Year in review: #7 - TIE - Aaron Broussard & TP

In our review of the top local stories of 2012, the voting by our editorial board saw a tie at #7: The guilty plea of former Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard and the stunning announcement by the Times-Picayune that the paper would no longer offer a daily print edition.

Broussard guilty plea: 

In September, former Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard today plead guilty to two counts of public corruption, after vowing for months to fight the charges.  Broussard's change of heart came after his sole remaining co-defendant worked out a deal with prosecutors in exchange for testimony against him.

 

Of the original 27 charges against him, the deal struck with U.S. Attorney Jim Letten's office saw Broussard plead guilty to two counts: Conspiracy to commit bribery and theft from a program receiving federal funds.

 

Legal analysts say it means that Broussard will also likely cooperate with the government in other corruption probes.

 

Broussard resigned as Jefferson Parish President in January of 2010 as a grand jury investigation of his office unfolded.

 

He faces up to fifteen years in prison on the two counts, but will likely serve much less.  Broussard will remain free on bond until his sentencing in February.

 

Broussard's ex-wife Karen Parker earlier this year pleaded guilty to a single count involving a payroll fraud scheme in which she was paid for a paralegal job for which she admitted she was not qualified. His former top aide Tim Whitmer pleaded guilty to misprision of a felony this year.

The two provided evidence to prosecutors of Broussard's corruption in office, followed by a guilty plea by former parish attorney Tom Wilkinson.  After Wilkinson's agreement to cooperate with prosecutors, Broussard and his attorney agreed that the former Parish President would plead to the two counts of corruption.

 

Times-Picayune cuts back print edition to 3 days a week
 

The publisher of New Orleans' only daily newspaper, the Times-Picayune, announced in May they would be scaling back operations and no longer publishing a daily edition. 

 

Despite a very high penetration of the local readership, the publisher announced formation of a new company, NOLA Media Group.  The new group was tasked with devoting resources to its online presence at nola.com and only deliver a print edition on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

 

"The decision to form a new company signals a change in the way news is delivered to an increasingly wired New Orleans area audience," an announcement from the publisher read.  "The three days of publication were chosen in part so that the print edition is distributed across the entire week, but also because Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays have proved to be the most valuable days for the newspaper's advertisers."

 

Major cuts and layoffs at the Picayune, soon followed.  The Picayune, like other New Orleans news outlets, weathered Hurricane Katrina and won awards, including a Pulitzer, for its reports on the region's recovery.  The storm only knocked out daily publication for a few days while reporters kept posting articles to the paper's online partner, NOLA.com.

 

City leaders, including Mayor Mitch Landrieu, implored the publisher to reconsider, to no avail.  Saints owner Tom Benson publicly offered to purchase the paper in an effort to continue a 7-day-a-week print version.

 

"I would welcome the opportunity to speak to you about my interest in purchasing the Times-Picayune, with others.  If this is something that is an option, we can initiate this at your earliest convenience," Benson wrote in a letter to publisher Steve Newhouse.

However, Newhouse responded by saying the Picayune was not for sale.  

 

Following the news of the staff cuts and print reductions at the Picayune, the Baton Rouge Advocate sought to fill the void by announcing a 7-day-a-week New Orleans edition to be delivered in the metro area.  The Manship family, publisher of the Advocate, said the response from Picayune readers was overwhelmingly positive.