Louisiana Press Association Speech, July 2001

Written for David Francis, Business Manager of The Times-Picayune
and 2001 President, Louisiana Press Association

          This evening we celebrate the endurance of the newspaper industry. With the explosive growth of the Internet, the persistence of radio and television as competitive forces and the thousand natural shocks any industry is heir to, it's nice to know our viability as a news medium and advertising vehicle continues. We do not simply endure; we continue to drive the economic engines of our communities, even as we experience the current downturn felt by newspapers across the nation.

          As we stand at the advent of this new millennium, our goals remain largely unchanged from those framed at our founding in 1880. To serve as a unifying force behind the weekly and daily newspapers of Louisiana. To promote and protect the welfare of the publishing industry by safeguarding the legislative and legal interests of newspapers throughout the state. And to build upon the work of our past leaders. As such, we bid a fond farewell to Steve Colwell. We will miss his wise leadership as we seek to follow in his footsteps.

          We will continue to act as a unifying force behind the buying of newspaper advertising in Louisiana; to help facilitate the purchase of print by nurturing a kind of commercial lingua franca, and in doing so, be a boon to our industry as a whole. For this to happen it is important that we be as inclusive as possible. As such, we will continue to strive to attain a membership that is equal to the number of newspapers in our state.

          But each year also bring a different set of challenges. We continue to refine our focus as different priorities become apparent. The LPA should endeavor to promote the viability of journalism as a career choice among high school and college students, particularly among a group we in Louisiana are rich in – people of ethnic origin. Recent Census data shows that our African-American population in up by 9 percent; the Hispanic population of Louisiana is up by 28 percent; and the Asian and Pacific Islander population is up 32 percent. It is important that we continue to utilize this resource however and whenever possible, because these groups, as well as groups in the traditional mainstream, continue to represent the future of Louisiana.

By forging and nurturing relationships with vital education institutions in our state, we help shape the generation of journalists and writers to come, and in doing so, help bring them into the fold.

It should be a very exciting year.

Mr. Leonard Pitts Jr. of the Miami Herald is with us tonight, and I know we're all eager to hear him speak. So without further ado, let me welcome our esteemed guest, Mr. Leonard Pitts.