The Baton Rouge Film Commission has launched a new website and unveiled a new logo as part of a rebranding of the group. Liza Kelso, the commission's assistant director, says the new website reflects the lessons learned by the commission since it was formed in 2007 by Mayor Kip Holden to be a liaison between the city-parish and the film industry. "Basically, we've gathered everything that filmmakers have asked of us over the years and have put it all together on the new site," she says. "It's about making that connection between the production and the business community as easy as possible." The new site has information on permitting, production essentials and the state's film tax credits as well as a production guide. It also supplies pertinent information for those who want to find work in the film industry or make movies, says Kelso. Local businesses that are interested in serving the film industry are encouraged to sign up to be included in the site's production directory. You...
The big Challenge in packing for the beach? Choosing the right book. Make sure to bring Liza Palmer's new novel, Nowhere but Home. This homecoming story is tender not treacly, told in smart, funny, unfussy prose. It is sure to enhance any laid-back vacation.
When not busy producing our monthly print publication or weekly online products, many of 225's staff and contributors are engaging in interesting discussions on Twitter. Here's where to find everyone and what to expect.
A bill that might have scaled back Louisiana's film production incentive program was tabled Wednesday, making it less likely that major changes will be made before the session ends next Thursday. "I don't think that you can get comfortable with anything until sine die," says Will French, president of the Louisiana Film & Entertainment Association, referring to adjournment. "Anything can happen, even at the last minute." Still, industry backers say they're finding traction with their argument that cuts to the film program won't produce immediate savings to fill the current budget hole, so there's no reason to rush through making changes that might harm the industry. Senate Resolution 132 establishes the Entertainment Industry Development Advisory Commission to review incentives for film, music, digital media and live performances before making policy recommendations by Feb. 1, 2015. Patrick Mulhearn, director of studio operations at Raleigh Studios Baton Rouge at the Celtic...
With a knack for knowing how to deliver a great story or essay, David Sedaris has earned quite the rabid fan base. The bestselling author has consistently delivered absurd, clever and moving tales in his collections. His latest book, Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls, is no different, broaching subjects such as his father's dinnertime attire, his first colonoscopy and more. In support of this latest work, Sedaris returns to Baton Rouge tonight, visiting the Citiplace Barnes & Noble (Map it!) to discuss and sign copies of the book. The event kicks off at 6 p.m. For more information, click here.
What becomes of the women who graduate with MBAs from Harvard Business School? Do most go on to fulfilling careers? Do they drop out of the workforce when they become mothers?
In recent years, viewers across the nation have seen reality TV shows about Louisiana alligator trappers, exterminators, sheriffs, prisoners, brides, shrimpers, nutria hunters, mixed martial arts fighters, garbage collectors, "bad girls," overnight millionaires, run-of-the-mill rednecks, and pawnshop owners (about whom there are multiple shows). And there's more on the way, including former Gov. Edwin Edwards' show, which begins airing this summer. Which has led The New York Times in a new feature story to wonder if "there actually are any interesting people left in Louisiana." "There's more material to be found in Louisiana; it's just going to be harder to find," David McKillop, executive vice president for programming at A&E, tells the newspaper. To find the next reality TV stars in Louisiana, casting agents are scouring the state, cold calling people with promisingly colorful occupations. Producers are hosting pig roasts to get to know potential subjects, and local contacts...
Family Road of Greater Baton Rouge is hosting a whimsical gala for the entire family this weekend. The fifth annual Storybook Ball kicks off at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Baton Rouge River Center. The event will feature classic stories, such as The Jungle Book, Where the Wild Things Are, Harry Potter and more. Each book will have its own station full of interactive activities. The Young Band Nation Blues Project, Tim the Magician, stilt walkers and more will also be on hand. Proceeds benefit Family Road. Children's tickets are $20; adult tickets are $60. Specials and reserved tables are also available for purchase here. Get the lowdown on more local happenings taking place this weekend in the new 225 Weekender e-newsletter here.
Celebrities and state politicians walked the red carpet Tuesday night for the Louisiana Film and Entertainment Association's Laissez Louisiana Film Rouler event at the Celtic Media Centre. While the affair brought a Hollywood vibe to Baton Rouge, its purpose was simple: to show support for Louisiana's film industry tax incentives. Currently, a bill approved by the House would reduce the tax credits for nonresident workers hired from 30% to 20%, while the credit for resident workers would remain at 35%. The event was dubbed Scott Niemeyer's "baby." Niemeyer is the chief financial officer of Gold Circle Films, the production company behind Pitch Perfect and the upcoming Search Party, both of which were filmed in Baton Rouge. "The Legislature has a big job cut out for them to balance the budget," he says. "We recognize that's not an easy task. We also want to mention the significance of our industry—the 15,000-plus jobs, the billions of dollars of in-state spending.
Family Road of Greater Baton Rouge will host a whimsical gala perfect for the entire family. The fifth annual Storybook Ball kicks off at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Baton Rouge River Center. The event will feature classic stories such as The Jungle Book, Where the Wild Things Are, Harry Potter and more coming to life. Each book will have its own station full of interactive activities. The Young Band Nation Blues Project, Tim the Magician, stilt walkers and more will also be on hand. Proceeds benefit Family Road. Children's tickets are $20; adult tickets are $60. Specials and reserved tables are also available for purchase online.
Construction on a $28 million movie production complex in New Orleans is slated to begin this fall, following approval Tuesday of a property tax break for Starlight Studios by the New Orleans Industrial Development Board. The project, to be built on a 32-acre vacant plot of land across from the Michoud Assembly Facility, is projected to include four soundstages with 96,000 square feet of space and a 30,000-square-foot office building. The Times-Picayune reports the industrial development board has agreed to assume title to the property for 10 years, during which time it will lease the land back to the Starlight developers in exchange for an annual PILOT, or payment in lieu of taxes. Starlight's first payment to the board in 2014 will be based on the current tax rate and the assessed value of the vacant property, which is approximately $10,000. Subsequent payments will be based on the projected value of the property upon the project's completion, determined to be $444,000. The...
Actors, actresses and politicians—including former Gov. Edwin Edwards and his wife, Trina—will be among those attending a private event in Baton Rouge tonight to promote the positive effect the film industry has in the state. And while the event was originally organized by the Louisiana Film and Entertainment Association to rally, at least in part, against a budget proposal that would have seen the film industry's tax credit cut by 15%, the shelving of that plan means there will be more fun and less politics tonight. Nonetheless, LFEA President Will French says the deal reached Monday in the House—which would result in a much smaller cut to the film tax credit—could still reduce Louisiana's competitiveness in relation to other states vying for film business via tax credits. "The question is, what exactly will it mean for us? Are we going to lose a little business, maybe a movie or two a year, or are we going to start to lose dozens of films, or worse?" French...
In the business world, “adapt or die” is a truism. The ubiquity of the Internet is altering—in some cases, radically upending—the models for all sorts of industries. Exhibit A: the current turmoil in print journalism.
Filming of the History Channel's Bonnie & Clyde in downtown on Monday will force some road closures in the area and will include "loud simulated gunfire," city officials announced today. Filming is scheduled to take place between noon and midnight along Third Street, between its intersections with Laurel and Convention streets. During filming, police will be stopping traffic intermittently while the cameras are rolling to ensure no modern cars slip into the frame of the period feature. Along with partial street closures, parking will also be restricted on portions of Third, Laurel, Florida and Convention streets. The four-hour mini-series, distributed by Sony Entertainment, is being directed by Bruce Beresford and is based on the true story of legendary bank robber, Clyde Barrow. The cast includes Emile Hirsch, William Hurt, Holly Hunter and Holliday Grainger.
Filming of Jurassic Park 4 has been delayed, the studio confirmed to trade publications on Wednesday. While Universal Pictures has not said so publicly, it has been widely believed that much of the film would be shot in Baton Rouge. Universal reserved stage space at Raleigh Studios Baton Rouge at the Celtic Media Centre, and had been working toward a June 2014 release. Patrick Mulhearn, director of Studio Operations at Raleigh Studios, tells Daily Report he has not received any official word from Universal, but says their production office and construction mill on the lot have been told to shut down and pack up. "It wouldn't surprise me one bit if they were at least somewhat spooked by what the Louisiana House of Representatives is proposing," Mulhearn says in an email, referring to possible cutbacks to the state's film incentives. "For Baton Rouge and the studio, it is devastating to lose a huge production that was just in its infancy. I think there is still hope that...
If success in fiction depends on creating characters who seem not just believable but actual, then Cary Holladay succeeds wildly in Horse People, the latest issue in the Yellow Shoe Fiction series out of LSU Press.
He's a Coast Guard veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. His city is a cold shadow of its former self. And he is out for blood—perhaps literally.
The Mapmaker's War ronlyndomingue.com "I've read everything Carolyn Turgeon has written. I received an advance reading copy of her next novel, The Fairest of Them All—due in August—and this one has the same hallmarks of whimsy, sensitivity, and imagination as her other works. She does a masterful job of entwining the stories of Rapunzel and Snow White in a fairy tale retelling that's dark, sensual, and clever."
A new audit says Louisiana shelled out $800 million over the last five years in tax breaks for the film industry. And the review released today by the Legislative Auditor's Office suggests the state's coffers get little in return for the expense. For example, the audit says the state spent $197 million tax credits for production projects in 2010—and received $27 million in tax revenue. Supporters of the program say the industry has created thousands of new jobs. Critics question whether Louisiana gets enough return on its investment. LED says a recent analysis estimated that every $1 issued in film tax breaks generates $5.71 in economic output. But the state also loses at least 85 cents in tax revenue for every $1 it spends. The process for granting credits could be strengthened if LED had some authority in selecting the certified public accountant used by the production companies to audit its cost reports, the audit states, adding that LED also did not collect all the required...
The Bible and Book Center at 4242 Government St. will close its doors for good on Saturday after 54 years in business. Competition from online retailers and big-box stores, which carry many of the Christian book series that have been a main staple of the shop's merchandise mix, have taken a toll, and the family-owned business can no longer compete, says owner Janet Dearman. "When we bought the business, there weren't any chain bookstores in town," says Dearman, whose parents, Jim and Billie Sykora, bought the store from its original owners in 1980. "Once Sam's and Walmart came into the market, things started to change." Online retailers exacerbated the problem, then Hurricane Gustav in 2008 forced the shop to remain closed for a week. "That was sort of the nail in the coffin," says Dearman. "We never really recovered from that." The Bible and Book Center is the last independently owned, non-denominational Christian bookstore in Baton Rouge, according to Dearman, though there are two...
State Rep. Ted James, D-Baton Rouge, filed a bill for this session that would have slashed the value of the state's film incentives in half, made the credits non-transferable, and ended the state's buyback program for the credits. While James says he's not going to pull his bill, he plans to make changes to soften the impact it would have on the industry. He says he has learned the importance of credit transferability in funding small productions. He also says he has met with representatives of local people who work in the business behind the scenes. "I didn't want to do anything to hurt those guys," James says. "I still think we spend too much on the program." He says he'll continue to meet with industry representatives to find an appropriate way to tweak the program, and he hopes legislators will find ways to limit the budget damage from the state's myriad other tax breaks and incentives. "I don't think that the will of the Legislature is there to really take an honest look at our...
The Louisiana Technology Park will officially launch a new digital media studio at its Florida Boulevard facility at an event today featuring Mayor Kip Holden and BRAC President/CEO Adam Knapp. The Tech Park says Level Up Lab will be "the first of its kind in the South," providing "qualified, pre-screened companies the chance to create games, mobile apps and other digital content." The lab will include roughly 1,800 square feet of space inside the park. It's being paid for, in part, with funds from the Delta Regional Authority. Along with Holden and Knapp, Tech Park officials will outline details on the lab at an event slated for 11 a.m. at the park. As with current Tech Park clients, companies in the new lab are expected to receive discounted office space, data center access, and consultation services, while also gaining access to industry-specific software and hardware.
NASA has been renting out empty space at its Michoud Assembly Center in New Orleans for film productions. Patrick Mulhearn, director of studio operations at Raleigh Studios Baton Rouge, says the arrangement allows for unfair competition with facilities like his. Earlier this month, Mulhearn visited Washington, D.C., to participate in what he describes as a roundtable on government competition with the private sector, hosted by conservative Florida Congressman John Mica. "I think it's kind of a support group of people who feel like they've been wronged by the federal government," he says. "They felt like we could kind of be a poster child for unfair government competition." Congressman Bill Cassidy's office is looking into Mulhearn's concerns, as is NASA's inspector general. Mulhearn cites a policy directive that states: "NASA shall not compete with private sector sources in the provision of goods and services. NASA facilities and services may be made available under this policy only...
