Blizzard 2011 grounds the Tulsa World print edition

I see points in all arguments.

In our state, when the DOT closes the roads, you're insurance is null and void. (It's not against the law to drive.) Our carries are private contractors, but even with that, you can't tell them go sling the papers or else.

E-editions should always be put out. If even it's a 8 pager with an inside doubletruck of the snow covered parking lot. If people are trapped inside, hell, you may gain a reader that day.

But that being said, whomever is stuck at the damn paper putting that bastards out ... treat 'em right. Treat 'em like kings. Drag a gas grill up there and buy a cooler full of meat, junk food, a Wii. Cocaine and white girls, even.

I've slept on the floor before staying at the paper for 48 hours until it was safe to escape. Let me tell you, it sucks donkey balls. One time before that (different management), they sprung for hotel rooms within walking distance of the paper and gave us an expense account just like we were on the road.

But at the end of the day, with the way so many chains are treating people, I'd have to think long and hard before I decided not to stay at home and have a snow day with the fam.

 

Amen.

Folks need to realize this is Tulsa, where the city isn't prepared to deal with more than an inch or two of snow. People in NYC who went ballistic about streets not being plowed in a timely manner would die in Tulsa, because they probably only have a few plows for the entire city. And those are being used on major arteries, not residential streets.

 

Ten years ago the city of Tulsa had three snow plows. Three.

Two inches of snow was a big deal.

 

Getting the news out is a big deal. Getting a newspaper out isn't as big a deal. Especially if you have to endanger the lives of your people in the process.

 

Sidetracking momentarily here for a minute:

I'll Never Tell said in his state if the DOT closes roads then insurance coverage is null and void.

I have asked my insurance agent and other agents about this. They say unless there is some specific state regulation or specific wording in the insurance policy (which they never had seen), this is an urban myth.

Does anyone know specific states in which this is true, if a road is officially closed then your insurance will not pay for any damages sustained on it?

 

The World is not publishing a print edition on Thursday or Friday either.

 

Shit, I'm going to call and ask tomorrow. Our EE told us that and told us not to drive. I trusted his word.

 

Last month when the weather hit here, we published every day but about half of the circulation area could not be delivered for 5-6 days. The papers were stored and delivered all at once when the roads cleared, 4-6 days worth of papers.

We actually had a carrier killed the day it hit, running her route and slid head on into another car.

I do not appreciate the irony in coming into work to publish a paper that we can't deliver which tells people it is not safe to get out and they should stay in.

 

It's just a lot different in the south. Where I work, we have plenty of snow and the temp is hovering around zero.

But the streets are well-plowed and life goes on pretty much as normal.

Back in the day when I worked in the southern US, anything below 40 degrees with a little ice or sleet was cause for panic. They'd move deadlines up 2 hours or whatever. It's just a matter of some cities not knowing how to deal with the stuff.

 

Because I always have had a four-wheel drive truck, there was a time when I used to shuttle some of the women and older people to and from work in the snow because I was asked to help get people to the office. Now, I wouldn't drive across the street to pick up someone in the snow because I know if I had an accident and tore up my truck it would be "too bad."
There are individuals I'll pick up if they personally ask me. But if management comes and says "Will you go get so and so" I say absolutely not.

 

When we were driven home Tuesday night, we were taken in a 4WD vehicle that was among the ones the company had rented to deliver papers.

Yesterday, when I went back in to get my car, I stopped by my desk to get a few things. With the way our phone system works, when all of the main customer service lines are filled, the next calls ring back to our department. In the five minutes I was there, I took 2 phone calls from people pissed they didn't get a paper. One guy at least understood when I explained to him the situation, although he did say, "Well, I haven't been out, so I guess I don't know how bad it is." Seriously, we got 14 inches of snow, combined with high winds. It isn't going to be good six hours after the storm passed.

 

I don't mean to sound preachy, but if papers aren't printing when some sort of disaster strikes and people need to know what is going on the most, then maybe it is time for newspapers to go the way of the dodo bird.

Yeah, it sucks to come to work when the roads are dangerous, but when that is the case I remind myself that those are the days that my job actually matters.

I'm a sports guy, so the vast majority of what I write is purely for entertainment, but when I am one of the only people who can get into work, I am more than willing to switch over to general news so that I can get information out: When will the power be back on? When will the roads be safe to drive on? Is there more bad weather coming? Are crews working to fix things?

If newspapers want to claim to be a vital part of a community, they need to honor their word and do some civic journalism when it is needed the most. If there is any way possible to run the presses and get the papers out, that's what needs to be done.