Heather Ainsley
ECB Publishing, Inc.
Recent events have left us adjusting to plenty of changes here at your friendly neighborhood newspaper office, and like the saying goes, when it rains, it pours. For the most part, we try to keep everything running as smoothly as possible, so that all of the changes we are adjusting to do not negatively impact you, our reader. Even so, we are an office of everyday people doing everyday extraordinary things, and we are only human after all. We would like to extend our deepest gratitudes to all of our readers, advertisers and contributors, for your patience, support and kindness in supporting us, not just in our current adjustment period, but in the months and years prior. We couldn't do what we do without you, truly, and we are so thankful.
There have been some changes made by the printing company we use, and our deadlines have changed. They have established new hours for when we are scheduled to go to press, so all of our current deadlines have been updated to accommodate these changes. We want to keep everyone informed as we work around our new schedule, so that everything – from our stories, to the advertising and small minute details will be impacted as little as possible.
The first detail to address is the most obvious one: When will the papers come in? We are happy to report that the new deadlines will not affect when the papers will be mailed out; we will still publish a Wednesday paper and a Friday paper. Our new press time may lead to us being able to get the paper out to our news boxes earlier in the day on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but specifics on timing will have to come as we move forward and see when our papers get in from the printers. There will be no interruption to your regular subscriptions, or your ability to access copies of the paper.
For those who are submitting stories or working with one of our reporters for a feature: We will now be sending our paper off to be printed at 5 p.m. on Monday for Wednesday's paper, and 5 p.m. Wednesday for Friday's paper. This means that all stories that need to run in Wednesday's paper need to be submitted by the prior Friday at noon, so that they may be proof-read, corrected and laid out digitally on Monday before being sent to the printer. Likewise, all stories that need to run in Friday's paper must be submitted by 12 noon on Tuesday. Urgent or “breaking news” stories that take place after these deadlines will be published on our website.
For advertisement purposes: All ads must go through necessary approval and final edits before they go to press. The deadline for ads placed in Wednesday's paper is 10 a.m. on Monday. The deadline for an ad in Friday's paper is 10 a.m. on Wednesday.
For classified ads and legals: All ads must be sent to us by Monday or Wednesday by 1 p.m. (Monday for Wednesday's paper, and Wednesday for Friday's paper). This deadline is actually the same as before, and has not changed.
For obituaries and announcements (birthdays, congratulations, wedding announcement, etc): All obituaries need to be submitted to us by noon. (Please submit on Monday to place it in Wednesday's paper, and Wednesday to place it in Friday's paper).
We would like to thank everyone for your patience and understanding as we implement these changes. We will do everything in our power to ensure that these updates are as smooth-sailing as possible and we thank you for your continued support!