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By Cain Burdeau, The Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS - The Times-Picayune, one of the nation's oldest newspapers, will no longer offer print editions seven days a week and instead plans to offer three printed issues a week starting in the fall. The change means New Orleans would become the largest metro area in the nation without a daily newspaper in the digital age.

The changes announced Thursday were combined with similar moves at three major Alabama daily newspapers also owned by the Newhouse family group's Advance Publications. The Birmingham News, the Press-Register in Mobile and The Huntsville Times will switch to publishing three days a week as part of a new focus on online news. At all four papers, there will be unspecified staff cuts. All four papers will continue to publish continuously on their websites, and online access will remain free.

Newspapers have struggled in recent years as consumers increasingly get their news online. Print advertising declined as the economy went into recession, and newspapers have yet to learn how to make online advertising as profitable as its printed counterpart.

"For us, this isn't about print versus digital, this is about creating a very successful multi-platform media company that addresses the ever-changing needs of our readers, our online users and our advertisers," said Advance Publications' president of local digital strategy, Randy Siegel, in an interview with The Associated Press. "This change is not easy, but it's essential for us to remain relevant."

Siegel didn't say how much money the reduced print runs in Louisiana and Alabama would save, nor how many staff members would be laid off or hired in the new online units.

"To get good quality information is not cheap," said Jennifer Greer, chair of the journalism department at the University of Alabama. "What you are seeing is people trying to figure out a business model that works in a digital age."

The decision was met with sadness by some residents in New Orleans, where The Times-Picayune won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Staffers continued reporting despite being forced out of the newspaper's offices amid widespread flooding and power outages.

The storm drove away thousands of residents, some of whom never came back. The city and its newspaper struggled to recover in the years since.

The paper was a lifeline for the Southern, working-class city, providing government announcements, obituaries, Carnival and scoops on local corruption, said Cheron Brylski, a 53-year-old New Orleans-based political consultant. Not having the paper every day is like losing a sports team, she said.

Read more:
The Times-Picayune to cut print papers to 3 days a week amid industry's digital age struggles

by: Rev. Rich Lang

A guy came up to me on the street, begging. He was a young guy and appeared to be physically healthy, although living on the streets can both break down your physical and mental health rather quickly. He wanted some spare change. So rather than just reach in my pocket for coins, I chatted with him a bit. One of my standard lines is to call attention to Real Change as a quick way to start making some money so that one can have a positive springboard to get back into life. But he didnt want to sell papers, he just wanted some money. So I asked him his age and he began to tell me bits about his hard-living, hard-knocks life.

Thats certainly a pattern. After all, kids dont grow up wanting to be homeless and beg spare change for a living. As we proceeded to chat, we talked about shelter options and employment options. Admittedly, all the options were slim pickings, but he really wasnt too invested in trying. He was defeated, discouraged, and really all he wanted was some spare change. That was his life now. We the people were ATM machines from which he hoped he could score just enough coinage to suck some beers down his throat and maybe find a place to lay his head.

And yes, I gave him some spare change. I find that if I simply look away, dont bother communicating, never take the homeless beggar seriously, then its easy to simply say no and walk away. But once I engage, actually chat a bit, its a lot harder to send another away with nothing but the words good luck or God bless.

Poverty never quits. Its bad enough to be born in a family and environment of hard living and hard knocks, and its increasingly bad to try to get work when there isnt much, to try to rent a room when there arent any, and, for a guy, to try to get a girl when youve got little but your increasingly banged-up looks to offer. Poverty of material goes hand-in-hand with poverty of spiritual means. Its increasingly difficult to maintain ones dignity as a bearer of Gods image when folks look at you like a worm. Its hard to believe that the sun will rise

tomorrow when everything in your vision is dusk or dark. Its almost impossible to believe that life is good when every moment is a struggle to survive, a struggle to escape violence and a struggle simply to eat, sleep and sit in safety. Beer helps, but its also addictive and diminishes ones capacity to hope.

Which is worse: poverty of stuff or poverty of spirit? Actually its a nonsensical question because they are two sides of the same coin. What we need are new coins that offer better options.

See the original post:
When you look carefully at panhandling, there’s another side to the coin

During my daily news consumption, I bumped into a cute story that seemed a bit familiar. The story was a suggestion to switch to an 18 cent coin. I found it by way of Hacker News, for my money ($0), the best news aggregator for the tech set. The article was a fairly typical blog post, a summary of a longer paper, which simply ran the math and determined that the average number of coins you get from a cash register will be 4.7 coins. But the addition of an 18 cent coin would drop that to 3.89.

