Mayor LaToya Cantrell
Photo by Chris Granger / The Times-Picayune
After months of refusing to face questions from the press – or the general public, for that matter – New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell will take a page out of the playbook of convicted felon and president-elect Donald Trump and create her own “news” outlet.
According to a press release, Cantrell’s “news” program will be called City News – not to be confused with Chicago’s legendary City News Bureau, which was an actual news outlet that covered crime, politics and corruption in the Windy City from 1890 until 2005.
The “news” show, which will appear on the city’s YouTube channel and other social media platforms, will allegedly include “news, in-depth features, and inspiring stories” and is designed to “connect with the people of New Orleans, and showcase the city’s rich culture, diverse communities, and untold stories.”
In some ways, the move is reminiscent of Trump’s Truth Social. Unhappy over being banned from Twitter and frustrated with his ability to spread lies and misinformation on a widespread scale, in 2022 Trump created the social media site in an effort to better control the narrative around his campaign, the numerous personal and political axes he has to grind and the various state and federal trials he was facing. One key difference: Truth Social is not taxpayer funded.
Gregory Joseph, the former spokesman for New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell.
File photo
Although there is nothing illegal or unethical about producing a show on YouTube using taxpayer funds, there are strict rules governing how the mayor communicates with the public when using city money. In the past, her office has knowingly violated those rules, including in 2023 when her former spokesman Gregory Joseph used city funds to produce an anti-recall campaign mailer. Joseph was ultimately forced out of office as a result.
It’s unclear how often the mayor’s new “news” show will air. After facing criticism for not talking to the press earlier this year, the mayor announced she was starting a new podcast, Nola Insight. To date it’s only aired twice. Whether it will continue that grueling pace or be replaced by City News is unclear.
Cantrell has seen her approval ratings plummet to just 33 percent. That collapse in support has been driven by a number of factors, including the city’s collapsing infrastructure, periodic outbursts of violence, a scandal involving her alleged paramour and former security detail member Jeffrey Vappie, federal corruption indictments of Vappie and a contractor close to the mayor and looming indictments of the mayor herself.
For much of the last year, Cantrell has isolated herself from residents, which also may be helping to reduce her popularity. For months she’s refused to face questions from the press, and has largely limited her exposure to questioning by residents to tightly controlled events. Her communications office regularly refuses to respond to requests for comment from reporters, while the city’s processing of public records requests has slowed to a crawl. The Times-Picayune, meanwhile, reported this week Cantrell has even isolated herself from many of the closest advisors who helped bring her to power.
She has, however, maintained a very busy public schedule – though it’s mostly been outside the city, and often the country. She recently returned from a jaunt to Rio de Janeiro and is scheduled to head to Beverly Hills next.
Luckily for the mayor, her new “news” show probably won’t cut into her jam-packed travel itinerary. According to the press release, it’ll be produced and hosted by communications office staffers, which should leave the mayor free to continue her city-funded world tour through the remainder of her term.
