Something has happened twice this year that makes a news and information deliverer cringe — delivery was interrupted.
I can count on two hands the number of times The Western Producer has been delayed in the 1,266 times we have delivered it since I started at the publication.
For most of you, it arrives Thursday.
When it fails to arrive on schedule I become very uncomfortable.
Just to put the miracle of delivering a single copy into perspective, editors begin with assigning stories or selecting story pitches by reporters, the bulk of which occur mid to later in the week before you get the physical version of the paper, complete with its graphics and photos and links to video online. News happens quickly.
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Reporters travel, interview, photograph, video capture and write the stories, while graphics editors build information tools that summarize data and devise creative ways to tell the tales visually.
Copy is edited and more editors place the stories onto the pages, physical or virtual, along with art. And so the week unfolds, with deadlines for sections that go to print on Friday and Monday. About one-third of the paper is completed Monday so that the latest news and markets information will arrive while it is still fresh and best accommodates the Canada Post cycle of delivery.
Presses in Estevan, Sask., finish Monday night or Tuesday morning and papers are assembled and inserts added. Then it is sorted by delivery region. Typically it is in your hands in one or two days.
This winter a serious storm hit southeastern Saskatchewan and caused a trucking delay to Canada Post in Regina. It resulted in a one- -to-three-day slowing of delivery depending on your location. Sorry about that.
The most time-sensitive stories, such as markets, breaking news or weather, go directly to producer.com, often within a few minutes of the reporter completing them.
But this past weekend we had a computer blizzard that knocked out our servers, or at least drastically slowed them. This is something that has happened only three times in my years here. Again, sorry about that.
If you’re not getting your farming news and information on time email me at mike.raine@producer.com or call or text 306-221-8931.
