NEW ORLEANS - Kicking into its all-too-familiar hurricane production mode, The Times-Picayune’s Thursday copies found their way to front doors, convenience stores and vending machines by way of Alabama. With power outages throughout south Louisiana caused by Hurricane Isaac, the newspaper was printed in Mobile and trucked directly to The Times-Picayune’s substations. The Friday editions will be printed in Houma and once again trucked into the metropolitan New Orleans area.

“Without power at our New Orleans facility, we printed Thursday’s newspaper in Mobile. Our drivers fought high winds and rain to get back in time for close-to-normal distribution,” said David Francis, NOLA Media Group Vice President and the newspaper’s business manager.

Francis said this procedure was used extensively after Katrina in 2005. “We have become proficient in this process. Although there have been delivery delays because of the storm, we haven’t missed a day of publishing throughout Hurricane Isaac. We must be mindful of the safety of our drivers and independent dealers and hope that our readers understand the reasons that their papers may be arriving later than usual.”As an added benefit, visitors to the NOLA.com website had free access to the e-edition of The Times-Picayune this week. Francis said challenges like Hurricane Isaac prove the advantages of having efficient digital and print components. “Our reporters have done tremendous work in bringing up-to-date news that was breaking in our region,” he said.

About NOLA Media Group and The Times-Picayune

NOLA Media Group, launching this fall, is a digitally-focused news organization bringing together NOLA.com and The Times-Picayune. Beginning on October 1, 2012 the newspaper will be published on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, and NOLA.com will provide real-time coverage of news, sports and entertainment throughout the region.