The story itself is nice, since I like this sort of thing. Its quirky. Its math. It speaks to the stupidity of pennies (and increasingly nickels). It makes me think about government inefficiencies, and the very human affection for little hunks of metal that are actually really inconvenient and clink in my pocket. But I couldnt get past the familiarity. I backed up and re-read the article a lot slower and realized why.

First, the story was originally written in 2003. This is a little odd for Hacker News which usually is pretty current, but a story like this is sort of timeless and prone to random resurgence. But then I realized the reason for this particular resurgence: The by-line was Roland Piquepaille, and you dont forget a name like that.

Roland was incredibly active on Slashdot for many years. His submissions were often just like this 18 cent coin piece: a little off the beaten path, but often interesting. His nickname on Slashdot was rpiquepa and his account is number 5 on the all time submission list with a pretty amazing 477 accepted stories.

Why did I care? Roland died Jan 6, 2009.

He died, but his work lives on. And apparently this week somebody searched online for something or other, landed on a story nearly a decade old and written by a man who had been dead for over 3 years. And that content hit the Internet again just as effectively as if it were written yesterday. A trivial but fun little story has a bit of immortality attached to it.

Roland took a lot of garbage from Slashdot readers over the years. He was incredibly effective at what he did, and his name appeared on the site a lot. A community has a nasty habit of being a little extra hostile towards anything extreme, and Roland often submitted stories on the fluffier end of the news spectrum, and he succeeded a lot, which made him a target. That always made me a little sad.

But Id like to think he gets the posthumous last laugh. He found fun stuff that we enjoyed reading. I hope that the traces I leave behind after Im gone are still good for the occasional laugh as well. Ill never write the Great American Novel or direct the Oscar Award Winning Film. But the Internet lets all of us live forever.

The author is the founder of Slashdot.org

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The Internet and the secret to immortality

by Paul Watson

With just one week to go until the Olympic Torch Relay comes to the Isle of Man, the Department of Community, Culture and Leisure is encouraging everyone to line the streets and show their support for the inspirational local Torchbearers. Hon Tim Crookall MHK, Minister for Community, Culture and Leisure said: The Isle of Man is extremely privileged to host the Torch Relay for a whole day on 2 June. The route and activities have been planned to ensure that the Island takes full advantage of its moment to shine. The Islands proud sporting, cultural and maritime heritage is represented in what I am sure will be a highlight of the entire Torch Relay. Coinciding with the first race of TT2012, it will be a busy and memorable day for the Isle of Man. For the security of the Torch and Torchbearer, spectators are urged not to obstruct the progress of the convoy or come between the security team and the Torchbearer. Between the Torchbearer locations, the Relay will be in convoy mode. This means the convoy will be transporting the Torch to the next location on the Relay. Whilst you will be able to watch the convoy, there will not be a view of the Torch along these parts of the route. The key points for viewing the Torch Relay are listed below: Key Olympic Torch viewing points Location 1: Braddan (est. arrival time 10:25am) National Sports Centre - The Torch Relay will begin with a full lap of the NSC track, offering some of the best views of the Torch on the day. As parking will be limited, spectators are encouraged to arrive before roads close at 10am, park at the Bowl stadium, to use the bus or to walk to the NSC. Quarterbridge to Braddan Church - Amongst the many unique aspects of the Torch Relay in the Isle of Man will be the leg celebrating the Islands motorsport heritage. David Knight will carry the torch as a passenger for Milky Quayle riding from Quarterbridge to Braddan Bridge. Location 2: Douglas (est. arrival time 11:20am) South Quay - To commemorate the unique role of the Island in the RNLI, a member from each of the Islands lifeboat crews will crew the Douglas Lifeboat - RNLI Sir William Hillary, whilst the Torchbearer carries the Torch from Battery Pier to Circus Beach. Horse Tram - Waiting for the Torch to complete its sea journey will be a horse tram to carry it to the War Memorial. Cyclists - Cycling has become an important part of Island life and the huge success of stars such as Mark Cavendish and Peter Kennaugh has put Manx cycling at the forefront of the sport. The cycling leg of the Relay will take place along Douglas Promenade. Manx Electric Railway - Transport is a prominent theme during this leg of the Torch Relay and the Torch will make its way to Laxey by being carried on the Manx Electric Railway. Location 3: Laxey (est. arrival time 2.20pm) Laxey Wheel - Stopping for an iconic photoshoot at the Laxey Wheel, the Torch Relay will begin its return journey to Castletown before continuing on to Belfast. Locations 4 and 5: The Olympic Torch will be carried through Onchan (2.40pm) and Ballasalla (3.15pm) by locally nominated Torchbearers in the traditional manner. Location 5: Castletown (est. arrival time 3.40pm) Lloyds Community Celebration - London 2012 Official Presenting Partners, Lloyds TSB, will be hosting a Community Celebration to welcome the Torch Relay as it passes through Castletown Square and the Speakers Gardens. Lloyds TSB will provide a variety of interactive sporting activities, top-class entertainment, spectacular sporting demonstrations, music from Sambamann and limited edition Olympic refreshments courtesy of Official Presenting Partners, Coca Cola. Guests will also have the exclusive opportunity to have their photo taken with the Torch against a specially designed backdrop as a memento of the day. These celebrations are entirely open to the public and are to take place from 2:00pm to 4:30pm, with the Torch Relay passing through Castletown Square at approximately 3:40pm. Road Notices Except for the roads listed below and the TT course, all roads will remain open to the public throughout the Torch Relay. However, overtaking the convoy will not be permitted. Braddan Saddle Road / Vicarage Road from Saddle Road roundabout to entrance of Kirby Industrial Estate (Temporary Suspension of Parking Places 6am to 11am) Douglas North Quay from junction with Quines Corner to Ridgeway Street (Temporary Road Closure 11am to 12noon) Laxey Suspension of Parking 6am 2.30pm Ham and Egg Terrace from junction with New Road to Fire Station Access Road Temporary Clearway 6am 3pm New Road from junction with Ham and Egg Terrace to Queens Hotel

