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''The Times-Picayune'' is the major daily U.S. Newspaper serving New Orleans, Louisiana . The paper began publishing in 1837 as the ''Picayune'', named after The Spanish Coin that it cost, a coin equivalent to 6¼¢ (1/16 dollar). It became the ''Times-Picayune'' after merging with its rival paper in 1914. S.I. Newhouse bought the ''Times-Picayune'' and the other remaining New Orleans daily, the ''States-Item'', in 1962, and merged the papers in 1980. Subsequently the paper was called ''The Times Picayune/States Item'' for awhile, but returned to its current name in 1986. Specific community editions of the newspaper are also circulated and retain the ''Picayune'' name (e.g., ''Gretna Picayune'' for nearby Gretna ). The paper is owned by Advance Publications , owned by the Newhouse family. Through the years writers like William Faulkner and O. Henry have worked for the paper. It was awarded two Pulitzer Prize s in 1997 , and in 2006 Won Two More Pulitzer Prizes for its coverage of Hurricane Katrina. The paper's editorial stance is moderate to conservative, generally endorsing Republicans in state and federal elections. The Times Picayune endorsed George Bush for president in 2000 (but endorsed no candidate in 2004). And in gubernatorial contests it endorsed Mike Foster and later Bobby Jindal . In the mayoral election of 2006, the Times-Picayune endorsed right-leaning democrat Ron Forman. HURRICANE KATRINA As Hurricane Katrina hit, the newspaper's staff of 140 first tried to ride the storm out in the center of the building housing the newspaper, sleeping in sleeping bags and on air mattresses. After deciding to evacuate, they set up operations in classrooms in Baton Rouge , on the LSU campus. The , gave the paper's first summary of the disaster: :Hurricane Katrina struck metropolitan New Orleans on Monday with a staggering blow, far surpassing Hurricane Betsy , the landmark disaster of an earlier generation. The storm flooded huge swaths of the city, as well as Slidell on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain , in a process that appeared to be spreading even as night fell. After three days of only-online publication, the paper began to produce a free 16-page printed edition, with help from other newspapers. The paper published a strongly-worded Open Letter to President George W. Bush in its September 4 edition, criticizing him for the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina and calling for the firing of FEMA chief Michael D. Brown . In an January 14 , 2006 address to the American Bar Association 's, Communications Lawyers Forum, ''Times-Picayune'' Editor Jim Amoss commented on perhaps the greatest challenge that the staff faced then, and continued to face as the future of New Orleans is contemplated: :For us, Katrina is and will be a defining moment of our lives, a story we'll be telling till the day we die," he said. "Being a part of the plot is both riveting and deeply unsettling. We don't yet know the end of this story ... It's the story of our lives, and we must both live and chronicle it. The paper's coverage of the Hurricane won it two 2006 Pulitzer Prize s, including a shared prize for public service with the staff of ''The Sun Herald'' in similarly affected Biloxi, Mississippi . EXTERNAL LINKS
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