Oblivion hits movie theaters this weekend. The film stars Tom Cruise as the hero amongst an apocalyptic Earth, searching for clues and reminders of what once was for research as a part of a newly established colony in space. Oblivion "goes to 11" over the course of its running time, thanks to the special effects and thrills from director Joseph Kosinski, who helmed Tron: Legacy. This new film was largely shot at Celtic Media Centre and could signal another hit for Cruise and the Baton Rouge area. After production, Jeff Roedel caught up with Oblivion producer Duncan Henderson to get some insight on the sci-fi epic. Read the entire article from this month's issue of 225here.
"I was a young writer trying to take off." With this subtle, ironic confession, Jack Kerouac's lyrical cipher Sal Paradise introduces himself in the long awaited screen adaptation of his iconic Beat Generation novel On the Road.
Actor Joe Chrest has never seen the Sean Penn-led 2006 adaptation of All the King's Men, and he doesn't want to. Audiences may be relieved that the stage and screen veteran, portraying Jack Burden—the novel's flawed narrator and conflicted associate of the Huey P. Long-esque Gov. Willie Stark—is not basing his latest theatrical performance on the Baton Rouge-set film most critics called a missed opportunity.
Still jazzed after parading the Park City, Utah, streets—literally—during Sundance, organizers of the Louisiana International Film Festival are gearing up for the April 18-21 inaugural launch.
If contemporary women breezed through their middle-age years, there'd be no need for books like Tao Flashes. But they don't—we don't. This knowledge prompted local author Lisa G. Froman to publish this gift-worthy collection of reflections.
In 2005, Ronlyn Domingue published her first novel, The Mercy of Thin Air, which was quickly embraced by readers and critics and is now available in 10 languages. I studied at LSU, her alma mater, where we became friends. Later, I watched as she delved into what she called Novel No. 2, which was published March 5 as The Mapmaker's War.
Celebrate the release of author Helana Brigman's new book, The Fresh Table: Cooking in Louisiana All Year Round, Thursday at the Baton Rouge Gallery. The event starts at 6:30 p.m. and features food from Chef Chris Wadsworth of Restaurant IPO as well as music from Flatbed Honeymoon and Calico Axe. A number of speakers will also be present, including Louisiana Cookin' editor Daniel Schumacher, LSU Press Acquisitions Editor Alisa Plant, and The Advocate Food Editor Cheramie Sonnier. For more information, visit Brigman's blog here.
Author Ronlyn Domingue's new book, The Mapmaker's War, was released March 5 by Simon & Schuster. But thanks to a dispute over financial terms between Barnes & Noble and the publishing house, this Baton Rouge writer's work is not readily available at the more than 1,300 B&Ns nationwide. B&N greatly reduced the number of titles it orders from S&S at the end of January, when the disagreement came to a head. "The first six weeks of a book's launch are critical," Domingue says. "If the book doesn't take off in this time, it is essentially dead." Domingue's book—published by Atria, an imprint of S&S—has received little to no fanfare its first three weeks out, and Domingue is not the only one suffering. Authors throughout the country who have published through S&S in the last two months have seen book sales suffer. According to The...
After only seven months since arriving in Baton Rouge, the managing editor of Nola.com's local bureau, Carlos Sanchez, has resigned. In a letter posted this afternoon on the news website, Sanchez says he is leaving to pursue an opportunity in his native Texas and also to be reunited with his family. In the letter, Sanchez says Nola.com was approaching 1 million page views a month just three months after creating a Baton Rouge home page. But sources say the local offices of Nola.com—which is the online incarnation of The Times-Picayune—have been fraught with challenges that are, at least, partly the result of a rapidly changing media landscape. Last fall, The Times-Picayune reduced its print publication to three days a week and began devoting more resources to its online product. About that same time, it beefed up its coverage of the...
While sources say employees of The Advocate are on pins and needles as they await word on what the pending sale of the family-owned newspaper will mean to them, the man who may soon be their boss has at least some reassurances for them. "In my opinion that place has all the resources and all the people that it needs to compete," says New Orleans businessman John Georges, who last week signed a letter of intent to acquire the paper. "There are some great people who work there." Georges, who was at LSU's E. J. Ourso College of Business this morning for the kickoff of Lemonade Day Louisiana, says if and when the sale is finalized, he will do the same thing at The Advocate that he has done at all the companies Georges Enterprises has acquired over the years. "When we acquire a company, we enhance them," he says. "We make them competitive by giving them the resources they need to compete." Many publishing companies around the country are selling or closing their newspapers...
Helana Brigman's blog, "Clearly Delicious", offers readers recipes daily that live up to the title claim. Now, thanks to LSU Press, Brigman's recipes have been gathered in a book, The Fresh Table: Cooking in Louisiana All Year Round. A native of Maine, Brigman has divided her book by season, so local, fresh ingredients can easily be found. This LSU alumna can dish up everything from crawfish to coastal lobster, and, with her guidance, you can do the same. On Saturday at 12:15, Brigman will prepare fare from her book during a complimentary cooking demo at Red Stick Spice Co. on Jefferson Highway. Call 930-9967 to reserve seating.
The East Baton Rouge Parish School System is seeking proposals from 11 local and regional advertising agencies for a nearly $300,000 marketing and public relations campaign that will seek to rebrand the public school system. According to the RFP, which was issued this week, "The goal is to develop a comprehensive community campaign to increase support for EBR Schools throughout the business community and to encourage more families to select EBR Schools as their schools of choice." The RFP also says the district has $68,000 to spend on procuring professional services for the campaign and $217,000 for media buys, ad placement, printing and production costs. All the money, which was included in the 2012-13 budget, must be allocated for the campaign by the end of the fiscal year on June 30. That's a tight window for such a massive campaign, according to some local agency execs interested in getting the work. But Susan Nelson, the system's new interim executive director for...
Daily Report has confirmed that New Orleans businessman John Georges has signed a letter of intent with the Manship family to acquire The Advocate. Details of the agreement, which was signed today, are unknown, and earlier Friday sources told Daily Report the letter of intent would only lay out the general terms of the deal and that a document outlining the specifics of the acquisition will not come until later. Georges, reached Friday night, declined to comment, citing a confidentiality agreement. The Advocate's publisher David Manship did not return calls for comment earlier this week. Industry sources have calculated the paper's value at somewhere between $30 million and $40 million, not including its some $30 million debt load. Manship has told Daily Report on previous occasions his family was asking "way more than the paper's worth." —Stephanie Riegel
When Gov. Bobby Jindal unveils details of his tax code revamp to lawmakers today, it will not include a new tax on media advertising buys, says American Advertising Federation of Baton Rouge President Hunter Territo. At least, that's what Territo says he was told by Department of Revenue representatives at a meeting Wednesday. "However, it looks like advertising services, along with a list of other professional services, will be subject to a new tax," Territo says. "So while someone who is selling advertising might kind of breathe a sigh of relief, the firms that provide the creative services for the ads—which fuels the media buys—are going to be hurt by this." Territo says a new tax on advertising services will negatively affect small firms in the Baton Rouge area whose revenues come primarily from the creation of advertisements, such as XDesign, where he works. "But more broadly it's raising the cost of advertising for everybody," he says. "That's going to hurt the...
Louisiana Department of Revenue Secretary Tim Barfield touched off a firestorm in the advertising and media worlds earlier this week when he confirmed that the state is considering charging a sales tax on media advertising purchases as part of Gov. Bobby Jindal's tax reform plan. "It has everyone scrambling," says Becky Sadler, who handles membership issues for The American Advertising Federation of Baton Rouge. The local AAF chapter has arranged a meeting for its members to learn more about how such a tax might affect them and how they can voice their opposition. It's taking place at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the headquarters of Lamar Advertising Company, 5321 Corporate Blvd., Sadler says. Louisiana Press Association Executive Director Pam Mitchell says she's also getting a lot of calls from her members about the possibility of the tax.
As the state continues to look at ways to expand the tax base to offset the revenue lost by the proposed elimination of personal and corporate income taxes, the Jindal administration is considering charging sales tax on media advertising purchases, says Department of Revenue Secretary Tim Barfield. The featured guest on 89.3 WRKF's The Jim Engster Show this morning, Barfield acknowledged, "There's historically been a lot of resistance to taxing news media … and for very good reason." Nonetheless, he says: "We haven't ruled anything out, but we also haven't said that we're definitely going to tax that yet. Those are decisions that we're embarking on this week." Though some states have toyed with the idea of applying a sales tax to media advertising—and some have implemented such a tax only to see it later repealed—none currently has one, Engster says. The radio host, who pressed Barfield on the issue this morning, adds that the last time Louisiana considered...
How about a break from the latest literary sensations? Forty years ago, Eudora Welty of Jackson, Miss., won the Pulitzer Prize for The Optimist's Daughter, her last work of published fiction. The anniversary of this achievement is a fitting time to reach for this superb short novel.
Was his shirtless scene in the movie indulgent? Perhaps. I mean, we get it Ben, you're still in good shape. But with Argo taking home statues for Best Screenplay, Best Editing and Best Picture at an awards ceremony with more parity among nominees than any in recent memory, Affleck the Director's career is, now more than ever, in great shape, too. Despite the bizarre Oscar snub in the director's category—Affleck wasn't even nominated—he can do pretty much whatever he wants behind the camera from here on out. And, apologies to those waiting for Armageddon 2: Here Comes Another One, but I think we'll see a lot less of the star on screen in favor of more directing projects in the near future.
Nearly one month after The Advocate stunned Baton Rouge readers by announcing it is in serious sales talks with a potential buyer—later identified by Daily Report to be New Orleans businessman John Georges— negotiations between the two sides continue with no word on if or when a deal may come together. Advocate Publisher David Manship, who is not directly involved in the negotiations, says it is his understanding the ball is in Georges' court right now. "It's strictly up to him. … I guess he's thinking about it," says Manship. "Frankly, I'll be glad when it's all over." Manship declines to discuss the asking price for the family-owned paper, though he says it is more than $50 million. "I'm telling you it's high," he says. "It's not worth what we're asking for it." The value of the privately held paper is unknown because its financials are not public. However, industry experts have estimated it could be between $25 million and $50 million, not...
Local entrepreneurs and small business owners looking to expand their reach with the help of online tools, mobile apps and social media are invited to attend a free two-hour workshop in Baton Rouge on Monday evening. The "Digital Marketing Strategies for the Future of Business—Web, Mobile Apps, Email" workshop is the first of five slated to take place as part of the Next Level Training Education Series, which is a part of the Business with Baton Rouge initiative by Mayor Kip Holden's office. Future workshops will focus on OSHA compliance, business branding and human resource strategies, among other topics, and will be held each month through June. Monday's event is being held at the Bluebonnet Library Branch and will begin at 6 p.m. It will include a presentation by Orhan McMillan, managing partner of dezinsInteractive, a local company that specializes in Web design, marketing and brand management. You can get complete details on Monday's workshop, as well as on other workshops...
In a highly unusual move, the Nielsen Co., which measures TV station market share, has reissued the November ratings book for Baton Rouge because of an error made in editing the handwritten diaries in which participant viewers record their viewing habits. While the revised book gives ABC-affiliate WBRZ slightly higher share and ratings points during certain key time slots, it does not change the overall result of the book, which maintains CBS-affiliate WAFB's position as local market leader. "WAFB-TV Channel 9 remains the most-watched television station in Baton Rouge with a 2-to-1 viewership lead over its nearest competitor in most key viewing periods," says WAFB General Manager Sandy Breland. "We are pleased but not surprised by the updated data from Nielsen." WBRZ General Manager Rocky Daboval requested that Nielsen reissue the book, after station executives examined sample diaries in December and found numerous irregularities that called into question the accuracy of the book. He...
