What happened to the OD thread?

[frankcor]

I'm still here. I got into a blue funk -- kinda sick, kinda depressed.

But I'm back and opinionated as ever.

[bobbbiez]

I sorry you were so under the weather my friend.
Hope all is better for you.

Now, that's over with, bring it on!!! ;D

[frankcor]

I'm all over that.

[denise]

Yes, Dave, the Johnson family still runs the newspaper. They did finally get with the program and made their paid online version free. This finally came into being a few months ago.

Here's a link: www.watertowndailytimes.com/

Bobbbiez, I don't know as if you'll want to buy it. It might not be much of an improvement from your Malone paper. Try the link as well. See what you think. Most people in and around Watertown seem to like to get their news from www.newzjunky.com. It is a bit more diverse, but they also pick and choose what they want to include on their site.

The thing that bothers me about the OD's website is that they are now all about news updates. News updates would be fine for afternoon or evening but I'd still prefer it if their webpage mirrored their newspaper in the morning.

[bobbbiez]

Thanks Denise, I'll give their website a shot before I buy another useless paper.

Guess they all have their faults.

[Swimmy]

Denise,

The thing that gets me about the OD is that all their afternoon stories are the same ones for the next morning!

[denise]

Yes, Swimmy, that too! It is a poorly thought out concept. I feel that OD fails to remember that there are former Utica residents who are still interested in Utica news and rely on the content of their website.

[dgriffin]

It's a typical afternoon paper gone to morning distribution. The NEXT morning. Lots of newspapers did that in the early 80's. The editorial staff now goes home at supper time and a few are left to lock up the paper at night, usually by 9 pm. Anything not important happening in the early evening doesn't make it into the morning paper. Anything earth-shattering, like an H bomb dropped on Frankfort, might make it into the next morning's paper if the terrorists set it off before 9 pm., midnight on election night. Synchronizing with the news cycle is in every terrorists handbook, by the way.

[bobbbiez]

I remember when the OD had the morning paper, the Daily Press, and the night paper, The Observer Dispatch. Did get the news shortly after it happened in both papers.

[dgriffin]

Not only the OD and the Daily Press, but also quite a few editions. I don't know if they have many editions today. When I was a kid, the first edition to go to press was the "valley edition," and I could hear the presses start up before noon if the windows were open, all the way up John St. at UCA. If the windows were down, you could sometimes FEEL the presses start. (My Dad was a pressman.)

[Clipper]

Gee Dave, that same press your dad operated is still there today. It is a very old 7 unit Goss press. It was right on the other side of the wall when I was transportation manager at the OD. the noise when the press was running was unbelievable.

When the press was ready to start, a bell would ring in the press room. That bell signaled the last peace and quiet you would enjoy until either the paper was out, or the press was shut down to change editions, or repair a paper tear or breakdown.

When I worked there, there was 3 editions, Valley, Rome, and City which were printed in that order.

That old press supposedly would print at a rate of 30,000 copies and hour. They never ran it that fast though. We used to take about 3 or 4 hours to get the paper printed and out the door, if everyting went without a hitch. That seldom happened, haha! We had a circulation of between 41 and 43 thousand when I was there.

Your dad probably worked with a friend of my fathers that worked there for years. His name was Bob Trask, and he worked at the OD most of his adult life.

I remember well the days of the morning Daily Press and the afternoon, OD. I delivered them all at one time or another. I had a morning, afternoon and a sunday route for a while, but that was too much, so I gave up the morning route.

I quit as transportation manager because of the stress and frustration of not being able to get enough of a budget to pay the contractors and my drivers a living wage. I left there to go drive a truck. I took a run that took me to wisconsin and iowa every week, and sent me home with $1400 a week, take home, for a 5 day week. Twice what I made at the OD. ;D

[denise]

I remember the Daily Press. What year was it that they did away with it?

[bobbbiez]

Boy Denise, that's a good one. I know my youngest son as a paperboy stopped delivering the Daily Press I'm pretty sure in 1979. After that I really don't remember. Can't help you there.