On the ground reporting

The literal stupidity of our age of stupid literal-ism is literally stupid.

The company moved into the high-rise building amid much fanfare in December 2012 under the leadership of then-publisher Ricky Mathews, who had been chosen by Advance Media, owners of The Times-Picayune, to bring the paper into what was called the "digital transition." At the time, Mathews told The Wall Street Journal, "The owners wanted us to be in a space that could make a statement," and in a public meeting with New Orleans' tech community, he boasted the offices would have a "Google-Nike kind of vibe." (While NOLA.com employees enjoyed the prime view, some complained about the lack of mobility that came with the location, and cellphone service on the 32nd floor has been spotty at best since day one.)

"It's a beautiful space with the best views in the city," NMG president Tim Williamson told Gambit, "but I think that it was a little disconnected from the community. There's a better way to foster collaboration, and I really want to make a better opportunity to connect to the community. I think a media company should be connected at ground level."

Because the new space is on a lower floor, they are more "connected to the community."  Similarly, Donald Trump thinks "transparency" in border wall construction means you can actually see through it.  Besides, I thought this was the media company who knew about all the communications technology and stuff. Of all people, they should know how to contact the community from a distance.

Their new office space is 1/3 the size of the old one. They say they aren't firing anybody though who can say what good their word is now? For all we know, it's a promise to not literally set anyone on fire. Anyway, this isn't the most encouraging thing.

The size of the new newsroom has some NOLA.com employees concerned that another downsizing may be on the horizon in 2018 — as did a letter last month from Advance Local CEO Randy Siegel, which said, in part, "We will respond better and more nimbly to needs in the markets. We’ll look for more and different ways to generate revenue, as well as operational efficiencies."