It's easy to look at Side Effects and consider the film to be “small.” That's what many said about Soderbergh's first feature sex, lies and videotape, too, in 1989, and look how that turned out. That Baton Rouge-set film won Cannes and launched the modern indie film movement in America. So now, at the age of 50, and with just one more film on the way—HBO's Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra—the lauded director and former Baton Rougean who has made lavish epics like Traffic, Ocean's Eleven and Contagion is retiring as a filmmaker to focus on painting, photography and whatever else a wealthy Oscar winner wants to do.
IdeaCrossing, a free online community meant to help entrepreneurs, investors, mentors, and service providers connect with each other, was rolled out in late January in Baton Rouge.
When you plunge into this collection of short stories by Stephanie Powell Watts, you’re suddenly among “dirt-roaders,” as she calls them: low-income, undereducated black working people living in obscurity in North Carolina. If this is new company for you to keep, so much the better. Trust her characters to illuminate their preoccupations and challenges.
Akosua Twum returned to school this fall standing a bit taller among her eighth-grade classmates. It wasn’t a growth in height but in confidence. Over the summer, she published Rich Girl Club, her first young-adult novel.
Sources familiar with negotiations between the Manship family and New Orleans businessman John Georges over the possible sale of The Advocate say talks have been accelerated because of publicity surrounding the possible deal, and that purchase agreements could be exchanged within the next two weeks. Sources stress, however, that no firm offer is on the table yet because of the complexities surrounding the deal and the many different ways it could be structured. Though no one knows for sure what The Advocate is worth, given that its financials are not made public, publisher David Manship has said the paper still owes approximately $30 million on the Siegen Lane printing presses it bought several years ago. Sources say that debt will factor prominently into how the deal is structured. According to newspaper analyst John Morton of The American Journalist Review, an industry rule of thumb to determine a newspaper's value is to use a multiplier of between $300 and...
The second half of 2012 was pretty slow for the film business, in Baton Rouge and elsewhere. But now pilot season is upon us, and Patrick Mulhearn, director of studio operations at Raleigh Studios Baton Rouge, says his phone is ringing off the hook. "If even a fraction of these films and TV pilots land here," Mulhearn says, "2013 will blow the doors off every previous year in Baton Rouge." Liza Kelso, assistant director with the Baton Rouge Film Commission, agrees that the buzz is picking up, although the commission doesn't have any solid information to release yet. "It is exciting," she says. "We've got a lot of stuff hovering, hopefully making a landing soon. We cannot wait." Louisiana's film business is heavily subsidized by state tax incentives, and the industry will watch the next legislative session closely to see whether tax reform...
New Orleans businessman John Georges has confirmed he is the interested buyer of The Advocate, as Daily Report first reported Saturday. At the time, Georges would not confirm he is in acquisition talks with the Manship family, which owns the Baton Rouge daily newspaper. But earlier today he told The Advocate he "loves Louisiana and loves to buy and own Louisiana companies." News of the possible sale came late Friday, when The Advocate reported on its website it is in serious talks with a potential buyer. In an interview this morning, publisher David Manship told Daily Report his paper decided to run the story when it did and with limited details because word of the deal was getting out and "we didn't want our employees to find out from someone else." Manship says he cannot discuss terms of the possible deal, nor will he confirm Georges is the potential buyer, because he has signed a confidentiality agreement. However, he says he expects a deal to...
Ten days after thorny contract negotiations between Cox Communications and WAFB-TV parent company Raycom Media concluded, Cox has raised rates on Louisiana customers. "The price adjustment is not a direct result of negotiations with Raycom Media," says Cox Southeast Public Affairs Manager Sharon Bethea. "The increasing cost of doing business has made the increases necessary. Programming costs for national cable networks continue to rise every year. We continue to fight on behalf of our customers to keep costs reasonable, as we did in the Raycom negotiations. But Raycom is just one of many programmers we work with and pay to include their programming in our lineup." Cox isn't alone in raising rates on regional customers. The company's top regional competitors—DirecTV, DISH, and AT&T—all announced price increases effective early 2013. DirecTV rates will increase by 4.5% on Feb. 7, DISH rates will increase between 7% and 20% this month, and AT&T will introduce higher pricing...
In the latest debate on hydraulic fracturing, the Obama administration scrapped a 2012 plan to impose tough new mandates governing the use of the drilling technique on public lands. Earlier this month, LOGA President Don Briggs found himself battling Hollywood, not regulators, over the way the Matt Damon movie Promised Land, directed by Gus Van Sant, portrays fracking. "It's dangerous to the industry because it's not factual," Briggs says. Though officials with the Louisiana Environmental Action Network say they did not see the movie, they're concerned about fracking not only in Pennsylvania—where the film is set—but also along the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale, closer to home. "You need sufficient regulatory requirements on the...
Effective Feb. 15, Donna Reichman will step down as executive director of the Baton Rouge Film Commission. Reichman, who took over the lead position at the film commission in the fall of 2011 following the departure of Amy Mitchell-Smith, announced her own exit in an email to colleagues, co-workers and friends. "It is with mixed emotions that I depart as I have thoroughly enjoyed working with each of you," she writes. Reichman also says in the email: "It is my intention to continue to contribute to filmmaking in Baton Rouge," but she does not elaborate on how she might do so. Calls to Reichman for additional comment on her plans after she steps down were not returned before press time. No further details on how the film commission will proceed with finding a new executive director have been released, and Reichman does not discuss a search in her email. —Steve Sanoski
Although staff members at the city-parish Planning Commission say it flies in the face of the Unified Development Code, Lamar Advertising Co. wants to raise a 50-foot-high billboard facing Interstate 10 by an additional 30 feet. The parish attorney's office is requesting a waiver for Lamar to raise its sign at Nairn Drive—on the south side of the interstate between Acadian Thruway and College Boulevard—as part of a conditional settlement agreement that goes back nearly 10 years. In 2003 the city-parish expropriated five of Lamar's billboards to widen Interstate 10 and construct the Picardy Avenue interchange. Robert Wilfert, a Lamar real estate manager, says those signs were Lamar's premium advertising billboards in the Capital Region. The city-parish settled for nearly $1.7 million. "The value of those signs has been the subject of litigation since the expropriation," city-parish attorney Leo D'Aubin writes to the Planning Commission in a letter seeking a waiver for the...
A collaborative workspace for visual media professionals called Creative Bloc is planned to open this summer, encompassing 11,500 square feet at the corner of Main and Eighth streets downtown. The space will also serve as the new Baton Rouge headquarters of Launch Media, a video production firm currently located at Celtic Media Centre. Launch Media also has offices in New Orleans. The company’s executive producer and president, John Jackson, announced the plans this morning. He says Jackson Group Investments, an affiliate of Launch Media, recently acquired the property—formerly home to four retail shops—from Bob Dean. "It’s going to be a complete renovation," Jackson says. "We’re aiming to have it completed and open by the summer." Creative Bloc will have workstations and offices available for lease to established businesses and budding entrepreneurs focused on video, film, photography, graphic arts and app development. Resources provided at the...
While negotiations between Cox Communications and Raycom Media over retransmission fees continue to languish—a stalemate that has left local Cox subscribers unable to watch CBS shows on WAFB Channel 9, which is owned by Raycom—local advertising executives say viewers are not the only ones hurting. “This is financially disastrous for a lot of people,” says veteran ad executive Gerald Garrison. “Cox subscribers are being penalized because they are not able to watch WAFB. Advertisers are not able to reach their market.” Garrison does not have any clients with ads currently running on WAFB, though he has in the past. What makes the dynamics of the situation particularly challenging for advertisers is that WAFB and Cox both dominate the Baton Rouge market. WAFB’s local news attracts more than twice as many viewers as the...
On Sunday, CBS's 60 Minutes will air a story on the declining nature of print journalism by highlighting the transformation that has taken place at The Times-Picayune since the New Orleans newspaper scaled back its print publication schedule in October and increased emphasis on its online product. The story, titled "The Paper" and reported by veteran journalist Morley Safer, is slated to air at 6 p.m. In a preview of the story CBS released on Thursday, 60 Minutes says the new business model the New Orleans newspaper is experimenting with will be "a fate many more newspapers face as the Internet becomes the source of almost instantaneous news." In a post Thursday, Times-Picayunecolumnist Dave Walker says Safer visited New Orleans in September to do interviews for the segment, shooting footage inside the newspaper's Howard Avenue newsroom and...
One of the main reasons many sports fans buy a big-screen, high-definition TV is so they can have a view of the big game that rivals the best seat in any stadium in the country. But for those in Baton Rouge who get their cable service from Cox Communications, the contractual standoff the company is currently embroiled in with the parent company of local CBS-affiliate WAFB Channel 9 may leave local subscribers scrambling to find another screen—such as a laptop, a smartphone or a neighbor's—on which to watch the NFL's AFC wild card playoff game scheduled for Sunday. The Indianapolis Colts and Baltimore Ravens are set to square off at 3:30 p.m. A deal will have to be reached between Cox and Raycom Media before then for Baton Rouge Cox subscribers—who have been without CBS-affiliate shows airing on WAFB since Tuesday—to see the action as usual. "The simplest solution in the short-term for our customers who want to watch the AFC wild card games this weekend on CBS...
Cox Cable subscribers in Baton Rouge awoke on New Year's Day to find that WAFB and the CBS-affiliate shows it broadcasts were no longer available on their TV lineup. That's because Cox and WAFB's parent company, Raycom Media, did not reach a programming agreement before an end-of-year deadline. Negotiations between the two are ongoing, and WAFB General Manager Sandy Breland says she hopes an agreement will be reached soon. "We can certainly understand the frustration" that Cox customers are expressing, she says. "We're frustrated, too. We are hoping for a quick resolution to this. We want to be on Cox." Under the Cable TV Act of 1992, cable and satellite TV systems are required to negotiate agreements with TV stations to carry their programming. Raycom Media has been unable to reach agreements with Cox in several other markets across the United States. Cox has issued a statement to Daily Report saying: "Raycom Media is withholding their programming from Cox customers because...
Just across the river from New Orleans in Gretna is the Louisiana-based international publisher that has published some of your favorite books, including Zig Ziglar’s See You at the Top, Justin Wilson Looking Back: A Cajun Cookbook, James Rice’s Cajun Night Before Christmas, and more recently, Peggy Sweeny-McDonald’s Meanwhile, Back at Café du Monde….
Twenty years ago, local lawyer Van R. Mayhall Jr. set out to read the Bible and the Koran in their entirety and became intrigued by the “logical inconsistencies” surrounding Judas. Like a criminal lawyer, he explains, “What Judas did wasn't in doubt, but his motive and what happened to him afterwards was unclear.”
What do people do with memories of an event too heinous to forget but too dangerous to recollect openly? That dilemma underlies Pam Durban's new novel, The Tree of Forgetfulness, the latest in the Yellow Shoe Fiction series from LSU Press.
The new year is bringing new ways for customers of Cox Communications to watch some of their favorite programs. Subscribers will be able to view programs across multiple platforms, including laptops, tablets, Xboxes and smart phones. "It's more nimble, it's more integrated and it adds convenience and value," explains Cox Communications spokeswoman Sharon Souther Bethea. It's also the way of the future. As media platforms are increasingly integrated, communications companies that want to stay in the game have little choice but to give their subscribers the ability to access programming when they want it—and from anywhere. "This is the future of the industry," Bethea says. "We want customers to have better ways to control and personalize their services." Among the channels available to Cox subscribers across multiple platforms are the ESPN and Disney families of channels, the Watch NFL Network and certain CBS programming. Bethea says more options will become available in the...
Technology is supposed to make our lives easier—and our businesses more efficient. But if you're a small business owner, you may feel more overwhelmed than enlightened by the rapidly expanding number of mobile devices, apps and so-called business solutions proffered online and peddled by traditional telecommunications and IT companies.
In an article appearing in the Columbia Journalism Review today, David Manship, publisher of The Advocate, says the Baton Rouge newspaper has increased its New Orleans circulation to about 23,500 since launching an edition in the Crescent City in October. About 16,000 of those are daily subscribers, the article states, adding: “Both are strong numbers for such a young paper, and it's hard to imagine that many or most of them aren't coming at the expense of The Times-Picayune.” However, The Times-Picayune is also reporting increased circulation since reducing its publishing schedule to three days weekly in October and increasing its online efforts—which prompted The Advocate to try to muscle in on the New Orleans market. “We haven't even had time to figure out what it's costing us to be in New Orleans yet,” Manship says. The...
