Journalism career: Alexandria Daily Town Talk Adras LaBorde

1 journalism career: alexandria daily town talk

1.1 columnist s dream: colorful politicians, louisiana-style
1.2 promoted government
1.3 staff development
1.4 environmental issues

journalism career: alexandria daily town talk

laborde started @ alexandria daily town talk in 1945. george w. shannon had preceded him staffer , later advanced editor of shreveport journal. laborde learned business ground floor. in 1950, named managing editor. held position twenty-seven years.

in 1977, laborde promoted executive editor , title held through last year of full-time employment. unlike many print journalists move 1 newspaper seeking upward mobility, laborde stayed town talk in career spanned parts of 6 decades.

his staff joked had no formal education school of hard knocks . had attended tyler commercial college in tyler, texas, period of time claimed largest business training school in united states. college offered instruction in bookkeeping, shorthand, telegraphy, business administration, , finance.

a columnist s dream: colorful politicians, louisiana-style

laborde witnessed state s transformation of rivalry between longism , anti-longism. beginning in 1960s, , slow rise of serious republican competition traditional democratic majority. saw government types battle old guard, , found little difference between antagonists. did not endorse candidates office on editorial page. (the newspaper has since abandoned policy of neutrality.) wrote extensively on leading figures of region, state , nation.

his subjects included following, in alphabetical order: ernest s. clements, jimmie davis, william j. bill dodd, allen j. ellender, jimmy fitzmorris, camille gravel, jack p.f. gremillion, francis grevemberg, william j. guste, j. bennett johnston, jr., sam h. jones, john hainkel, paul hardy, shelby m. jackson, robert f. kennon, raymond laborde, dudley j. leblanc, blanche long, earl kemp long, george s. long, gillis william long, legacy of huey p. long, jr., russell b. long, speedy o. long, charlton lyons, john mckeithen, wade o. martin, jr., louis j. michot, delesseps story morrison, sr., james a. noe, mary evelyn parker, otto passman, dave l. pearce, william m. rainach, edward g. ned randolph, jr., charles e. roemer, iii, john g. schwegmann, john w. jock scott, nauman scott, john k. snyder, david c. treen, many others, including perhaps demanding subject, edwin edwards.

promoted government

while laborde liked report on campaigns , elections, focused on intricate workings of government , bureaucracy. believed government force in society if right people, proper motivation, elected.

he had great interest in city charters, government in general, , sportsmen s issues. sometimes, laborde ventured national politics, offering unsolicited advice in columns presidents dwight eisenhower, john f. kennedy, lyndon b. johnson, richard m. nixon, gerald r. ford, jimmy carter, ronald reagan, , first george h.w. bush. irate on watergate scandal of nixon administration in 1973 , 1974, addressed state or local matters.

laborde adjusted newsroom modern demands. knew paper had attract subscribers stay afloat. in summer of 1973, computers introduced @ town talk improve efficiency , increase volume , quality of news stories.

staff development

laborde demanded integrity, accuracy, originality, , speed reporters , editors. when near legendary quiet temper flared, could, without trace of humor, stare down culprit on rim of glasses. many of reporters advanced in fields of journalism , public relations.

he developed staff , provided opportunities of women , minorities. reporter elizabeth roberts martin of norman, oklahoma, 1966 graduate of louisiana state university, promoted first woman hold editing positions in town talk newsroom. laborde hired cleo joffrion, alexandria native, first african-american reporter @ paper. promoted cecil williams, native of kentucky coal-mining area, assistant managing editor business editor. williams won numerous awards.

laborde sent young reporter leonard sanderson, jr., baton rouge in 1974 cover legislature. later sanderson moved washington, dc, set own consulting firm. jeff cowart, alexandria native , lsu graduate began reporter under laborde, in 1988 appointed first press secretary governor buddy roemer. cowart later established management consulting firm, media national, in suburban washington, dc.

three town talk staffers, larry collins, betty luman, , chet hilburn, moved on larger houston chronicle. jack harp of ruston came newspaper @ age of 22 in 1972 work on wire desk. technology changed on following 3 decades term wire desk replaced metro desk. rebecca jo tubb mulkey (1949–1999), magnolia, arkansas, wrote feature stories before moving torrance daily breeze in torrance, california. william chaze went on become associated press (ap) editor, foreign news editor u.s. news & world report , editor-in-chief of journal of defense , diplomacy. owed part of success laborde s demanding tutelage.

laborde s tenure @ newspaper coincided management of publisher joe d. smith, jr., native of grant parish, , first wife, jane wilson smith. father had owned town talk. smiths sold paper central newspapers, inc., of indianapolis, later sold virginia-based gannett.

active professionally, laborde charter president of central louisiana press club , held membership in united press newspaper association of louisiana. fluent in french, laborde promoted cultural heritage through council development of french in louisiana, better known acronym codofil.

environmental issues

laborde staunch conservationist. worked publicize issues , advance conservation in region. urged governor edwards promote state purchase of saline-spring bayou wildlife management area in avoyelles parish. lobbied in columns removal of oilfield pollution little river. urged edwards acquire land encompassing spring bayou.

he former president , state director of rapides wildlife association. while wrote column nibbles , potshots on fishing , hunting town talk sports section.

the poem elegy bayou, grandson poet christopher cessac, dedicated him.