Technological Difficulties

We live in an age of technology…which we appreciate so much sometimes, but then there are those other times. Well, this is one of those other times.

Our equipment at The Monticello News quit working over the weekend. Likely, Saturday night’s thunderstorms had something to do with it, but we don’t know that. What we do know is that the phones are down. You can leave a message but we haven’t figured out how to access that message. So, the phone is useless. One of our I.T. persons was able to come get two computers online, but they won’t talk to each other….and that is a problem.

I typically get much of my news by e-mail. Well, guess what? At this writing Monday afternoon, the last e-mail I received was last Friday. I know my pastor’s study is waiting for me as is the CAD report, and I’m sure several other pieces of news that I would like to include in this week’s paper. And I will. I have confidence I will be able to access my e-mail before all is said and done.

This week it’s a double whammy, because we were planning to print on Tuesday for a Wednesday mailing because of the Juneteenth holiday Thursday when mail will not run. However, at this writing, we may have to drop back and punt, and get the paper out like usual, on Wednesday, and subscribers won’t get it until Friday. It’s not lack of pre-planning as much as it’s terrible bad luck.

I hate that I don’t know, and I hate working in the dark. I say working in the dark, because without e-mail I am very limited. And, add to that, no telephone, and you have a mess.

Luckily, Facebook which I dislike may come in handy. We were able to post on it that our phone lines are down, and to call my cell phone if you need to reach the office.

Of course, there’s no guarantee that the message will reach its intended target. The bad thing is callers may leave a message, but we don’t get it.

Susan and I do most of the writing, and I suggested to her that anything original we can type in word, then transfer when we get up and running again. And I say that optimistically, because we aren’t even certain that the biggest part of the problem is fixable. Woe is me.

But, the reality, little of what we write is original. We do a lot of copy and paste. Now, tonight I have a county commission meeting, and I can write about it in word, but much of what we include in the paper is sent in by our readers…or others who we request information from.

I do use my cell phone a good bit for The News, and thankfully it’s working just fine. (If you read my column a couple weeks ago, you know it’s smarter than me, but still it’s working.)

Right now, I know of several items scheduled for publication that were to be sent. But, as I have no e-mail, I don’t know what has been sent.

The newspaper business, as many businesses, has seen a real metamorphosis as technology has taken over. I’ve been working here about 50 years, and the changes are revolutionary. Now everything is done on a computer…not like the hands-on work we did before…and certainly not like the old linotype.

And, unfortunately, newspapers are not as popular as they once were…lots of competition, and newer generations who prefer to get their news some other way (or not get the news) as the case may be.

But, we’re growing with our technology, trying to grab the younger readers as well as the reliable older readers who still like to hold a newspaper. But when technology fails…it can almost leave you dead in the water. Hopefully these words will be available to be read this week. Wish us luck!