Too big to jail? When the Justice Department announced its record $1.9 billion settlement against British bank HSBC last week, prosecutors called it a powerful blow to a dysfunctional institution accused of laundering money for Iran, Libya and Mexico's murderous drug cartels. But to some former federal prosecutors, it is only the latest case in which the government stopped short of bringing criminal money-laundering charges against a big bank or its executives, at least in part on the rationale that such prosecutions could be devastating enough to cause such banks to fail. They're calling it "too big to jail." Read the full story here.
From humble beginnings in the Oklahoma Dust Bowl, Gerry Lane built a car dealership empire in Baton Rouge and along the Mississippi Gulf Coast with just a high school education, "Okie honesty" and an insatiable drive to succeed. That's the abbreviated version of the new biography Gerry Lane—An American Success Story, written by Leo Honeycutt. But Lane says his life story is more than just an interesting read about his many adventures in building a business, such as selling cars to the likes of Clark Gable, Gregory Peck and Milton Berle. The book is "much more than a biography, it's a road map," Lane says. "I started in the Dust Bowl of Oklahoma in the Depression, so poor I couldn't afford hope. But if you can embrace change, leave your comfort zone the way I left the Dust Bowl, take a little risk, you can become rich in attitude, relationships, and yes, money. In that order." Honeycutt calls Lane a "rare breed, a larger-than-life character," adding, "His story could...
There's little more than two weeks left to make your nominations for the 2013 Business Awards and Hall of Fame, presented by Business Report and Junior Achievement. The awards annually honor a Business Hall of Fame Laureate for a lifetime of achievement; Company of the Year, with one award going to a business with 100 employees or more and another going to one with fewer than 100 employees; Young Businessperson of the Year, which goes to someone 40 or younger; and Businessperson of the Year. You can nominate your company, yourself, a client, vendor or friend online here. Nominations will close at 5 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 31. Winners will be profiled in a March issue of Business Report and will be honored at a March 19 banquet held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and sponsored by Franklin and Capital One Bank.
There's a benevolent force in children's media named William Joyce, and his creative haven is Shreveport. By any measure, 2012 has been a banner year for him.
When I was a teenager, prom night culminated in a tradition called “Grand March,” where high school juniors and seniors would strut down a catwalk under the watchful eyes and the “oohs” and “ahs” of the entire town—posing occasionally for our turn in the spotlight, or in this case, the many flashing lights from elated parents wielding disposable cameras.
Suzanne Johnson is the author of the Sentinels series, urban fantasy novels featuring Drusilla Jaco, the junior wizard sentinel of New Orleans. The series kicked off with Royal Street, published earlier this year, and continues with River Road, just released in November. Johnson worked at Tulane for 15 years and now lives in Auburn, Ala.
Another shot in the battle to attract online and print readers in Baton Rouge and New Orleans that's being waged between The Advocate and The Times-Picayune was taken today with the launch of a Baton Rouge homepage for the Nola.com website carrying content from The Times-Picayune. The launch of the site "signals the beginning of more community coverage of Baton Rouge, extending far beyond the award-winning coverage of politics and state government that The Times-Picayune has a long and distinguished history of providing," Nola.com says in a story announcing the site. It's just the latest development in a story that began in May, when NOLA Media Group, which owns The Times-Picayune, announced the paper would end daily publication and print just three days a week, beginning in October. Shortly thereafter, The Advocate announced the launch of a New Orleans edition and a new focus on news in the Big Easy. NOLA Media Group, meanwhile, has laid out...
Is this it? The first of the last? The initial trailer for Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh's (allegedly) final feature film, a prescription drugs drama called Side Effects. In case you've missed the former Baton Rougean's last half dozen interviews or so, the 49-year-old workhorse filmmaker is calling it quits to paint and travel and do whatever it is artists do when they retire long before most in their line of work even consider it. Sure the Traffic, Ocean's Eleven director has wracked up 35 directing credits and 33 producing gigs since shocking the world at age 26 with the Cannes-winning, Baton Rouge-set sex, lies and videotape, but it is still hard to believe that Soderbergh is hanging up his camera while, in all likelihood, he still has another decade “in his prime.”
Clare D’Artois Leeper wrote the column “Louisiana Places: Those Strange Sounding Names” for the Baton Rouge Sunday Advocate in the ’60s and ’70s and again from 2004 to 2006. This dictionary-like volume is the culmination of decades of research and interviews, assembling Leeper’s original columns—inspired by an early job as a tour guide—and adding new material. Sadly, Leeper died shortly before the publication of Louisiana Places in September. Danny Plaisance, owner of Cottonwood Books, knew her since he opened his bookstore 26 years ago. She was “awful good for our community,” Plaisance says, and anyone interested in Louisiana history will enjoy her book.
The year is 1982; the place is Baton Rouge. An undercover police officer nabs the biggest criminal of his career and turns him into an informant in an effort to close several unsolved cases.
This gorgeous publication is a travel guide masking as a coffee table book. With 175 photographs included, New Roads and Old Rivers: Louisiana’s Historic Pointe Coupee Parish will make readers want to jump in the car and head out for a lazy Sunday drive across the river. The destination is not the Pointe Coupee you think you know from New Roads’ Mardi Gras parades, trips to False River or news reports on the Morganza Spillway. The guided tour by authors Randy Harelson and Brian Costello reveals a comprehensive view of Pointe Coupee, drenched in history and proud of it.
"I put together a list of my favorite books for entrepreneurs. I have read many of them multiple times because they inspire, teach and help me in my quest to grow a business and become a better person."—Pete Sveen, thinkentrepreneurship.com
It’s been through rocky years of state budget cuts and uncertainty, but the Louisiana Book Festival keeps bouncing back. The one-day event was canceled in 2010 when state funding dwindled to nearly nothing, but rallied last year, drawing thousands to downtown Baton Rouge for author talks, a book market, exhibitions and more. Chalk it up to talented writers and booklovers who call the Pelican State home, private partners like Barnes & Noble, and also the dedicated folks at the State Library and the lieutenant governor’s office who have sought out federal grants and local support to keep it going. "Louisiana is very often at the bottom of the list [in many categories]," says State Librarian Rebecca Hamilton. "But Louisiana is at the top of the list for Louisiana authors and artists who really contribute to our cultural economy. Having such fantastic authors writing about our beautiful, unique state—it’s promoting that idea of how important it is to have a...
Lamar Advertising Co. announced Thursday that its wholly owned subsidiary, Lamar Media Corp., is selling $535 million in subordinated debt notes due 2023 to fund the acquisition of NextMedia Outdoor Inc. The notes are not registered under the Securities Act and are being offered only to qualified institutional buyers in offshore transactions, unless there is an exception pursuant to an exemption to be sold in the United States from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. The proceeds to Lamar Media, after the payment of fees and expenses, are expected to be approximately $527.1 million. The deal’s closing is expected on Oct. 30. Lamar Media intends to use the proceeds of this offering to redeem $137.2 million in aggregate principal amount outstanding of its 6.625% subordinated debt due 2015 to fund the acquisition of NextMedia Outdoor. To read the full report, click
Book lovers will get the opportunity to hear from and speak with authors tomorrow at the annual Louisiana Book Festival. The celebration of reading and writing, held in downtown Baton Rouge around the State Capitol, runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne, whose department helps organize and host the festival, says more than 140 writers and panelists will discuss their latest works and others' writing. More information, including a schedule, is available at LouisianaBookFestival.org.
Could any place be more appropriate than south Louisiana to film a series about the high-stakes nature of college football? Doubtful, though that isn't why Fox Digital Studios chose Baton Rouge as the location to shoot and produce its newest digital video series, Suit Up, now playing on Yahoo. Rather, it was the state's movie industry tax credits and the experience of Baton Rouge-based Digital FX, which co-produced the series with Fox, that brought the deal here. "This is the kind of stuff we'd love to do more of," says Greg Milneck, president of Digital FX, which provided camera crews, office space, and editing services to Fox for the production. "It was a low-budget job, but we really believe it represents the future of video production." A trailer for the series, which you can check out here, shows several scenes that locals will recognize, including an aerial view of the LSU campus and several shots of Tiger...
After multiple celebrity sightings Thursday and Kevin Kimball of TJ Ribs posting to Facebook that his restaurant made a late night delivery to Mariah Carey—the pop star ordered fried green tomatoes, red beans and baby back ribs—225 can confirm that American Idol is in Baton Rouge shooting promotional videos with Three (One) O, a production company, as well as official auditions that could end up airing as part of Season 12 of the hit Fox series.
Jay Adelson, a successful entrepreneur from the Midwest who made a name for himself in California, has a few things he wants to share with Baton Rouge. His key points: Achieving success takes more than knowledge and planning; it takes ambition and confidence.
The state's generous tax credits for filmmakers may have brought in plenty of productions and jobs, but they also unleashed some destructive, terrifying and often ridiculous monsters on our cities and defenseless masses. Kudos to SyFy and Louisiana-based Active Entertainment for often forgoing Louisiana as stand-in-for and instead setting the campy terror right here in the Pelican State.
To promote its grand opening earlier this month, L'Auberge Baton Rouge Casino & Hotel deployed several public relations strategies, including social media, traditional news releases and a dramatic use of tchotchke. The company, working with Wright Feigley Communications, sent a succession of fancy giveaways to media members in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, including teddy bears, plush towels, chocolate sculptures and barware. Each item was meant to plant a different story idea about the $368 million casino complex, says Wright Feigley partner Jeff Wright. "There was a specific reasoning behind this," he says. "We were trying to get reporters to understand that there are multiple stories to tell." Wright says Pinnacle, the gaming company that developed and owns L'Auberge, didn't hesitate to invest in the knickknack strategy. They'd successfully used a similar tactic in another market. "Not all media will take it, but we felt it was a successful way of showing what we have," he says.
B.R. Film Commission launches rebrand
The Baton Rouge Film Commission has launched a new website and unveiled a new logo as part of a rebranding of the group. Liza Kelso, the commission's assistant director, says the new website reflects the lessons learned by the commission since it was formed in 2007 by Mayor Kip Holden to be a liaison between the city-parish and the film industry. "Basically, we've gathered everything that filmmakers have asked of us over the years and have put it all together on the new site," she says. "It's about making that connection between the production and the business community as easy as possible." The new site has information on permitting, production essentials and the state's film tax credits as well as a production guide. It also supplies pertinent information for those who want to find work in the film industry or make movies, says Kelso. Local businesses that are interested in serving the film industry are encouraged to sign up to be included in the site's production directory. You...
Nowhere but Home
The big Challenge in packing for the beach? Choosing the right book. Make sure to bring Liza Palmer's new novel, Nowhere but Home. This homecoming story is tender not treacly, told in smart, funny, unfussy prose. It is sure to enhance any laid-back vacation.
How many characters?
When not busy producing our monthly print publication or weekly online products, many of 225's staff and contributors are engaging in interesting discussions on Twitter. Here's where to find everyone and what to expect.
Louisiana film incentive backers not relaxing yet
A bill that might have scaled back Louisiana's film production incentive program was tabled Wednesday, making it less likely that major changes will be made before the session ends next Thursday. "I don't think that you can get comfortable with anything until sine die," says Will French, president of the Louisiana Film & Entertainment Association, referring to adjournment. "Anything can happen, even at the last minute." Still, industry backers say they're finding traction with their argument that cuts to the film program won't produce immediate savings to fill the current budget hole, so there's no reason to rush through making changes that might harm the industry. Senate Resolution 132 establishes the Entertainment Industry Development Advisory Commission to review incentives for film, music, digital media and live performances before making policy recommendations by Feb. 1, 2015. Patrick Mulhearn, director of studio operations at Raleigh Studios Baton Rouge at the Celtic...
Humorist David Sedaris returns to Baton Rouge
With a knack for knowing how to deliver a great story or essay, David Sedaris has earned quite the rabid fan base. The bestselling author has consistently delivered absurd, clever and moving tales in his collections. His latest book, Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls, is no different, broaching subjects such as his father's dinnertime attire, his first colonoscopy and more. In support of this latest work, Sedaris returns to Baton Rouge tonight, visiting the Citiplace Barnes & Noble (Map it!) to discuss and sign copies of the book. The event kicks off at 6 p.m. For more information, click here.
