newspapers on Christmas

Congratulations. You must work for a really small paper.

 

No doubt. Our deadlines got moved up a half hour, so we're done at about midnight. Yee haw!

 

We have to put our paper to bed on Monday instead of Tuesday. I'm trying to get everything done early on Monday so I can do other things that have nothing to do with my shop.

 

One of the big Okie papers doesn't print a paper on Christmas or New Year's Day.
I think it is Tulsa, but they and Okie City are both family-owned, and it is something they have been doing since the start.
Most get Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve off for production and circulation gets Christmas and New Year's Day off since they don't have a paper to deliver.
The only people working are the sports guys covering a bowl game and on the road.
Those are both decent size papers, OKC is around 200K and Tulsa is close to that.

 

My shop doesn't do Christmas, but I think it should (though I won't tell them that).

We have the same deadline Christmas night and no local copy to use to fill a decently-sized edition thanks to the ads on Dec. 26, so it's not like we're saved any grief on Christmas Day.

I'd imagine most families need something to read once the afternoon rolls around, the kids are busy messing with their new Wii and the ham is still 2 hours from done.

I've always read the paper cover-to-cover on family holidays, too, and that dates back to when I was young and didn't give a crap about what was in it. Guess it's better than talking politcs with Uncle Don or rehashing "Blue Collar Comedy Tour" routines with Grandma and Cousin Andy.

 

We're going early tomorrow night. Oh, and I've got nine pages to fill.

I'm deathly afraid of what might be in store for the Dec. 26 edition.

 

Ski report doesn't do anything for your non-agate pages. But that thing is a beast. I've learned more this winter about tiny ski slopes in the northern corner of Maryland than I ever thought I would.

 

We used to not publish on NYD, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day and Christmas.
That has changed, Christmas is the only day we don't publish.
Of course, people have to work on Christmas to get the paper for the 26th out.
Another change that takes place this year is, before, you could work one of those holidays, get time-and-a-half and a replacement day off.
Now, you work the holiday, you get double time, no extra day off.
So I'm off today and Christmas, and losing a day off.
Next week, I will work NYE (will get out 2 hours early because of moved up deadline) and NYD and get double time for that, no third day off.
If I had my choice, I'd take the time-and-a-half and a replacement day off.
But I think the company knows that benefits the employee more than them.
Sigh.

 

We don't miss a paper, but we do put out the 24th and the 25th on the 23rd. Strange part is that the 25th is literally already on doorsteps.
They want the ad revenue, and do not want to pay carriers holiday pay. It's stupid, but one of our football all-area kids was happy this year. He could bring paper with him on trip to see family in the next state.

 

Holiday pay? What's that.

I wouldn't mind not publishing on the 25th but working that night, since to me Christmas Eve is a far bigger deal. By the time you get to 3 p.m. Christmas Day, people are killing each other and a break is healthy.

 

We're going early tonight and regular deadlines tomorrow night and being the token Jewish guy* I get to work both.


* we used to have more Jewish guys on the sports desk but:
- 1 took the buyouts offered last year
- 1 was the victim of the layoffs of part-timers that came with the buyouts
- 1 left for a job at another media outlet
- 1 converted from Judaism years ago when he got married

which leaves just me.