- Ends -

If you'd like to send any information or news releases to us then please feel free to do so and we would be more than happy to consider sharing your news with the Isle of Man!

Send your Isle of Man news to:webmaster@manx.net

Manx Telecom Ltd 2012

Manx Telecom Ltd, Isle of Man Business Park, Cooil Road, Braddan, Isle of Man IM99 1HX Registered in the Isle of Man Reg no.5629V Vat Reg no GB 003-2919-12

Excerpt from:
One week until the Olympic Torch Relay comes to the Isle of Man

by Anna Hemy

The Isle of Mans space industry was singled out for praise in a major report presented at the Institute of Directors (IoD) in London on Friday 18th May. The report entitled Space: Britains New Infrastructure Frontier was presented to a sell out audience of over 100 key players from the British space industry. The report, which is authored by Dan Lewis, Chief Executive of the Economic Policy Centre, Chief Executive of Future Energy Strategies and Energy Policy Adviser to the IoD, contains a full section on the Isle of Man space industry entitled The Isle of Mans Mighty Space Sector. It highlights the Islands ability to innovate, embracing new and growing industries Like many micro nations, the Isle Of Man has a history of quickly adapting to fast emerging industries from fishing to banking to financial supervision to the film industry to e-gaming and e-commerce and now space. It puts much of the Islands success down to achieving a cluster effect of major companies. The report also highlighted the Island's home grown 'space champion', ManSat, and its role in orbital filing with Ofcom, in addition to the presence of the Space Data Association (SDA) on the Isle of Man who, just the week prior, had held a successful workshop with the International Institute of Space Commerce (IISC) with participants from the US and Europe. Attending the event from the Island were Tim Craine, Director of Business Development at the Department of Economic Development, in his capacity as a trustee of the International Institute of Space Commerce (IISC) and also John Sheath, Chartered Director and Fellow of the IoD, the IISC company secretary. Following the presentation, the Isle of Man delegates attracted significant media interest on the back of the comments in the report. There was also significant commercial interest from those in the audience. Tim Craine said: It is highly significant that the Island received the recognition and praise for its space sector from a prestigious body such as the IoD and is further evidence of the strength of the sector and significant interest that the Islands space industry attracts. Alex Downie OBE, MLC, Member of the Department of Economic Development with responsibility for Space, who is also a trustee of the IISC said: The IoD event was an ideal opportunity for the Island to demonstrate that its space industry is complimentary to, rather than in direct competition with, the UKs space industry. This partnership is important to emphasise how the Island adds value to the UK economy as well as providing benefit to our own economy.

It is highly significant that the Island received the recognition and praise for its space sector from a prestigious body such as the IoD.."

Tim Craine, Director of Business Development at the DED

If you'd like to send any information or news releases to us then please feel free to do so and we would be more than happy to consider sharing your news with the Isle of Man!

Send your Isle of Man news to:webmaster@manx.net

Manx Telecom Ltd 2012

Manx Telecom Ltd, Isle of Man Business Park, Cooil Road, Braddan, Isle of Man IM99 1HX Registered in the Isle of Man Reg no.5629V Vat Reg no GB 003-2919-12

Originally posted here:
Isle of Man Space Industry praised in Report on the British Space Sector