Letters: Advocate a ‘vital force for public good,’ business councils say (2)
The Business Council of New Orleans and the River Region, the Jefferson Business Council and the Southeast Regional Coalition of Business Councils sincerely thank John Georges, publisher and CEO, and all members of The Advocate organization, for providing a quality, daily printed newspaper to the residents of New Orleans. The New Orleans Advocate is consistently delivering in-depth news and information to our community, meeting the demand for timely and accurate reporting. Were it not for John Georges and his commitment to our city, New Orleans would lack a robust daily paper at a critical juncture of its economic and political life.
The value of a daily newspaper to a community is enormous. Immediate and broad coverage of news is essential to a functional democracy as it allows the public greater access to information. It brings about greater transparency, accountability and inclusiveness of government institutions and processes.
John Georges Next Breakfast to Business Speaker
BATON ROUGE – John Georges, chief executive officer of Georges Enterprises, will be the next speaker in LSU Executive Education’s Breakfast to Business series. The event will be held Tuesday, Nov. 19, in room 1420 of LSU’s Business Education Complex, from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. The BEC is located on Nicholson Drive Extension.
According to LSU Executive Education Director Robin Kistler, the November edition of Breakfast to Business is one of many events being held as part of Baton Rouge Entrepreneurship Week, or BREW, a week-long celebration of entrepreneurship in the city. Georges’ presentation, “Tales of a Serial Entrepreneur” will highlight his entrepreneurial background.
Georges will share his experience taking Imperial Trading Co., founded by his immigrant grandfather, to a billion-dollar corporation and his many entrepreneurial ventures since, including Galatoire’s and The Advocate.
John Georges tells Rotary, “New Orleans is going to have the newspaper you want”
Businessman John Georges, who bought The Advocate just over three months ago, told members of the Rotary Club of New Orleans on Wednesday that he hopes to add about 15,000 subscribers in and around New Orleans in the coming months as the paper launches a major marketing and re-branding effort.
About 15,000 subscribers now get home delivery of The Advocate.
The Advocate also sells between 5,000 and 10,000 copies of the newspaper each day at retail outlets and in boxes, said Georges, The Advocate’s publisher.
The Advocate’s New Orleans edition soon will feature a new design and will be called “The New Orleans Advocate,” reflecting the deep commitment the paper has made to the New Orleans market since Georges purchased it April 30 from the Manship family of Baton Rouge, he said.
John Georges Buys Louisiana’s Oldest & Largest Daily Newspaper
Greek American entrepreneur John D. Georges, CEO of Georges Enterprises and the Georges Media Group, recently purchased The Advocate, one of the nation’s oldest and largest local daily newspaper and digital media outlet that currently serves the Louisiana communities of Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Lafayette and surrounding parishes. The Advocate was first published as a weekly in 1842 and has a daily average circulation of daily households and 500,000 daily unique digital visitors. Asked by NEO magazine why he decided to invest in the print media when it seems they are loosing in the popularity contest against digital forms of information, John Georges thinks that “smaller town newspapers are more stable than big cities. Having said that, the Advocate plans to offer both print and digital. We have an opportunity to grow both our print and digital due to our proximity of New Orleans being less than 40 minutes away.” He’s also confident that his name in the state is a big asset in helping the newspaper to grow. “I have 100 percent name recognition in Louisiana and actually won New Orleans in the governor’s race. My popularity will help me grow circulation and advertisers. Being publisher of Louisiana’s largest daily newspaper is a better way to serve the community. Who knows what lies in the future for me? Right now running the Advocate is my priority.”
John Georges tells City Council it can expect continued improvements to The New Orleans Advocate
Advocate publisher John Georges on Thursday told the New Orleans City Council that the newspaper is adding 500 new subscribers each week, a sign that residents want a seven-day, home delivered paper. He also assured the council that improvements to the publication will be forthcoming.
“The Advocate feels very loved right now,” said Georges, who appeared at the request of Councilwoman Cynthia Hedge-Morrell.
The Advocate, based in Baton Rouge, launched a daily New Orleans edition last year amid outcry about The Times-Picayune’s decision to reduce its daily publication to three days a week as it focused more on its digital products.
“It is now so exciting we’ll have a full-time newspaper again,” Hedge-Morrell said of The Advocate’s entry into the local market.