Guest services 101
Author: Doug Lipp
Year: 2013
Publisher: McGraw Hill
Pages: 222
MBAs and motherhood
What becomes of the women who graduate with MBAs from Harvard Business School? Do most go on to fulfilling careers? Do they drop out of the workforce when they become mothers?
Reality TV casting crews widening search for next La. stars
In recent years, viewers across the nation have seen reality TV shows about Louisiana alligator trappers, exterminators, sheriffs, prisoners, brides, shrimpers, nutria hunters, mixed martial arts fighters, garbage collectors, "bad girls," overnight millionaires, run-of-the-mill rednecks, and pawnshop owners (about whom there are multiple shows). And there's more on the way, including former Gov. Edwin Edwards' show, which begins airing this summer. Which has led The New York Times in a new feature story to wonder if "there actually are any interesting people left in Louisiana." "There's more material to be found in Louisiana; it's just going to be harder to find," David McKillop, executive vice president for programming at A&E, tells the newspaper. To find the next reality TV stars in Louisiana, casting agents are scouring the state, cold calling people with promisingly colorful occupations. Producers are hosting pig roasts to get to know potential subjects, and local contacts...
'225 Weekender': Be a part of the story at the Storybook Ball
Family Road of Greater Baton Rouge is hosting a whimsical gala for the entire family this weekend. The fifth annual Storybook Ball kicks off at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Baton Rouge River Center. The event will feature classic stories, such as The Jungle Book, Where the Wild Things Are, Harry Potter and more. Each book will have its own station full of interactive activities. The Young Band Nation Blues Project, Tim the Magician, stilt walkers and more will also be on hand. Proceeds benefit Family Road. Children's tickets are $20; adult tickets are $60. Specials and reserved tables are also available for purchase here. Get the lowdown on more local happenings taking place this weekend in the new 225 Weekender e-newsletter here.
Hollywood and local celebrities team up to promote tax incentives
Celebrities and state politicians walked the red carpet Tuesday night for the Louisiana Film and Entertainment Association's Laissez Louisiana Film Rouler event at the Celtic Media Centre. While the affair brought a Hollywood vibe to Baton Rouge, its purpose was simple: to show support for Louisiana's film industry tax incentives. Currently, a bill approved by the House would reduce the tax credits for nonresident workers hired from 30% to 20%, while the credit for resident workers would remain at 35%. The event was dubbed Scott Niemeyer's "baby." Niemeyer is the chief financial officer of Gold Circle Films, the production company behind Pitch Perfect and the upcoming Search Party, both of which were filmed in Baton Rouge. "The Legislature has a big job cut out for them to balance the budget," he says. "We recognize that's not an easy task. We also want to mention the significance of our industry—the 15,000-plus jobs, the billions of dollars of in-state spending.
Be a part of the story
Family Road of Greater Baton Rouge will host a whimsical gala perfect for the entire family. The fifth annual Storybook Ball kicks off at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Baton Rouge River Center. The event will feature classic stories such as The Jungle Book, Where the Wild Things Are, Harry Potter and more coming to life. Each book will have its own station full of interactive activities. The Young Band Nation Blues Project, Tim the Magician, stilt walkers and more will also be on hand. Proceeds benefit Family Road. Children's tickets are $20; adult tickets are $60. Specials and reserved tables are also available for purchase online.
With tax break OK'd, New Orleans set to get $28M movie studio
Construction on a $28 million movie production complex in New Orleans is slated to begin this fall, following approval Tuesday of a property tax break for Starlight Studios by the New Orleans Industrial Development Board. The project, to be built on a 32-acre vacant plot of land across from the Michoud Assembly Facility, is projected to include four soundstages with 96,000 square feet of space and a 30,000-square-foot office building. The Times-Picayune reports the industrial development board has agreed to assume title to the property for 10 years, during which time it will lease the land back to the Starlight developers in exchange for an annual PILOT, or payment in lieu of taxes. Starlight's first payment to the board in 2014 will be based on the current tax rate and the assessed value of the vacant property, which is approximately $10,000. Subsequent payments will be based on the projected value of the property upon the project's completion, determined to be $444,000. The...
LFEA president: Industry can survive latest proposed cut to film tax credit
Actors, actresses and politicians—including former Gov. Edwin Edwards and his wife, Trina—will be among those attending a private event in Baton Rouge tonight to promote the positive effect the film industry has in the state. And while the event was originally organized by the Louisiana Film and Entertainment Association to rally, at least in part, against a budget proposal that would have seen the film industry's tax credit cut by 15%, the shelving of that plan means there will be more fun and less politics tonight. Nonetheless, LFEA President Will French says the deal reached Monday in the House—which would result in a much smaller cut to the film tax credit—could still reduce Louisiana's competitiveness in relation to other states vying for film business via tax credits. "The question is, what exactly will it mean for us? Are we going to lose a little business, maybe a movie or two a year, or are we going to start to lose dozens of films, or worse?" French...
Brave new world
In the business world, “adapt or die” is a truism. The ubiquity of the Internet is altering—in some cases, radically upending—the models for all sorts of industries. Exhibit A: the current turmoil in print journalism.
'Bonnie & Clyde' filming to close downtown streets Monday
Filming of the History Channel's Bonnie & Clyde in downtown on Monday will force some road closures in the area and will include "loud simulated gunfire," city officials announced today. Filming is scheduled to take place between noon and midnight along Third Street, between its intersections with Laurel and Convention streets. During filming, police will be stopping traffic intermittently while the cameras are rolling to ensure no modern cars slip into the frame of the period feature. Along with partial street closures, parking will also be restricted on portions of Third, Laurel, Florida and Convention streets. The four-hour mini-series, distributed by Sony Entertainment, is being directed by Bruce Beresford and is based on the true story of legendary bank robber, Clyde Barrow. The cast includes Emile Hirsch, William Hurt, Holly Hunter and Holliday Grainger.
'Jurassic Park 4' shoot in doubt
Filming of Jurassic Park 4 has been delayed, the studio confirmed to trade publications on Wednesday. While Universal Pictures has not said so publicly, it has been widely believed that much of the film would be shot in Baton Rouge. Universal reserved stage space at Raleigh Studios Baton Rouge at the Celtic Media Centre, and had been working toward a June 2014 release. Patrick Mulhearn, director of Studio Operations at Raleigh Studios, tells Daily Report he has not received any official word from Universal, but says their production office and construction mill on the lot have been told to shut down and pack up. "It wouldn't surprise me one bit if they were at least somewhat spooked by what the Louisiana House of Representatives is proposing," Mulhearn says in an email, referring to possible cutbacks to the state's film incentives. "For Baton Rouge and the studio, it is devastating to lose a huge production that was just in its infancy. I think there is still hope that...
Horse People
If success in fiction depends on creating characters who seem not just believable but actual, then Cary Holladay succeeds wildly in Horse People, the latest issue in the Yellow Shoe Fiction series out of LSU Press.
Das a real hero, cher
He's a Coast Guard veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. His city is a cold shadow of its former self. And he is out for blood—perhaps literally.
Cover to cover
The Mapmaker's War
ronlyndomingue.com
"I've read everything Carolyn Turgeon has written. I received an advance reading copy of her next novel, The Fairest of Them All—due in August—and this one has the same hallmarks of whimsy, sensitivity, and imagination as her other works. She does a masterful job of entwining the stories of Rapunzel and Snow White in a fairy tale retelling that's dark, sensual, and clever."
La. spent $800M on film tax credits over 5 years
A new audit says Louisiana shelled out $800 million over the last five years in tax breaks for the film industry. And the review released today by the Legislative Auditor's Office suggests the state's coffers get little in return for the expense. For example, the audit says the state spent $197 million tax credits for production projects in 2010—and received $27 million in tax revenue. Supporters of the program say the industry has created thousands of new jobs. Critics question whether Louisiana gets enough return on its investment. LED says a recent analysis estimated that every $1 issued in film tax breaks generates $5.71 in economic output. But the state also loses at least 85 cents in tax revenue for every $1 it spends. The process for granting credits could be strengthened if LED had some authority in selecting the certified public accountant used by the production companies to audit its cost reports, the audit states, adding that LED also did not collect all the required...
After more than five decades, Bible and Book Center closing
The Bible and Book Center at 4242 Government St. will close its doors for good on Saturday after 54 years in business. Competition from online retailers and big-box stores, which carry many of the Christian book series that have been a main staple of the shop's merchandise mix, have taken a toll, and the family-owned business can no longer compete, says owner Janet Dearman. "When we bought the business, there weren't any chain bookstores in town," says Dearman, whose parents, Jim and Billie Sykora, bought the store from its original owners in 1980. "Once Sam's and Walmart came into the market, things started to change." Online retailers exacerbated the problem, then Hurricane Gustav in 2008 forced the shop to remain closed for a week. "That was sort of the nail in the coffin," says Dearman. "We never really recovered from that." The Bible and Book Center is the last independently owned, non-denominational Christian bookstore in Baton Rouge, according to Dearman, though there are two...
B.R. representative plans to scale back movie credit bill
State Rep. Ted James, D-Baton Rouge, filed a bill for this session that would have slashed the value of the state's film incentives in half, made the credits non-transferable, and ended the state's buyback program for the credits. While James says he's not going to pull his bill, he plans to make changes to soften the impact it would have on the industry. He says he has learned the importance of credit transferability in funding small productions. He also says he has met with representatives of local people who work in the business behind the scenes. "I didn't want to do anything to hurt those guys," James says. "I still think we spend too much on the program." He says he'll continue to meet with industry representatives to find an appropriate way to tweak the program, and he hopes legislators will find ways to limit the budget damage from the state's myriad other tax breaks and incentives. "I don't think that the will of the Legislature is there to really take an honest look at our...
Tech Park launching new digital media studio today
The Louisiana Technology Park will officially launch a new digital media studio at its Florida Boulevard facility at an event today featuring Mayor Kip Holden and BRAC President/CEO Adam Knapp. The Tech Park says Level Up Lab will be "the first of its kind in the South," providing "qualified, pre-screened companies the chance to create games, mobile apps and other digital content." The lab will include roughly 1,800 square feet of space inside the park. It's being paid for, in part, with funds from the Delta Regional Authority. Along with Holden and Knapp, Tech Park officials will outline details on the lab at an event slated for 11 a.m. at the park. As with current Tech Park clients, companies in the new lab are expected to receive discounted office space, data center access, and consultation services, while also gaining access to industry-specific software and hardware.
Local studio head in tiff with NASA
NASA has been renting out empty space at its Michoud Assembly Center in New Orleans for film productions. Patrick Mulhearn, director of studio operations at Raleigh Studios Baton Rouge, says the arrangement allows for unfair competition with facilities like his. Earlier this month, Mulhearn visited Washington, D.C., to participate in what he describes as a roundtable on government competition with the private sector, hosted by conservative Florida Congressman John Mica. "I think it's kind of a support group of people who feel like they've been wronged by the federal government," he says. "They felt like we could kind of be a poster child for unfair government competition." Congressman Bill Cassidy's office is looking into Mulhearn's concerns, as is NASA's inspector general. Mulhearn cites a policy directive that states: "NASA shall not compete with private sector sources in the provision of goods and services. NASA facilities and services may be made available under this policy only...
'225': On the set with Duncan Henderson
Oblivion hits movie theaters this weekend. The film stars Tom Cruise as the hero amongst an apocalyptic Earth, searching for clues and reminders of what once was for research as a part of a newly established colony in space. Oblivion "goes to 11" over the course of its running time, thanks to the special effects and thrills from director Joseph Kosinski, who helmed Tron: Legacy. This new film was largely shot at Celtic Media Centre and could signal another hit for Cruise and the Baton Rouge area. After production, Jeff Roedel caught up with Oblivion producer Duncan Henderson to get some insight on the sci-fi epic. Read the entire article from this month's issue of 225 here.
Just do it
In your field of work, you know what it takes to move up the ladder and to the top. But do you know what success looks like in other industries?
Promoting home
Baton Rouge couldn't hold Andre Champagne, who graduated from LSU in 2002 and set off for Los Angeles and a career in the movie business.
Road more traveled
"I was a young writer trying to take off." With this subtle, ironic confession, Jack Kerouac's lyrical cipher Sal Paradise introduces himself in the long awaited screen adaptation of his iconic Beat Generation novel On the Road.
