Louisiana Voice

LouisianaVoice is at the halfway point in its October fundraiser and we still need your help if you have not yet contributed. If you have, please accept my heartfelt gratitude for your support of journalism.

Newspapers are suffering across the board and reporters have been laid off as a result of the loss of advertising revenue. Metropolitan dailies in Shreveport, Monroe, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Alexandria and Baton Rouge have shrunken or been sold to corporations that have instituted drastic cost-cutting measures, primarily in the newsrooms. Sadly, the New Orleans Times-Picayune ceased publication completely. At one time, I thought small town weeklies and dailies would be the survivors but they, too, have felt the economic pinch and some have been shuttered altogether and that’s everyone’s loss.

All that left a void that television cannot possibly fill. Most Internet blogs are little more than expressions of opinions by wannabes. LouisianaVoice has its share (perhaps more than its share) of opinion pieces but we strive to cover news in a straightforward manner as well. I’ve cited many of those stories in earlier solicitations this month so I’ll try not to be redundant.

As with any investigative reporter, many leads or tips that we get turn out to be little more than someone’s sour grapes or an attempt to undermine a political opponent. We try to avoid those stories but they still take time and expenses as do the legitimate stories that we end up writing. That’s why we have fundraisers each October and April.

If you prefer to give money to the Food Bank or to hurricane and flood victims, that’s your prerogative and I certainly have no quarrel with that. It’s a noble thing to do. But if you can see your way clear to help the cause of hard-hitting journalism, it would be appreciated more than you could ever know.

To make your contribution by credit card, simply click on the yellow DONATE button to the right of this post and follow the directions. Unlike Donald Trump’s solicitations which, unbeknownst to donors, is a commitment to a monthly payment, ours is a one-time only contribution.

For this month’s drive, the most generous donor will receive an original copy of Huey Long’s autobiography Every Man A King, published in 1933 by the now defunct National Book Co. of New Orleans. It’s a collector’s item valued at $100. Leo Honeycutt’s biography of Edwin Edwards will be awarded on a lottery basis with everyone who contributes $100 or more eligible for the drawing. The book is signed by both Honeycutt and Edwards.

Finally, a signed copy of my latest book, The Mission, will go to everyone who gives $50 or more.

As always, thanks so much for your continued support for the past 13-plus years!