The First Edition

It was April 2006, and we were putting the final touches on the Inaugural edition of Saratoga TODAY newspaper. 

It was about 7 p.m. and we had just finished proofreading the final headlines. We all looked at each other, nodded, and clicked ‘SEND.’ Just like that and it was gone, off to the printer…the first edition of Saratoga TODAY newspaper. Now it was time to sit back and wait, as the delivery truck wasn’t scheduled to arrive with the freshly printed papers until around 2 a.m.

The staff took off and did their own thing; some slept; some ate dinner; some watched TV. We all convened back at the office around 1:30 a.m. 

A large chunk of the first delivery targeted downtown Saratoga Springs. Don’t forget, nobody knew what this product was, it would be everyone’s first time seeing it, so we wanted it everywhere downtown.

The truck rolled into the parking lot, and we all excitedly filled our vehicles and headed to Broadway. After unloading our cars we grabbed newspaper bundles and began running around in the dark. That first night we must have looked like a rag-tag bunch of night crawlers. It was pitch black and eerily quiet with the exceptional straggler making his or her way home from the bar. As we made our way up and down Broadway we were hollering back and forth to each other from a block away:

“How many papers do you have left?”

“Did you drop 2 papers at XYZ?”

“How many papers do think I should leave at blah blah blah?”

It wasn’t long before the police became curious and slowly rolled their vehicle up to one of us:

“What’s going on guys?”  

“Nothing officer, we are just a new newspaper in town. It’s our first day of delivery and we are figuring things out.”

“Ok, carry on.”

When Broadway was complete, we made our way to all the side streets, then West Ave, and then we divided up and headed to Wilton and Ballston Spa. By the time we were finished, the first signs of morning light were approaching, and we all headed home to catch a few hours of sleep before meeting up back at the office.

That was it. The first edition was on the street, and we had no idea what to expect. Would the community embrace it? Would we be able to sell enough ads to support a free distribution newspaper? Would the economy take off or crash? While all these questions were addressed in a detailed business plan and comprehensive budget, until the rubber meets the road, you never know what is coming your way.