ANNOUNCEMENT:
As of today, I am no longer with the Washington Examiner. I am excited to announced that today I begin a new job as full-time member of the editorial board of the Advocate/Times-Picayune newspapers of Louisiana. I will be writing columns and editorials and editing and whatever else they need me to do.
So yes, I am returning to my roots. It was 40 years ago this year that I got my first professional job in journalism in the Sports Department of the Times-Picayune. It was 35 years ago this month that I began as managing editor of Gambit Weekly, also now part of the Advocate and T-P umbrella.
And I am excited to be back!
Yes, I’ll still be living in Mobile and doing radio in Mobile and paying attention to Alabama issues and weighing in on them in various forums where appropriate, and working mostly from Mobile. But I’ll be in Louisiana a lot more often. And I won’t be writing only on politics and policy (still some national, but mostly LA-related), but also on a gamut of cultural topics that are so distinctive to Louisiana. Yes, my main job will be public policy and politics, but nowhere near exclusively. Wherever and whenever books, music, food, movies, religion, etc., lend themselves to cultural commentary (not straight “reviews,” but thought essays), I’ll be looking to see if I think I can offer insights or new angles, especially where those insights or angles can be constructive, positive, and uplifting.
I will be eager for suggestions for topics, whether cultural or political. Email me at Qhillyer@Gmail.com with any newsworthy leads you have. I cannot come close to promising that I will write on them, but I can and will promise to take a good look.
Oh — and while I remain as conservative as ever on policy (in the Madison-Buckley-Reagan-Kemp way), especially national policy, readers absolutely should not expect me to toe the party line and, especially on local issues, should not expect me to show many ideological proclivities except at the margins. The more local the issue, the less that ideology matters and the more that competence, integrity, experience, common sense, and good will become paramount.
So, please stay with me on this site as well as at nola.com and in the printed editions, and please encourage others to subscribe here for free by entering their email after pushing the “subscribe” button at the homepage. I promise that your (ABSOLUTELY FREE!) subscription will not subject you to random other subscriptions and spam.
This new gig is going to be fun. Let’s make Louisiana an oasis. In fact, let’s make the entire Gulf Coast even more of an oasis than it is.
Coming home professionally feels good.
Thanks!
