Vendredi

Following through on plans announced in the spring, The Times-Picayune ended its 175-year run as a daily newspaper today. Sunday's edition was the final print paper that will be distributed on the seven-days-a-week printing schedule. The front page of today's paper marks the day with a note to readers promising the new editions will have "substantial content and heft." The end of the publishing schedule also means waving goodbye to familiar bylines.

Farewell pieces over the weekend broke down into a few types. St. Tammany Bureau Editor Ron Thibodeaux, longtime editor Dennis Persica and political columnist Stephanie Grace all turned in farewell pieces that take readers from where they were when they arrived at Da Paper to where they ended up. With final pieces detailing the dire need to address Louisiana's disappearing wetlands and an important-yet-overlooked player in civil rights, Outdoors Editor Bob Marshall and reporter Katy Reckdahl turn in final pieces that speak to their passions. In all, 200 people lost their jobs when the NOLA Media Group reorganization was announced. Other staffers left voluntarily.

Sunday also marks the final edition with longtime publisher Ashton Phelps Jr. at the helm. Instead of a message from Phelps, the editorial page sends a message to the publisher, whose name was at the top of the masthead for 32 years. Ricky Matthews takes over as publisher of the newly formed NOLA Media Group tomorrow.