The Times continues to change

Many of you have noticed presidential election news, talk of a recession and State of the Union headlines blending back into the A-section of The Times. This is a refinement of the local news redesign launched April ’07. When we created room for more local news and elevated its day-to-day prominence, we moved Nation and World news too far back in the paper.
We are going to move the obituary listings in the A-section to the B-section, and bring Nation and World page back into the mix. The straightforward change will address some concerns about global headlines being given a backseat.

This swap builds flexibility in the way we play stories, giving prominence to national news when warranted without diminishing local news. It is a compromise of sorts in our mission to be the single-best source of local news and information serving the third largest metro area in Louisiana.
Overflow of local news will continue to be packaged behind the Conversations and opinion content in the B-section. This "extra" local news will be housed near obituaries.

Journalists in new roles
Bill Beene has been promoted to Deputy News Editor from his role as an assistant local news editor. He will help oversee night operations on the Delivery Desk (our Information Center team dedicated to packaging the news for print and online). Beene will lead the charge on the aforementioned Nation and World page adjustment. He will help organize and plan business news coverage. Beene is a 25-year veteran in The Times Information Center.

Velda Hunter is now the assistant local news editor after working as the Shreveport City Hall reporter. Hunter joined The Times almost a year ago after moving from Clute, Texas, where she worked as city editor for The Facts. She is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. Hunter has covered city government, crime, education, business and environmental issues. Now, she’ll direct that coverage alongside Alisa Stingley, our local news editor.