Running a newspaper from a hotel is in our DNA.

The reborn Times Leader, which found its new beginning in the fall of 1978, was originally produced from several rooms in what was then the newly built tower at The Woodlands in Plains Township.

Few at The Times Leader now would even have a faint memory of those days, but they were tension-filled, exhausting, and among the most fulfilling of the young careers for many who experienced that time. Against all odds, we produced and printed a paper every day.

So, maybe today’s Times Leader team found itself almost inexplicably lifted by the wings of institutional memory and placed squarely into the Host Inn on Kidder Street in Wilkes-Barre Township on Thursday. There the staff began setting up a remote operation to produce our newspaper and feed vital information onto our many online products -- websites, e-editions and apps and mobile platforms.

A close friend who lives in the Back Mountain phoned late Friday. He sounded weary from what had probably been a long, long day worrying and fighting back flood waters from his business and the homes of friends and relatives.

“I just drove up to my house,” he said, “and here’s The Times Leader in my delivery tube. How in the hell did you do this?”

Despite my own lack of direct involvement -- with the exception of long e-mails and even longer phone calls to our hard-working staff -- my chest swelled with pride and I smiled hearing that compliment with its admiring incredulity.

There is a cardinal rule in the newspaper business and it is this: Always print the newspaper, always get it out, and always deliver it or die trying.

Wednesday evening as I was about to leave for a business trip, our company president, Prashant Shitut, phoned to say the warnings were dire. Because I sometimes refer to him as “Dr. Doom,” I took his concerns lightly.

Still, we decided to plan for the worst, which I did not believe would happen.

It did.

Raging waters flooded our communities as streams exploded and the river crested at a record-breaking height.

When the worst happened and we were evacuating our buildings and leaving our press behind in downtown Wilkes-Barre on Thursday, we were already set up at the Host organizing a remote newsroom and IT department. Plans had been made to print the Friday papers early on Thursday in Harrisburg and to have them back in our hands for delivery to you on Friday. Circulation folks mapped alternative roads and streets for deliveries.

Our people from all departments worked around the clock producing news and information for the newspaper and, importantly, for our websites, news alerts, and for the Internet.

Many worked 48 hours straight or more.

For example, police reporter Ed Lewis, after long hours of working literally from the beginning of crisis, sent a text message to his editors with a list of story ideas that ended with, “up for 38 hrs, 10 cups coffee, and one ham sandwich, good night.”

That work ethic could be found throughout the company.

Shitut demonstrated tremendous, precise leadership pulling the team together, but even he found the performance incredible.

“I’m amazed by the dedication of our entire staff and exceptional demonstration of planning, judgment and technical excellence demonstrated by our support staff,” said Shitut.

Stories of brave and unselfish work by our citizens since last Wednesday abound in this valley. We hope to tell many of those stories over the next few days. This one is ours even though it leaves out the names of most of the employees who worked so tirelessly to fulfill that cardinal rule. We are not singling out our work of bringing you the news as being any more exceptional than the work of many in our community, but instead as symbolic of how people come together to help others and to do their jobs in the face of personal hardship.

There are many persons who produce a newspaper whose names and faces you never see. They sell advertising, send bills, take customer complaints, make certain all the inserts go into the paper and then get it to our delivery folks, run our presses, and maintain our facilities. Several of those reporters and photographers who are household names to our readers continued to do their work despite being greatly affected by the flood. Most of these folks were evacuated but came to the hotel and worked.

“I moved my important papers and I have insurance,” said copy editor John DiMaria after evacuating from his home on the West Side. “I’m due for a remodel.”

Executive Editor Joe Butkiewicz’s experience was probably typical. He has been a fixture with us for decades and now a central figure in our news gathering operation. While he worked overseeing our news coverage, his family, wife Carole and son Will, spent hours moving furniture and securing belongings.

When the water was finally receding and he arrived home Saturday morning, tired, but gearing for one more shift on Saturday night, there was already present a symbol of the dedication he, his staff, and all of our employees showed: The Times Leader, folded and neatly encased in a plastic bag, resting against the front door of his home.

Just another day in the newspaper business. Mission accomplished.

About the Author

Richard L. Connor is Editor and Publisher of the Times Leader and president of Wilkes-Barre Publishing Company.

Richard L. Connor is Editor and Publisher of The Times Leader. Mr. Connor’s career in the newspaper business spans nearly 40 years in four states and in a variety of positions including editor, publisher and owner.

In June of 2006, Mr. Connor formed The Wilkes-Barre Publishing Company, purchased The Times Leader and returned to the post he previously held from 1978 to 1986.

He has worked for several media companies, including 25 years as an executive with Capital Cities Communications, later Cap Cities/ABC and then the Walt Disney Company. During that time he served for over 10 years as President and Publisher of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram in Fort Worth, TX.

His work to have his newspapers not only serve the community as a voice of needed change but also to build bridges among its leaders and diverse forces has been recognized constantly for its unique brand of media leadership. He has won numerous awards as a columnist and for his editorials and has received a number of awards for his newspaper and community leadership and achievement. He has served on numerous community and industry boards, including two times as a member of the Pulitzer Prize Nominating Committee.

He resides in the Back Mountain with his wife, Deborah, and daughter, Meredith. Mr. Connor also has two adult children.

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