A mechanical problem with the printing press meant delivery of the Jefferson City News Tribune and Fulton Sun was delayed several hours Friday.
"The part of the press that folds the paper broke around 11:30 p.m. Thursday night," said News Tribune General Manager Mike Vivion. "We had to run our paper, Fulton and the Columbia Missourian up to the Columbia Tribune to be printed."
Vivion said the papers got back to Jefferson City around 8 a.m. and were then distributed "as best as we could."
The press was fixed by early afternoon.
Many of our carriers were able to distribute the edition later Friday morning and afternoon, said Michael Johns, News Tribune circulation manager. "But some of our carriers, who deliver the paper well before dawn daily, have second jobs and were unable to deliver the Friday edition. They delivered the edition with the Saturday morning edition."
"We value the opportunity to produce this paper and have it on your driveway every morning," said Gary Castor, managing editor. "Unfortunately, mechanical devices sometimes do break down and disrupt our daily lives."
Vivion apologized to subscribers for the problems.
"We had 10 extra people taking phone calls Friday morning. But there were so many calls, they jammed our phone system, so we couldn't answer all the calls coming in," he said.
In an effort to provide an alternative delivery of the Friday edition, the electronic version of the edition was made available to all readers through the company's website, www.newstribune.com.
The link is http://www.newstribune.com/e-edition/
"The e-edition is a free feature provided to all of our home-delivery subscribers," Johns said. "If you haven't accessed the feature in the past, our circulation department can help you get set up with a user name and password."
A request for help in setting up an e-edition account can be sent by e-mail to [email protected].
"We understand for thousands of Mid-Missourians, reading the News Tribune while sipping your coffee is a morning ritual," Castor said. "And the absence of one or the other can be unsettling.
"We're thankful the repairs have been made to the press and that we can continue our commitment to bring you the latest news every morning," he added. "We are so appreciative of the readers who called, inquiring about their papers, and who were so understanding and patient about the breakdown."