Blizzard 2011 grounds the Tulsa World print edition

[GuessWho]

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=297&articleid=20110201_297_0_Thehis742189

 

[Matt Stephens]

My baby sis is stuck at home sick in Tulsa. Mom can't go out and get anything or go to the doctor since there is 1.5 feet of snow piled up against the garage.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

I've been at papers that printed despite getting twice as much snow as this. As I said on the other thread, this would never happen 5-10 years ago.

 

[HanSenSE]

Snowstorms will come and go, and readers will argue over it in the comments section. Amazing!

 

[TigerVols]

I've been at papers that printed despite getting twice as much snow as this. As I said on the other thread, this would never happen 5-10 years ago.

Exactly.

Unbelievable.

 

[hondo]

Pussies.

 

[OnTheRiver]

In 1936, our newspaper found a way to print when most of the city was under 10 feet of water.

In 2004, we did it with 6-foot snow drifts in some places.

Run the presses, boys.

 

[MileHigh]

Ed Rendell obviously isn't the publisher.

 

[playthrough]

Understandable if your carrier can't make it through hazardous conditions, but to say you're not even firing up the presses is spectacularly lame. And saying the product is still available online ain't helpful to non-smartphone users with the power out.

 

[JayFarrar]

I've been at papers that printed despite getting twice as much snow as this. As I said on the other thread, this would never happen 5-10 years ago.

Exactly.

Unbelievable.

Yeah, it did. I worked at a place that called off its print edition, about 10 years ago because of the ice. Power was out in most parts of town, even though the printing press had emergency generators.

The publisher said it was one of the hardest calls he had to make, but said when he couldn't walk out of his house because it was so icy and after checking around with the circ. people, they all said the same thing, and he shut it down for the night.

No point in killing the carriers.

 

[holy bull]

I was at a paper 24 years ago that honored a request by a competitor to run on our press when their power was wiped out by a freak ice storm in the spring. Unspoken rule.

We were in a similar predicament two years ago and even had people at the other plant getting set up, when the power gods smiled upon us literally at the final hour. There is no happier sound than a computer suddenly kicking on in a dead-silent newsroom.

 

[JRoyal]

A few years ago, we printed when power went out downtown and we were forced to work in satellite offices with no access to servers. In my time here, we've printed in all sorts of weather nearly as bad as this.

The fact is the Tulsa area had an unprecedented amount of snow, and the city and area towns are not equipped/capable of clearing the roads in time as other areas are. Comparing Tulsa right now to other parts of the country that see this or worse more often and are thus better prepared is unfair and unrealistic.

For most people, it is nearly impossible to travel anywhere in Tulsa, and our executives decided it would be safer for everyone involved to handle things this way rather than risking people getting stuck trying to get downtown. We will be publishing an electronic edition of the paper, and we've updated the website constantly all day. Yes, this is a step we never would've taken 10 years ago, but 10 years ago, the World's website was not what it is today and it would not be possible to deliver the news to our customers. Some of our customers will be hurt by the decision, but I feel it was the right one to make (and I'm not just saying that because I work at the World).

 

[Clerk Typist]

At the least, the World should follow the example of the New Orleans Times-Picayune during Katrina: The August 30, August 31, and September 1, 2005 editions were not printed, but available online PDFs. JRoyal, is that what you mean by an electronic edition?

Hell, then you can go back and print copies to deliver on Thursday, plus for souvenir hunters.

 

[slappy4428]

In 1936, our newspaper found a way to print when most of the city was under 10 feet of water.

In 2004, we did it with 6-foot snow drifts in some places.

Run the presses, boys.

It's not the printing, it's the distribution. And with papers bleeding, they are looking for excuses to cut corners.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

In 1936, our newspaper found a way to print when most of the city was under 10 feet of water.

In 2004, we did it with 6-foot snow drifts in some places.

Run the presses, boys.

It's not the printing, it's the distribution. And with papers bleeding, they are looking for excuses to cut corners.

Now they're giving subscribers an excuse to cut off the paper.

I don't care if readers don't get the print edition until noon, you should still put out a product.

 

[slappy4428]

Can't argue with you...
Some places are giving the e-edition away for free... Birmingham did it last month and the Freep is doing it tomorrow...

 

[rpmmutant]

Northridge Earthquake, 1994. Freeways collapsed, roads were on fire, gas stations shut down, and the paper I worked at printed and delivered. Newspaper journalists have gone soft.

 

[RickStain]

The macho "we get the paper out no matter what" ethic can suck my ass until the newspaper agrees to pay for any damage my car accrues going to and from work.

 

[BitterYoungMatador2]

The macho "we get the paper out no matter what" ethic can suck my ass until the newspaper agrees to pay for any damage my car accrues going to and from work.

This. Possibly getting etting into an accident, injuring yourself and damaging your car, just to say, "Yeah, but Goddamit, WE DID OUR JOBS!!!" foolishness. Especially when half this ****ing front page is about companies lahying off, consolidating, furloughing, paycuts.

Last year I played the role company man and walked 3/4s of a mile to work in two feet of snow and blizzard-like winds. The city editor and I were the only ones in the newsroom. Nine months later, I was told I was no longer needed.

It doesn't love you back. Not anymore at least.

 

[JRoyal]

At the least, the World should follow the example of the New Orleans Times-Picayune during Katrina: The August 30, August 31, and September 1, 2005 editions were not printed, but available online PDFs. JRoyal, is that what you mean by an electronic edition?

Hell, then you can go back and print copies to deliver on Thursday, plus for souvenir hunters.

We used to have PDFs available every day. Now we have an interactive e-edition. Some people like it more than the PDFs, some not as much. It's basically the same layout as the regular paper in a viewer similar to what you see a lot of magazines online using.