Verite News will take part next month in a symposium organized by The Historic New Orleans Collection exploring the history of newspapers in Louisiana.
THNOC’s 28th annual history symposium is called “Above the Fold: The History of Newspapers in Louisiana.” The Feb. 24 event, which runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the THNOC campus at 410 Chartres Street, will look at the evolution of the medium over the past two centuries.
Terry Baquet, Verite’s editor-in-chief, will serve as moderator. Baquet will also offer closing remarks, reflecting on today’s digital news landscape.
“Newspapers have played a complex, transformative role in Louisiana history,” said THNOC President and CEO Daniel Hammer in a news release. “This year’s symposium will reach beyond these historical narratives to explore how newspapers have not only reported on but also actively shaped the Louisiana experience.”
Following the symposium, a free public reception will be hosted by THNOC to celebrate the collection’s acquisition of the papers of Dr. Louis Charles Roudanez, a Creole physician who in 1862 co-founded the South’s first Black newspaper, L’Union, in New Orleans.
Baquet will join other Louisiana news veterans and scholars, including:
Dr. Sharon Roberts, associate professor of mass communication and faculty member in African American and diaspora studies at Xavier University in New Orleans; Mark Charles Roudané, great-grandson of Dr. Roudanez; Jari C. Honora, family historian at THNOC; Dr. Michael Ross, professor of history at the University of Maryland at College Park; Michael Tisserand, former editor of Gambit Weekly; Alison Fensterstock, cultural reporter; Dr. Andrea Miller, professor and dean at the Mayborn School of Journalism at the University of Texas; David Hammer, award-winning investigative reporter at WWL-TV; Dr. Vicki Mayer, professor of communication at Tulane University; and Gordon Russell, Managing Editor/Investigations, the Times-Picayune / New Orleans Advocate.
Public registration is now open. The cost to attend is a suggested $75 with a minimum donation of $25. To learn more or to register, please visit hnoc.org/symposium2024.