I've had better weekends.
Let's just say we had some issues.
We ran a wrong photo on Page One.
We made the almost unforgivable sin of not including the Sunday Crossword in the Sunday newspaper. Take my word for it, our print readers are becoming something of a rare breed, but they love their Crossword. In fact, several of them told me it was the only reason they still get the print product.
A file photo that we ran on the Monday op-ed page contained some out-of-date information that did not exactly thrill the prison board.
But there was another problem with the Monday paper that strikes at the heart of what we do here every day.
I have said any number of times that day in and day out, it is the most important information we publish every day.
No, it may not be splashed all over Page One. It might not be the most important story of any single day. But on an ongoing basis, as the paper of record in Delaware County, it cements our relationship with our loyal readers.
It is, of course, obituaries.
Several of them that were supposed to run in the Monday paper did not make it into print.
The reason why involves a whole slew of issues that I won't bore you with. It has to do with technology and the changing industry and even staffing issues here at the paper.
None of that matters. What matters is that people depend on us to deliver this crucial information on a timely basis.
As I said, it is at the heart of what we do every do.
How important is it? I get asked that all the time, especially by young people who don't realize the weight these small items in the paper carry.
I always ask them if they have in their few years here on this planet lost a loved one. I tell them that when they inevitably do, as all of us have, they will understand how important this information is, and why it is essential we get it right, and deliver it in a timely fashion.
On Monday we failed in that mission.
My apologies to all affected.
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