Stark raving mad
Actor Joe Chrest has never seen the Sean Penn-led 2006 adaptation of All the King's Men, and he doesn't want to. Audiences may be relieved that the stage and screen veteran, portraying Jack Burden—the novel's flawed narrator and conflicted associate of the Huey P. Long-esque Gov. Willie Stark—is not basing his latest theatrical performance on the Baton Rouge-set film most critics called a missed opportunity.
Screen test
Still jazzed after parading the Park City, Utah, streets—literally—during Sundance, organizers of the Louisiana International Film Festival are gearing up for the April 18-21 inaugural launch.
On the set
Duncan Henderson, producer of Tom Cruise's new film Oblivion, shared some insights with us on the sci-fi epic, which was largely shot in Baton Rouge.
Tao Flashes
If contemporary women breezed through their middle-age years, there'd be no need for books like Tao Flashes. But they don't—we don't. This knowledge prompted local author Lisa G. Froman to publish this gift-worthy collection of reflections.
A big sister
Sister Helen Prejean is committed to the mighty detail.
The writer's war
In 2005, Ronlyn Domingue published her first novel, The Mercy of Thin Air, which was quickly embraced by readers and critics and is now available in 10 languages. I studied at LSU, her alma mater, where we became friends. Later, I watched as she delved into what she called Novel No. 2, which was published March 5 as The Mapmaker's War.
Music, food and more planned for The Fresh Table at BRG
Celebrate the release of author Helana Brigman's new book, The Fresh Table: Cooking in Louisiana All Year Round, Thursday at the Baton Rouge Gallery. The event starts at 6:30 p.m. and features food from Chef Chris Wadsworth of Restaurant IPO as well as music from Flatbed Honeymoon and Calico Axe. A number of speakers will also be present, including Louisiana Cookin' editor Daniel Schumacher, LSU Press Acquisitions Editor Alisa Plant, and The Advocate Food Editor Cheramie Sonnier. For more information, visit Brigman's blog here.
Local writer affected by distribution war
Author Ronlyn Domingue's new book, The Mapmaker's War, was released March 5 by Simon & Schuster. But thanks to a dispute over financial terms between Barnes & Noble and the publishing house, this Baton Rouge writer's work is not readily available at the more than 1,300 B&Ns nationwide. B&N greatly reduced the number of titles it orders from S&S at the end of January, when the disagreement came to a head. "The first six weeks of a book's launch are critical," Domingue says. "If the book doesn't take off in this time, it is essentially dead." Domingue's book—published by Atria, an imprint of S&S—has received little to no fanfare its first three weeks out, and Domingue is not the only one suffering. Authors throughout the country who have published through S&S in the last two months have seen book sales suffer. According to The...
Nola.com Baton Rouge editor resigns
After only seven months since arriving in Baton Rouge, the managing editor of Nola.com's local bureau, Carlos Sanchez, has resigned. In a letter posted this afternoon on the news website, Sanchez says he is leaving to pursue an opportunity in his native Texas and also to be reunited with his family. In the letter, Sanchez says Nola.com was approaching 1 million page views a month just three months after creating a Baton Rouge home page. But sources say the local offices of Nola.com—which is the online incarnation of The Times-Picayune—have been fraught with challenges that are, at least, partly the result of a rapidly changing media landscape. Last fall, The Times-Picayune reduced its print publication to three days a week and began devoting more resources to its online product. About that same time, it beefed up its coverage of the...
Georges says 'Advocate' has all the resources, people it needs to compete
While sources say employees of The Advocate are on pins and needles as they await word on what the pending sale of the family-owned newspaper will mean to them, the man who may soon be their boss has at least some reassurances for them. "In my opinion that place has all the resources and all the people that it needs to compete," says New Orleans businessman John Georges, who last week signed a letter of intent to acquire the paper. "There are some great people who work there." Georges, who was at LSU's E. J. Ourso College of Business this morning for the kickoff of Lemonade Day Louisiana, says if and when the sale is finalized, he will do the same thing at The Advocate that he has done at all the companies Georges Enterprises has acquired over the years. "When we acquire a company, we enhance them," he says. "We make them competitive by giving them the resources they need to compete." Many publishing companies around the country are selling or closing their newspapers...
Meet a local culinary talent
Helana Brigman's blog, "Clearly Delicious", offers readers recipes daily that live up to the title claim. Now, thanks to LSU Press, Brigman's recipes have been gathered in a book, The Fresh Table: Cooking in Louisiana All Year Round. A native of Maine, Brigman has divided her book by season, so local, fresh ingredients can easily be found. This LSU alumna can dish up everything from crawfish to coastal lobster, and, with her guidance, you can do the same. On Saturday at 12:15, Brigman will prepare fare from her book during a complimentary cooking demo at Red Stick Spice Co. on Jefferson Highway. Call 930-9967 to reserve seating.
EBR school system solicits bids for advertising, PR campaign
The East Baton Rouge Parish School System is seeking proposals from 11 local and regional advertising agencies for a nearly $300,000 marketing and public relations campaign that will seek to rebrand the public school system. According to the RFP, which was issued this week, "The goal is to develop a comprehensive community campaign to increase support for EBR Schools throughout the business community and to encourage more families to select EBR Schools as their schools of choice." The RFP also says the district has $68,000 to spend on procuring professional services for the campaign and $217,000 for media buys, ad placement, printing and production costs. All the money, which was included in the 2012-13 budget, must be allocated for the campaign by the end of the fiscal year on June 30. That's a tight window for such a massive campaign, according to some local agency execs interested in getting the work. But Susan Nelson, the system's new interim executive director for...
News alert: Georges signs letter of intent to buy Advocate
Daily Report has confirmed that New Orleans businessman John Georges has signed a letter of intent with the Manship family to acquire The Advocate. Details of the agreement, which was signed today, are unknown, and earlier Friday sources told Daily Report the letter of intent would only lay out the general terms of the deal and that a document outlining the specifics of the acquisition will not come until later. Georges, reached Friday night, declined to comment, citing a confidentiality agreement. The Advocate's publisher David Manship did not return calls for comment earlier this week. Industry sources have calculated the paper's value at somewhere between $30 million and $40 million, not including its some $30 million debt load. Manship has told Daily Report on previous occasions his family was asking "way more than the paper's worth." —Stephanie Riegel
Media buy tax dropped, but advertising services still on the table
When Gov. Bobby Jindal unveils details of his tax code revamp to lawmakers today, it will not include a new tax on media advertising buys, says American Advertising Federation of Baton Rouge President Hunter Territo. At least, that's what Territo says he was told by Department of Revenue representatives at a meeting Wednesday. "However, it looks like advertising services, along with a list of other professional services, will be subject to a new tax," Territo says. "So while someone who is selling advertising might kind of breathe a sigh of relief, the firms that provide the creative services for the ads—which fuels the media buys—are going to be hurt by this." Territo says a new tax on advertising services will negatively affect small firms in the Baton Rouge area whose revenues come primarily from the creation of advertisements, such as XDesign, where he works. "But more broadly it's raising the cost of advertising for everybody," he says. "That's going to hurt the...
Advertisers gearing up for potential media tax fight
Louisiana Department of Revenue Secretary Tim Barfield touched off a firestorm in the advertising and media worlds earlier this week when he confirmed that the state is considering charging a sales tax on media advertising purchases as part of Gov. Bobby Jindal's tax reform plan. "It has everyone scrambling," says Becky Sadler, who handles membership issues for The American Advertising Federation of Baton Rouge. The local AAF chapter has arranged a meeting for its members to learn more about how such a tax might affect them and how they can voice their opposition. It's taking place at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the headquarters of Lamar Advertising Company, 5321 Corporate Blvd., Sadler says. Louisiana Press Association Executive Director Pam Mitchell says she's also getting a lot of calls from her members about the possibility of the tax.
La. looking at taxing media advertising buys
As the state continues to look at ways to expand the tax base to offset the revenue lost by the proposed elimination of personal and corporate income taxes, the Jindal administration is considering charging sales tax on media advertising purchases, says Department of Revenue Secretary Tim Barfield. The featured guest on 89.3 WRKF's The Jim Engster Show this morning, Barfield acknowledged, "There's historically been a lot of resistance to taxing news media … and for very good reason." Nonetheless, he says: "We haven't ruled anything out, but we also haven't said that we're definitely going to tax that yet. Those are decisions that we're embarking on this week." Though some states have toyed with the idea of applying a sales tax to media advertising—and some have implemented such a tax only to see it later repealed—none currently has one, Engster says. The radio host, who pressed Barfield on the issue this morning, adds that the last time Louisiana considered...
Shifting gears
Author: Steve Rizzo
Year: 2012
Publisher: McGraw-Hill
Pages: 224
The Optimist's Daughter
How about a break from the latest literary sensations? Forty years ago, Eudora Welty of Jackson, Miss., won the Pulitzer Prize for The Optimist's Daughter, her last work of published fiction. The anniversary of this achievement is a fitting time to reach for this superb short novel.
The Second life of Ben Affleck
Was his shirtless scene in the movie indulgent? Perhaps. I mean, we get it Ben, you're still in good shape. But with Argo taking home statues for Best Screenplay, Best Editing and Best Picture at an awards ceremony with more parity among nominees than any in recent memory, Affleck the Director's career is, now more than ever, in great shape, too. Despite the bizarre Oscar snub in the director's category—Affleck wasn't even nominated—he can do pretty much whatever he wants behind the camera from here on out. And, apologies to those waiting for Armageddon 2: Here Comes Another One, but I think we'll see a lot less of the star on screen in favor of more directing projects in the near future.
'Advocate' deal up to Georges, publisher says
Nearly one month after The Advocate stunned Baton Rouge readers by announcing it is in serious sales talks with a potential buyer—later identified by Daily Report to be New Orleans businessman John Georges— negotiations between the two sides continue with no word on if or when a deal may come together. Advocate Publisher David Manship, who is not directly involved in the negotiations, says it is his understanding the ball is in Georges' court right now. "It's strictly up to him. … I guess he's thinking about it," says Manship. "Frankly, I'll be glad when it's all over." Manship declines to discuss the asking price for the family-owned paper, though he says it is more than $50 million. "I'm telling you it's high," he says. "It's not worth what we're asking for it." The value of the privately held paper is unknown because its financials are not public. However, industry experts have estimated it could be between $25 million and $50 million, not...
Series of workshops for local entrepreneurs kicks off Monday
Local entrepreneurs and small business owners looking to expand their reach with the help of online tools, mobile apps and social media are invited to attend a free two-hour workshop in Baton Rouge on Monday evening. The "Digital Marketing Strategies for the Future of Business—Web, Mobile Apps, Email" workshop is the first of five slated to take place as part of the Next Level Training Education Series, which is a part of the Business with Baton Rouge initiative by Mayor Kip Holden's office. Future workshops will focus on OSHA compliance, business branding and human resource strategies, among other topics, and will be held each month through June. Monday's event is being held at the Bluebonnet Library Branch and will begin at 6 p.m. It will include a presentation by Orhan McMillan, managing partner of dezinsInteractive, a local company that specializes in Web design, marketing and brand management. You can get complete details on Monday's workshop, as well as on other workshops...
Nielsen reissues November TV ratings for B.R. market
In a highly unusual move, the Nielsen Co., which measures TV station market share, has reissued the November ratings book for Baton Rouge because of an error made in editing the handwritten diaries in which participant viewers record their viewing habits. While the revised book gives ABC-affiliate WBRZ slightly higher share and ratings points during certain key time slots, it does not change the overall result of the book, which maintains CBS-affiliate WAFB's position as local market leader. "WAFB-TV Channel 9 remains the most-watched television station in Baton Rouge with a 2-to-1 viewership lead over its nearest competitor in most key viewing periods," says WAFB General Manager Sandy Breland. "We are pleased but not surprised by the updated data from Nielsen." WBRZ General Manager Rocky Daboval requested that Nielsen reissue the book, after station executives examined sample diaries in December and found numerous irregularities that called into question the accuracy of the book. He...
Special Effects
It's easy to look at Side Effects and consider the film to be “small.” That's what many said about Soderbergh's first feature sex, lies and videotape, too, in 1989, and look how that turned out. That Baton Rouge-set film won Cannes and launched the modern indie film movement in America. So now, at the age of 50, and with just one more film on the way—HBO's Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra—the lauded director and former Baton Rougean who has made lavish epics like Traffic, Ocean's Eleven and Contagion is retiring as a filmmaker to focus on painting, photography and whatever else a wealthy Oscar winner wants to do.
