Boston Globe reporters and editors worked until dawn on January 3, Sunday to deliver thousands of copies of the newspaper to customers. The move followed a week of major distribution issues, while the Massachusetts paper reported that the move showed that it was working hard to solve the delivery problems.
Several employees showed up at the printing press at around midnight. They included managing editors, sports reporters, and political columnists.
Around 200 employees volunteered to deliver papers, according to The New York Times. They went door-to-door until early Sunday morning.
Editor Steve Wilmsen tweeted that nearly the whole Boston Globe newsroom helped to deliver papers. They had paper routes for one night.
The moonlighting was a response to week-long problems that started on the previous Monday. That is when the company had switched to a new delivery company, according to KEYT.
Its new delivery service was ACI Media Group. The company works for several other major newspapers, including The Los Angeles Times and The Miami Herald. ACI reportedly had problems finding enough delivery workers, and software glitches.
Many "missing" newspapers showed up in the Boston area during the week. This caused readers to complain on social media and call the Globe to voice their complaints.
The problem became serious that the phone system crashed due to the high volume of delivery complaints. This made it difficult for reporters to make calls outside the Globe building.
Wilmsen shared that a journalist "army" volunteered to deliver the papers. They were told to bring a flashlight and a GPS with them.
Transportation reporter Nicole Dungca described the situation as a bonding experience. The workers gave up sleep to serve their readers.