Boston Globe postpones printing of paper for first time in 153 years, due to blizzard
A record snowstorm has prompted executives at the Boston Globe to postpone printing their daily newspaper for the first time in its history.
“For more than 153 years, The Boston Globe’s newspaper employees have weathered the elements, technical glitches and global pandemics to print a daily newspaper,” the newspaper said in an article on its website. “But in an unprecedented decision, executives determined that conditions during Monday’s blizzard made it impossible to print and deliver a newspaper Tuesday morning.”
The Globe said print subscribers will receive Tuesday’s paper on Wednesday along with Wednesday’s edition.
“We do not make this decision lightly,” said Josh Russell, vice president of print operations at Boston Globe Media. “We’re not sure that even if we had a crew tonight that we could get the paperwork on our trucks safely. We weren’t sure that last mile would be doable.”
Joseph Prezioso / AFP via Getty Images 
The storm also deeply affected Monday’s deliveries: Only 25 percent of newspapers reached subscribers, the Globe said.
Snow and wind prevented staff from safely reaching the Globe’s printing plant to print Tuesday’s paper, the newspaper said in the article. Parts of Bristol County, Massachusetts, where the Globe’s Taunton printing plant is located, had recorded 32 inches of snow Monday evening, the National Weather Service said.
In the Internet age, readers rely much less on newsprint for their information. A 2025 survey by the Pew Research Center found that only 7% of American adults often get their news from print newspapers or magazines. This compares to 56% who say they often receive their news from a smartphone, computer or tablet.
Tuesday marks the first time Globe management has suspended daily production of the paper since its founding in 1872. Labor strikes halted printing several times in the 1950s and 1960s.
The Globe said it went to press during another record snowstorm nearly fifty years ago, when it printed a few thousand copies of a Feb. 7, 1978, edition. Few of the papers reached readers, however, because piles of snow kept delivery trucks from getting more than a mile or two from the building.
Monday’s blizzard set snowfall records in neighboring Rhode Island, where TF Green Warwick International Airport received nearly 38 inches, breaking a 1978 record.