Online entrepreneurs
IdeaCrossing, a free online community meant to help entrepreneurs, investors, mentors, and service providers connect with each other, was rolled out in late January in Baton Rouge.
Cracking the code
It takes all kinds of people to make a world—and a client list.
We Are Taking Only What We Need
When you plunge into this collection of short stories by Stephanie Powell Watts, you’re suddenly among “dirt-roaders,” as she calls them: low-income, undereducated black working people living in obscurity in North Carolina. If this is new company for you to keep, so much the better. Trust her characters to illuminate their preoccupations and challenges.
Oh, that’s Rich
Akosua Twum returned to school this fall standing a bit taller among her eighth-grade classmates. It wasn’t a growth in height but in confidence. Over the summer, she published Rich Girl Club, her first young-adult novel.
Talks on 'Advocate' sale to Georges accelerating
Sources familiar with negotiations between the Manship family and New Orleans businessman John Georges over the possible sale of The Advocate say talks have been accelerated because of publicity surrounding the possible deal, and that purchase agreements could be exchanged within the next two weeks. Sources stress, however, that no firm offer is on the table yet because of the complexities surrounding the deal and the many different ways it could be structured. Though no one knows for sure what The Advocate is worth, given that its financials are not made public, publisher David Manship has said the paper still owes approximately $30 million on the Siegen Lane printing presses it bought several years ago. Sources say that debt will factor prominently into how the deal is structured. According to newspaper analyst John Morton of The American Journalist Review, an industry rule of thumb to determine a newspaper's value is to use a multiplier of between $300 and...
Buzz building for B.R. film biz
The second half of 2012 was pretty slow for the film business, in Baton Rouge and elsewhere. But now pilot season is upon us, and Patrick Mulhearn, director of studio operations at Raleigh Studios Baton Rouge, says his phone is ringing off the hook. "If even a fraction of these films and TV pilots land here," Mulhearn says, "2013 will blow the doors off every previous year in Baton Rouge." Liza Kelso, assistant director with the Baton Rouge Film Commission, agrees that the buzz is picking up, although the commission doesn't have any solid information to release yet. "It is exciting," she says. "We've got a lot of stuff hovering, hopefully making a landing soon. We cannot wait." Louisiana's film business is heavily subsidized by state tax incentives, and the industry will watch the next legislative session closely to see whether tax reform...
Manship: Asking price for 'The Advocate' is 'a lot more than it's worth'
New Orleans businessman John Georges has confirmed he is the interested buyer of The Advocate, as Daily Report first reported Saturday. At the time, Georges would not confirm he is in acquisition talks with the Manship family, which owns the Baton Rouge daily newspaper. But earlier today he told The Advocate he "loves Louisiana and loves to buy and own Louisiana companies." News of the possible sale came late Friday, when The Advocate reported on its website it is in serious talks with a potential buyer. In an interview this morning, publisher David Manship told Daily Report his paper decided to run the story when it did and with limited details because word of the deal was getting out and "we didn't want our employees to find out from someone else." Manship says he cannot discuss terms of the possible deal, nor will he confirm Georges is the potential buyer, because he has signed a confidentiality agreement. However, he says he expects a deal to...
Cable prices rise; Cox says Raycom flap not direct cause of its rate changes
Ten days after thorny contract negotiations between Cox Communications and WAFB-TV parent company Raycom Media concluded, Cox has raised rates on Louisiana customers. "The price adjustment is not a direct result of negotiations with Raycom Media," says Cox Southeast Public Affairs Manager Sharon Bethea. "The increasing cost of doing business has made the increases necessary. Programming costs for national cable networks continue to rise every year. We continue to fight on behalf of our customers to keep costs reasonable, as we did in the Raycom negotiations. But Raycom is just one of many programmers we work with and pay to include their programming in our lineup." Cox isn't alone in raising rates on regional customers. The company's top regional competitors—DirecTV, DISH, and AT&T—all announced price increases effective early 2013. DirecTV rates will increase by 4.5% on Feb. 7, DISH rates will increase between 7% and 20% this month, and AT&T will introduce higher pricing...
LEAN says fracking regulations won't hurt industry
In the latest debate on hydraulic fracturing, the Obama administration scrapped a 2012 plan to impose tough new mandates governing the use of the drilling technique on public lands. Earlier this month, LOGA President Don Briggs found himself battling Hollywood, not regulators, over the way the Matt Damon movie Promised Land, directed by Gus Van Sant, portrays fracking. "It's dangerous to the industry because it's not factual," Briggs says. Though officials with the Louisiana Environmental Action Network say they did not see the movie, they're concerned about fracking not only in Pennsylvania—where the film is set—but also along the Tuscaloosa Marine Shale, closer to home. "You need sufficient regulatory requirements on the...
B.R. Film Commission executive director leaving
Effective Feb. 15, Donna Reichman will step down as executive director of the Baton Rouge Film Commission. Reichman, who took over the lead position at the film commission in the fall of 2011 following the departure of Amy Mitchell-Smith, announced her own exit in an email to colleagues, co-workers and friends. "It is with mixed emotions that I depart as I have thoroughly enjoyed working with each of you," she writes. Reichman also says in the email: "It is my intention to continue to contribute to filmmaking in Baton Rouge," but she does not elaborate on how she might do so. Calls to Reichman for additional comment on her plans after she steps down were not returned before press time. No further details on how the film commission will proceed with finding a new executive director have been released, and Reichman does not discuss a search in her email. —Steve Sanoski
Lamar seeks to raise I-10 billboard to 80 feet
Although staff members at the city-parish Planning Commission say it flies in the face of the Unified Development Code, Lamar Advertising Co. wants to raise a 50-foot-high billboard facing Interstate 10 by an additional 30 feet. The parish attorney's office is requesting a waiver for Lamar to raise its sign at Nairn Drive—on the south side of the interstate between Acadian Thruway and College Boulevard—as part of a conditional settlement agreement that goes back nearly 10 years. In 2003 the city-parish expropriated five of Lamar's billboards to widen Interstate 10 and construct the Picardy Avenue interchange. Robert Wilfert, a Lamar real estate manager, says those signs were Lamar's premium advertising billboards in the Capital Region. The city-parish settled for nearly $1.7 million. "The value of those signs has been the subject of litigation since the expropriation," city-parish attorney Leo D'Aubin writes to the Planning Commission in a letter seeking a waiver for the...
Media-focused collaborative workspace planned for downtown B.R.
A collaborative workspace for visual media professionals called Creative Bloc is planned to open this summer, encompassing 11,500 square feet at the corner of Main and Eighth streets downtown. The space will also serve as the new Baton Rouge headquarters of Launch Media, a video production firm currently located at Celtic Media Centre. Launch Media also has offices in New Orleans. The company’s executive producer and president, John Jackson, announced the plans this morning. He says Jackson Group Investments, an affiliate of Launch Media, recently acquired the property—formerly home to four retail shops—from Bob Dean. "It’s going to be a complete renovation," Jackson says. "We’re aiming to have it completed and open by the summer." Creative Bloc will have workstations and offices available for lease to established businesses and budding entrepreneurs focused on video, film, photography, graphic arts and app development. Resources provided at the...
Basic sales pitch
Another possible client said no today, and you don't know what to do.
Cox, Raycom impasse impacting more than just viewers
While negotiations between Cox Communications and Raycom Media over retransmission fees continue to languish—a stalemate that has left local Cox subscribers unable to watch CBS shows on WAFB Channel 9, which is owned by Raycom—local advertising executives say viewers are not the only ones hurting. “This is financially disastrous for a lot of people,” says veteran ad executive Gerald Garrison. “Cox subscribers are being penalized because they are not able to watch WAFB. Advertisers are not able to reach their market.” Garrison does not have any clients with ads currently running on WAFB, though he has in the past. What makes the dynamics of the situation particularly challenging for advertisers is that WAFB and Cox both dominate the Baton Rouge market. WAFB’s local news attracts more than twice as many viewers as the...
'60 Minutes' to explore digital evolution of 'Times-Picayune' on Sunday
On Sunday, CBS's 60 Minutes will air a story on the declining nature of print journalism by highlighting the transformation that has taken place at The Times-Picayune since the New Orleans newspaper scaled back its print publication schedule in October and increased emphasis on its online product. The story, titled "The Paper" and reported by veteran journalist Morley Safer, is slated to air at 6 p.m. In a preview of the story CBS released on Thursday, 60 Minutes says the new business model the New Orleans newspaper is experimenting with will be "a fate many more newspapers face as the Internet becomes the source of almost instantaneous news." In a post Thursday, Times-Picayune columnist Dave Walker says Safer visited New Orleans in September to do interviews for the segment, shooting footage inside the newspaper's Howard Avenue newsroom and...
WAFB, Cox standoff may cause some in B.R. to view NFL playoff game on small screens this weekend
One of the main reasons many sports fans buy a big-screen, high-definition TV is so they can have a view of the big game that rivals the best seat in any stadium in the country. But for those in Baton Rouge who get their cable service from Cox Communications, the contractual standoff the company is currently embroiled in with the parent company of local CBS-affiliate WAFB Channel 9 may leave local subscribers scrambling to find another screen—such as a laptop, a smartphone or a neighbor's—on which to watch the NFL's AFC wild card playoff game scheduled for Sunday. The Indianapolis Colts and Baltimore Ravens are set to square off at 3:30 p.m. A deal will have to be reached between Cox and Raycom Media before then for Baton Rouge Cox subscribers—who have been without CBS-affiliate shows airing on WAFB since Tuesday—to see the action as usual. "The simplest solution in the short-term for our customers who want to watch the AFC wild card games this weekend on CBS...
Cox, WAFB parent company negotiating to bring back CBS programming in B.R.
Cox Cable subscribers in Baton Rouge awoke on New Year's Day to find that WAFB and the CBS-affiliate shows it broadcasts were no longer available on their TV lineup. That's because Cox and WAFB's parent company, Raycom Media, did not reach a programming agreement before an end-of-year deadline. Negotiations between the two are ongoing, and WAFB General Manager Sandy Breland says she hopes an agreement will be reached soon. "We can certainly understand the frustration" that Cox customers are expressing, she says. "We're frustrated, too. We are hoping for a quick resolution to this. We want to be on Cox." Under the Cable TV Act of 1992, cable and satellite TV systems are required to negotiate agreements with TV stations to carry their programming. Raycom Media has been unable to reach agreements with Cox in several other markets across the United States. Cox has issued a statement to Daily Report saying: "Raycom Media is withholding their programming from Cox customers because...
Our local international publisher
Just across the river from New Orleans in Gretna is the Louisiana-based international publisher that has published some of your favorite books, including Zig Ziglar’s See You at the Top, Justin Wilson Looking Back: A Cajun Cookbook, James Rice’s Cajun Night Before Christmas, and more recently, Peggy Sweeny-McDonald’s Meanwhile, Back at Café du Monde….
Mysteries of Judas
Twenty years ago, local lawyer Van R. Mayhall Jr. set out to read the Bible and the Koran in their entirety and became intrigued by the “logical inconsistencies” surrounding Judas. Like a criminal lawyer, he explains, “What Judas did wasn't in doubt, but his motive and what happened to him afterwards was unclear.”
The Tree of Forgetfulness
What do people do with memories of an event too heinous to forget but too dangerous to recollect openly? That dilemma underlies Pam Durban's new novel, The Tree of Forgetfulness, the latest in the Yellow Shoe Fiction series from LSU Press.
New year brings new media offerings for Cox subscribers
The new year is bringing new ways for customers of Cox Communications to watch some of their favorite programs. Subscribers will be able to view programs across multiple platforms, including laptops, tablets, Xboxes and smart phones. "It's more nimble, it's more integrated and it adds convenience and value," explains Cox Communications spokeswoman Sharon Souther Bethea. It's also the way of the future. As media platforms are increasingly integrated, communications companies that want to stay in the game have little choice but to give their subscribers the ability to access programming when they want it—and from anywhere. "This is the future of the industry," Bethea says. "We want customers to have better ways to control and personalize their services." Among the channels available to Cox subscribers across multiple platforms are the ESPN and Disney families of channels, the Watch NFL Network and certain CBS programming. Bethea says more options will become available in the...
