Pulitzer for his cartoons in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is the only major daily newspaper in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, and its suburbs. The AJC, as it is called, is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is the result of the merger between The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta...
, some of which were also featured in New Orleans Magazine.
Ongoing saga, criticism of FEMA
As soon as possible after The Times-Picayune was able to restart publication after Katrina, the newspaper printed a strongly worded open letterOpen letter
An open letter is a letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally....
to President George W. Bush in its September 4, 2005 edition, criticizing him for the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
and calling for the firing of Federal Emergency Management Agency
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security, initially created by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders...
(FEMA) chief Michael D. Brown
Michael D. Brown
Michael DeWayne Brown was the first Undersecretary of Emergency Preparedness and Response , a division of the Department of Homeland Security . This position is generally referred to as the director or administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency . He was appointed in January 2003 by...
. Brown tendered his resignation eight days later.
The post-Katrina experience affected the paper's staff. On August 8, 2006 staff photographer John McCusker was arrested and hospitalized after he led police on a high-speed chase
Car chase
A car chase is the vehicular pursuit of a suspect by law enforcement officers. Car chases are often captured on film and broadcast due to the availability of video footage recorded by police cars and police and media helicopters participating in the chase...
and then used his vehicle as a weapon apparently hoping that they would kill him
Suicide by cop
Suicide by cop is a suicide method in which a suicidal individual deliberately acts in a threatening way, with the goal of provoking a lethal response from a law enforcement officer or other armed individual, such as being shot to death....
. McCusker was released from the hospital by mid-August, saying he could not recall the incident at all, which was apparently sparked by the failure to receive an insurance settlement for his damaged house. He will still face criminal charges. The episode led to the establishment of a support fund for McCusker and for other Times-Picayune staff, which collected some $200,000 in just a few days. In October, columnist Chris Rose
Chris Rose (journalist)
Chris Rose is a New Orleans, Louisiana, writer. For years best known for light-hearted writing in the Times-Picayune, he gained greater attention for his chronicles of the effect of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans since 2005. He left the paper in late 2009, and joined the New Orleans alternative...
admitted to seeking treatment for clinical depression
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
after a year of "crying jags" and other emotionally isolating behavior.
The Times-Picayune long continued to editorialize on FEMA. A searing editorial on April 18, 2009 lambasted FEMA and labeled "insulting" the alleged "attitude" of its spokesman Andrew Thomas toward people who were cash-strapped after the evacuation" from Hurricane Gustav
Hurricane Gustav
The name Gustav has been used for five tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean:* 1984's Tropical Storm Gustav - Spent most of its existence as a tropical depression hovering over Bermuda, no major damage was reported....
, which in the meantime had become part of the melange of problems associated with hurricanes and governmental agencies; a second editorial on the same day blasted the State of Louisiana's Road Home
Road Home
Road Home is a program funded by the U.S. government which has provided historical federal monies for helping Louisiana residents rebuild or sell houses severely damaged by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The Road Home is a federally funded grant program adminsitered by the State of Louisiana...
program and its contractor ICF
ICF International
ICF International , formerly known as ICF Consulting, is a management, technology, and policy consulting firm based in Fairfax, Virginia...
.