New Orleans Times-Picayune Cutting Back to 3 Days

Sad news from one of America's great newspapers: The New Orleans Times-Picayune has announced that it will cease daily publication this fall. The paper, founded as the Picayune in 1837, will now offer print editions just three days a week, on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, while continuing to offer daily reporting online at Nola.com, reports the Washington Post. The move is expected to cost close to a third of the paper's 150 reporters their jobs, and will leave New Orleans as the biggest American city without a daily paper.

Analysts say the move will leave the paper's future uncertain and—since the Times-Picayune was widely seen to have done an admirable job of moving its operations online—raises questions about the future of the entire newspaper industry. "A city like New Orleans, with its rebuilding challenges, its violence, its rich culture, the odd mix of civic virtue and corruption, and its long-term existential risks from hurricanes and rising seas, deserves a first-class news gathering operation," writes former Times-Picayune journalist John McQuaid at Forbes. "One that gets the city, but also gets that news is changing." (More New Orleans stories.)