We have in the past lamented on these pages that working in a Newsroom can be a thankless job.
But we love what we do and that in itself is something for which to be thankful. And any hint of self pity – if there was even any time for it – is tempered by the fact that we realize there are countless others who feel the same way about their own job. That likely includes some other employees in the Newspaper business.
As our readers may already know, there are close to 150 people who work hard each week to ensure the Advertiser reaches over 40,000 addresses across Wellington County and beyond.
In addition to reporters who gather the News, our team includes advertising sales reps, graphic designers, accounting and customer service specialists, mail room employees, and residential and rural carriers.
Each employee, of course, performs an invaluable job, but it is our carriers who are often overlooked or under-appreciated, particularly during a long, miserable winter like this one.
The ability of our carriers to do their jobs, more than any other Advertiser employee, is directly impacted by weather conditions, so it’s not a surprise they bear the brunt of customer complaints during the winter.
But it is important for everyone to remember the carriers are trying their best to get everyone a paper by Friday evening, and many of the things that elicit complaints are simply out of their control.
In residential areas the carriers, in many cases young people, battle all the elements – rain, cold, snow, wind, or heat – to get your paper to your door. If you didn’t have time to shovel before you went to work, or the sidewalk hasn’t been cleared, the carriers may have to walk along the side of the road. You might even see their parents driving them along their route because it’s so cold (or hot).
Our rural drivers are also out on the roads each week and in most cases it takes two days to complete deliveries – so losing a part of either day, for any reason, means delivery on Saturday or, at times, even Sunday.
Some days, delivery drivers are lucky enough to follow a snow plow, but that often means a previously-cleared mailbox is now partially buried in snow.
Garbage day is also a challenge, as recycling boxes are placed in close proximity to the mailbox, making them very difficult to access. Papers often get thrown in your driveway to make sure you get one. If it’s a windy day, the paper may not always end up where it was aimed.
We know you love your Wellington Advertiser and look forward to getting it each week, but please remember there are delivery challenges.
And please realize our carriers do their very best and there are circumstances out of their control that might cause your paper to be delivered a bit late or not in the regular manner.
Advertiser excellence
For the first time in a generation, the Advertiser entered submissions to the Ontario Community Newspapers Association’s (OCNA) annual Better Newspaper Competition, which recognizes outstanding work by community Newspapers across the province.
The Advertiser was recently named one of three finalists in two “premier award” categories, which honour individual works in both editorial and advertising:
– best editorial (over 10,000 circulation class) for Good Money After Bad, Nov. 23, 2012; and
– humour columnist of the year, Kelly Waterhouse, for her weekly Write Out of Her Mind column.
The 2013 winners will be announced at the OCNA Spring Convention and Awards Gala on April 4 in Toronto.
