- The Boston Globe halts daily print for the first time since 1872 due to a historic winter storm
- Disruption highlights the shifting economics towards digital news consumption
- Print subscribers will receive bundled editions as the industry faces weather-related vulnerabilities
For the first time since its founding in 1872, The Boston Globe suspended daily print production because of a winter storm, ending a 153-year run of publishing through pandemics, power outages and previous record blizzards.
The decision underscores both the scale of the storm and the changing economics of print. While past disruptions , including labour disputes in the 1950s and 1960s , led to missed editions, this is the first weather-related suspension in the paper’s history.
Executives concluded that Monday’s whiteout conditions made Tuesday morning delivery impossible. “We don’t take the decision lightly,” said Josh Russell, Vice President of Print Operations. “We weren’t confident that even if we got a crew in tonight, that we could get the papers on our trucks safely. That ‘last mile’ just wasn’t doable.”
The disruption centred on the Globe’s printing plant in Taunton, Massachusetts. By Monday night, the National Weather Service reported 32 inches of snow in parts of Bristol County. In neighbouring Rhode Island, T.F. Green International Airport recorded nearly 38 inches, surpassing totals from the Blizzard of ’78.
The episode highlights how far the industry has shifted toward digital distribution. A 2025 Pew Research survey found 7% of US adults rely primarily on print, while 56% access news via mobile devices. For the Globe, online publishing continued uninterrupted.
Print subscribers are set to receive the missed Tuesday edition bundled with Wednesday’s paper.
For a regional news organisation that bills itself as New England’s paper of record, the absence of a printed edition marks a symbolic break – and a reminder that even long-running print operations remain vulnerable to physical constraints.
- https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/02/23/business/boston-globe-not-print-noreaster-snow/ – This article from The Boston Globe details the unprecedented decision to suspend daily print production due to a severe winter storm, marking the first such occurrence in the newspaper’s 153-year history.
- https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/fact-sheet/news-platform-fact-sheet/ – The Pew Research Center’s News Platform Fact Sheet provides statistics on news consumption habits, highlighting that 56% of U.S. adults access news via digital devices, underscoring the shift towards digital distribution.
- https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/2025/12/03/young-adults-and-the-future-of-news/ – This Pew Research Center report discusses how young adults are more likely to get news from digital devices, with 93% of adults under 30 accessing news this way, reflecting the broader trend of digital news consumption.
- https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/01/12/more-than-eight-in-ten-americans-get-news-from-digital-devices/ – This study by the Pew Research Center indicates that 86% of U.S. adults get news from digital devices, including 56% who do so often, highlighting the dominance of digital news consumption over traditional print media.
- https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/11/20/more-americans-prefer-to-watch-the-news-than-read-or-listen-to-it/ – This Pew Research Center article reveals that a majority of Americans prefer to watch the news, with 62% favouring television, while only 6% prefer reading it, indicating a shift in news consumption preferences.
- https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/11/20/more-americans-prefer-to-watch-the-news-than-read-or-listen-to-it/ – This article from the Pew Research Center highlights that 62% of Americans who prefer watching the news favour television, while only 6% prefer reading it, reflecting changing news consumption habits.
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