Blue versus red
Baton Rouge and New Orleans have often engaged in a war of words, but new competitors insist they have not entered a newspaper war.
Is there an app for that?
Technology is supposed to make our lives easier—and our businesses more efficient. But if you're a small business owner, you may feel more overwhelmed than enlightened by the rapidly expanding number of mobile devices, apps and so-called business solutions proffered online and peddled by traditional telecommunications and IT companies.
'Advocate' publisher: New Orleans circulation at 23,500
In an article appearing in the Columbia Journalism Review today, David Manship, publisher of The Advocate, says the Baton Rouge newspaper has increased its New Orleans circulation to about 23,500 since launching an edition in the Crescent City in October. About 16,000 of those are daily subscribers, the article states, adding: “Both are strong numbers for such a young paper, and it's hard to imagine that many or most of them aren't coming at the expense of The Times-Picayune.” However, The Times-Picayune is also reporting increased circulation since reducing its publishing schedule to three days weekly in October and increasing its online efforts—which prompted The Advocate to try to muscle in on the New Orleans market. “We haven't even had time to figure out what it's costing us to be in New Orleans yet,” Manship says. The...
News roundup: HSBC execs avoid laundering charges … Developers worry about new rules for phone apps … Google launches online Dead Sea Scrolls library
Too big to jail? When the Justice Department announced its record $1.9 billion settlement against British bank HSBC last week, prosecutors called it a powerful blow to a dysfunctional institution accused of laundering money for Iran, Libya and Mexico's murderous drug cartels. But to some former federal prosecutors, it is only the latest case in which the government stopped short of bringing criminal money-laundering charges against a big bank or its executives, at least in part on the rationale that such prosecutions could be devastating enough to cause such banks to fail. They're calling it "too big to jail." Read the full story here.
Gerry Lane touts biography as 'road map' to success
From humble beginnings in the Oklahoma Dust Bowl, Gerry Lane built a car dealership empire in Baton Rouge and along the Mississippi Gulf Coast with just a high school education, "Okie honesty" and an insatiable drive to succeed. That's the abbreviated version of the new biography Gerry Lane—An American Success Story, written by Leo Honeycutt. But Lane says his life story is more than just an interesting read about his many adventures in building a business, such as selling cars to the likes of Clark Gable, Gregory Peck and Milton Berle. The book is "much more than a biography, it's a road map," Lane says. "I started in the Dust Bowl of Oklahoma in the Depression, so poor I couldn't afford hope. But if you can embrace change, leave your comfort zone the way I left the Dust Bowl, take a little risk, you can become rich in attitude, relationships, and yes, money. In that order." Honeycutt calls Lane a "rare breed, a larger-than-life character," adding, "His story could...
Deadline nearing to nominate for 2013 Business Awards and Hall of Fame
There's little more than two weeks left to make your nominations for the 2013 Business Awards and Hall of Fame, presented by Business Report and Junior Achievement. The awards annually honor a Business Hall of Fame Laureate for a lifetime of achievement; Company of the Year, with one award going to a business with 100 employees or more and another going to one with fewer than 100 employees; Young Businessperson of the Year, which goes to someone 40 or younger; and Businessperson of the Year. You can nominate your company, yourself, a client, vendor or friend online here. Nominations will close at 5 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 31. Winners will be profiled in a March issue of Business Report and will be honored at a March 19 banquet held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and sponsored by Franklin and Capital One Bank.
Ditch the pajamas
You ate dinner in front of the TV last night.
A guardian's rise
There's a benevolent force in children's media named William Joyce, and his creative haven is Shreveport. By any measure, 2012 has been a banner year for him.
Stars are born
When I was a teenager, prom night culminated in a tradition called “Grand March,” where high school juniors and seniors would strut down a catwalk under the watchful eyes and the “oohs” and “ahs” of the entire town—posing occasionally for our turn in the spotlight, or in this case, the many flashing lights from elated parents wielding disposable cameras.
A Cajun-style fantasy
Suzanne Johnson is the author of the Sentinels series, urban fantasy novels featuring Drusilla Jaco, the junior wizard sentinel of New Orleans. The series kicked off with Royal Street, published earlier this year, and continues with River Road, just released in November. Johnson worked at Tulane for 15 years and now lives in Auburn, Ala.
Nola.com rolls out Baton Rouge home page
Another shot in the battle to attract online and print readers in Baton Rouge and New Orleans that's being waged between The Advocate and The Times-Picayune was taken today with the launch of a Baton Rouge homepage for the Nola.com website carrying content from The Times-Picayune. The launch of the site "signals the beginning of more community coverage of Baton Rouge, extending far beyond the award-winning coverage of politics and state government that The Times-Picayune has a long and distinguished history of providing," Nola.com says in a story announcing the site. It's just the latest development in a story that began in May, when NOLA Media Group, which owns The Times-Picayune, announced the paper would end daily publication and print just three days a week, beginning in October. Shortly thereafter, The Advocate announced the launch of a New Orleans edition and a new focus on news in the Big Easy. NOLA Media Group, meanwhile, has laid out...
Soderbergh's Side Effects
Is this it? The first of the last? The initial trailer for Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh's (allegedly) final feature film, a prescription drugs drama called Side Effects. In case you've missed the former Baton Rougean's last half dozen interviews or so, the 49-year-old workhorse filmmaker is calling it quits to paint and travel and do whatever it is artists do when they retire long before most in their line of work even consider it. Sure the Traffic, Ocean's Eleven director has wracked up 35 directing credits and 33 producing gigs since shocking the world at age 26 with the Cannes-winning, Baton Rouge-set sex, lies and videotape, but it is still hard to believe that Soderbergh is hanging up his camera while, in all likelihood, he still has another decade “in his prime.”
1,000 words instantly
Author: Christopher Bonanos
Year: 2012
Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press
Pages: 194
New for the bookshelf
Clare D’Artois Leeper wrote the column “Louisiana Places: Those Strange Sounding Names” for the Baton Rouge Sunday Advocate in the ’60s and ’70s and again from 2004 to 2006. This dictionary-like volume is the culmination of decades of research and interviews, assembling Leeper’s original columns—inspired by an early job as a tour guide—and adding new material. Sadly, Leeper died shortly before the publication of Louisiana Places in September. Danny Plaisance, owner of Cottonwood Books, knew her since he opened his bookstore 26 years ago. She was “awful good for our community,” Plaisance says, and anyone interested in Louisiana history will enjoy her book.
Shooting stars
The year is 1982; the place is Baton Rouge. An undercover police officer nabs the biggest criminal of his career and turns him into an informant in an effort to close several unsolved cases.
New Roads and Old Rivers: Louisiana’s Historic Pointe Coupee Parish
This gorgeous publication is a travel guide masking as a coffee table book. With 175 photographs included, New Roads and Old Rivers: Louisiana’s Historic Pointe Coupee Parish will make readers want to jump in the car and head out for a lazy Sunday drive across the river. The destination is not the Pointe Coupee you think you know from New Roads’ Mardi Gras parades, trips to False River or news reports on the Morganza Spillway. The guided tour by authors Randy Harelson and Brian Costello reveals a comprehensive view of Pointe Coupee, drenched in history and proud of it.
Top 8 business books for entrepreneurs
"I put together a list of my favorite books for entrepreneurs. I have read many of them multiple times because they inspire, teach and help me in my quest to grow a business and become a better person."—Pete Sveen, thinkentrepreneurship.com
'225': Despite budget issues, book festival still makes a good read
It’s been through rocky years of state budget cuts and uncertainty, but the Louisiana Book Festival keeps bouncing back. The one-day event was canceled in 2010 when state funding dwindled to nearly nothing, but rallied last year, drawing thousands to downtown Baton Rouge for author talks, a book market, exhibitions and more. Chalk it up to talented writers and booklovers who call the Pelican State home, private partners like Barnes & Noble, and also the dedicated folks at the State Library and the lieutenant governor’s office who have sought out federal grants and local support to keep it going. "Louisiana is very often at the bottom of the list [in many categories]," says State Librarian Rebecca Hamilton. "But Louisiana is at the top of the list for Louisiana authors and artists who really contribute to our cultural economy. Having such fantastic authors writing about our beautiful, unique state—it’s promoting that idea of how important it is to have a...
Lamar to acquire NextMedia Outdoor Inc., dumping debt to do so
Lamar Advertising Co. announced Thursday that its wholly owned subsidiary, Lamar Media Corp., is selling $535 million in subordinated debt notes due 2023 to fund the acquisition of NextMedia Outdoor Inc. The notes are not registered under the Securities Act and are being offered only to qualified institutional buyers in offshore transactions, unless there is an exception pursuant to an exemption to be sold in the United States from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. The proceeds to Lamar Media, after the payment of fees and expenses, are expected to be approximately $527.1 million. The deal’s closing is expected on Oct. 30. Lamar Media intends to use the proceeds of this offering to redeem $137.2 million in aggregate principal amount outstanding of its 6.625% subordinated debt due 2015 to fund the acquisition of NextMedia Outdoor. To read the full report, click
Book fest to be held downtown tomorrow
Book lovers will get the opportunity to hear from and speak with authors tomorrow at the annual Louisiana Book Festival. The celebration of reading and writing, held in downtown Baton Rouge around the State Capitol, runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne, whose department helps organize and host the festival, says more than 140 writers and panelists will discuss their latest works and others' writing. More information, including a schedule, is available at LouisianaBookFestival.org.
B.R. firm has heavy hand in new Web series 'Suit Up'
Could any place be more appropriate than south Louisiana to film a series about the high-stakes nature of college football? Doubtful, though that isn't why Fox Digital Studios chose Baton Rouge as the location to shoot and produce its newest digital video series, Suit Up, now playing on Yahoo. Rather, it was the state's movie industry tax credits and the experience of Baton Rouge-based Digital FX, which co-produced the series with Fox, that brought the deal here. "This is the kind of stuff we'd love to do more of," says Greg Milneck, president of Digital FX, which provided camera crews, office space, and editing services to Fox for the production. "It was a low-budget job, but we really believe it represents the future of video production." A trailer for the series, which you can check out here, shows several scenes that locals will recognize, including an aerial view of the LSU campus and several shots of Tiger...
Why do it today?
Author: John Perry
Year: 2012
Publisher: Workman Publishing
Pages: 112 pages
Whitey Bulger back in Louisiana?
Is James "Whitey" Bulger headed back to Louisiana?
Idol arrives in Baton Rouge
After multiple celebrity sightings Thursday and Kevin Kimball of TJ Ribs posting to Facebook that his restaurant made a late night delivery to Mariah Carey—the pop star ordered fried green tomatoes, red beans and baby back ribs—225 can confirm that American Idol is in Baton Rouge shooting promotional videos with Three (One) O, a production company, as well as official auditions that could end up airing as part of Season 12 of the hit Fox series.
Calling their bluffs
Author: Lynn Povich
Year: 2012
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Pages: 251
The intrepid entrepreneur
Jay Adelson, a successful entrepreneur from the Midwest who made a name for himself in California, has a few things he wants to share with Baton Rouge. His key points: Achieving success takes more than knowledge and planning; it takes ambition and confidence.
Monsters, Inc.
The state's generous tax credits for filmmakers may have brought in plenty of productions and jobs, but they also unleashed some destructive, terrifying and often ridiculous monsters on our cities and defenseless masses. Kudos to SyFy and Louisiana-based Active Entertainment for often forgoing Louisiana as stand-in-for and instead setting the campy terror right here in the Pelican State.
Businesses aim to build brand with gifts, but ROI is sometimes sour
To promote its grand opening earlier this month, L'Auberge Baton Rouge Casino & Hotel deployed several public relations strategies, including social media, traditional news releases and a dramatic use of tchotchke. The company, working with Wright Feigley Communications, sent a succession of fancy giveaways to media members in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, including teddy bears, plush towels, chocolate sculptures and barware. Each item was meant to plant a different story idea about the $368 million casino complex, says Wright Feigley partner Jeff Wright. "There was a specific reasoning behind this," he says. "We were trying to get reporters to understand that there are multiple stories to tell." Wright says Pinnacle, the gaming company that developed and owns L'Auberge, didn't hesitate to invest in the knickknack strategy. They'd successfully used a similar tactic in another market. "Not all media will take it, but we felt it was a successful way of showing what we have," he says.