Ed Lallo on assignment for Getty Images in Austin, Tx. Lallo has traveled the world working as a journalist for national publications and major corporations like ExxonMobil, Berkshire Hathaway, IBM and DuPont. Photo: Alex Lallo
by Gulf Seafood News Staff
Veteran journalist Ed Lallo has resumed the duties as editorial director for Gulf Seafood News after a two-year hiatus. The recently updated news site will serve as the newsroom for the Gulf Seafood Foundation, as well as the Gulf Seafood Institute.
Lallo, who has worked for media that include People Magazine, Time and the Associated Press, established in 2013 the only newsroom covering Gulf seafood for the Gulf Seafood Institute. In 2016 he resigned as the Editorial and Media Relations Director for the organization to devote time to moving his family and business from Austin to Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Covering stories across theGulf seafood has taken Lallo from St. Petersburg, FL to Brownsville, TX and almost everyplace in between. Lallo interviewing clam fisherman at Southern Cross Sea Farms on Cedar Key, FL for Gulf Seafood News. Photo: Lallo Photography.
The CEO of Newsroom Ink joined the board of the Gulf Seafood Foundation in 2017. Earlier this year the leadership of the Foundation and the Gulf Seafood Institute agreed to co-sponsor the newsroom and asked Lallo to return as editorial director.
“After more than seven years serving as editorial director for the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board and the Gulf Seafood Institute newsrooms, I hope to bring lessons learned with these two seafood leaders to reestablish Gulf Seafood News as the respected “go to” source for news and information about seafood, tourism and culture,” said Lallo, who established the first-ever newsroom staffed by professional journalists for the Imperial Sugar Company.
With temperatures well below freezing, Lallo interviews Chesapeake Bay oyster farmers at 38° North Oysters for a story on how oyster aquaculture brings new life to the Bay and the economy. Photo: Jim Gossen
As the “Voice of the Gulf”, Gulf Seafood News covers multi-aspects of the region while elevating the Gulf seafood brand with consumers, customers and policy leaders. Since its inception the newsroom has played an integral part in securing more than $2.3 million for electronic data collection for the Gulf’s charter-for-hire fleet, passage of H-2B Guest Worker legislation desperately need by fishermen and processors across the Gulf, and opening a discussion on purposed Gulf aquaculture.
“With the increased popularity of the site by a variety of related industries, Gulf Seafood News is set to transition to serve a wider variety of audiences; including Gulf of Mexico fisheries, recreation and tourism that support millions of jobs economically vital to coastal communities,” said Jim Gossen, Chairman of the Gulf Seafood Foundation. “ We are set to partner with other organizations and companies in this venture to give them a voice that reaches politicians, media, NGO’s and seafood organizations worldwide.”
Lallo on Capitol Hill covering seafood leaders annual visit with legislatorsL The news site has run exclusive interviews with Alabama Senator Richard Shelby, Louisianas Senator Bill Cassidy and Mary Landrieu, and Louisiana Congressman Charles Boustany. Photo: Lallo Photography
According to Gossen, Lallo has a unique insight into the region and the issues it faces. His contacts from Florida to Texas, as well as on Capitol Hill, allows the newsroom to cover issues from a perspective traditional media often overlook.
The vital impact of a newsroom serving the Gulf seafood industry was first established during the BP Deepwater Horizon tragedy. While the world watched the drama off the Louisiana coast, stories of how the spill affected the fishing industry were not being told. The Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board called upon Lallo and his business partners to establish LouisianaSeafoodNews.com to give a credible voice to Louisiana seafood. Within weeks it became the “go to” site for thousands of journalists; as well as politicians, chefs and restaurateurs, NGO’s and others.
“I first worked with Ed Lallo during the BP spill when Louisiana Seafood News was launched. It was one of the most powerful PR tools ever used by our organization,” said Gulf Seafood Foundation board member Ewell Smith, the former Executive Director of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board and Interim Executive Director of the Gulf Seafood Institute. “ Louisiana Seafood News became a trusted and respected source for national and international media. It was responsible for more than 3,000 interviews allowing our story on how the spill had affected our industry to be heard. We worked with Ed again starting the Gulf Seafood Institute – this time launching the Gulf Seafood Newsroom. It gave the organization instant credibility and within six months we were to the go-to source for Congress and the media once again. Owning and telling our story has been the game changer for the Gulf seafood community at large. Ed has been instrumental though that entire process helping to make that happen.”
Louisiana Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser clowns around with Lallo after an informational breakfast on the Gulf Seafood Foundation’s Helping Hands program. Photo: Josh McNemar
According to Lallo, traditional media often does not have the staff to address the numerous issues directly affecting Gulf seafood. Tariffs on imported shrimp, coastal erosion, Gulf dead zones, aquaculture and H-2B visiting worker visas are important issues needing a credible voice that can be heard across the region, as well as around the nation.
In addition to its original content, the newly designed site now also features a Seafood News RSS Feed that continuously updates articles published about the seafood indust
Gulf Seafood News continues to have a loyal following. It has a subscription list of more than 3000, which includes more than 400 state and national legislators and staff. Articles are also distributed to more than 800 media outlets across the Gulf of Mexico, as well as national media and bloggers.
According to Lallo, media like the Houston Chronicle, New Orleans WWL Radio, the New York Times, the Associated Press, the Texas Observer and others regularly reuse the website’s articles. “Big fan of the work you do with Gulf Seafood News!” exclaimed Sam Hill, an editor with the Diversified Communication’s National Fisherman, in a recent email request for information on oyster fishermen in Galveston Bay.
“We want to re-establish Gulf Seafood News as the premier news information site for Gulf seafood and related industries,” said Lallo. “To do this we are determined to build even closer relations with NGO’s, state and national officials and seafood leaders across the Gulf.”
For More Information on Becoming a Gulf Seafood Newsroom Partner contact:
- Jim Gossen – Chairman, Gulf Seafood Foundation – jim@jimgossen.com
- Ed Lallo – Editorial Director, Gulf Seafood News – ed@newsroomink.com
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