It ’tis the season to stop the press, the Southern Standard press that is.

In an effort to give newspaper employees some time off during the holidays, the Standard will not publish editions this Friday, Dec. 25, and next Friday, Jan. 1, in recognition of Christmas and New Year’s Day.

“It’s common for factories to shut down at the end of the year and school system employees usually get two weeks off for Christmas break,” said Standard publisher Patricia Zechman. “Newspaper employees have always worked through the holidays as time off in the news business is rare. This is a chance to give employees an extra day off at Christmas and New Year’s.”

Zechman noted the holidays are typically a slow time for news as city and county governments don’t hold meetings and schools are closed. This marks the seventh year the Standard has not published edition on or around Christmas and New Year’s Day.

“Even though we won’t publish an edition on those two days, some members of our newsroom will be on call and we will post any breaking news story that may take place on our website as soon as possible,” said Zechman. The website is southernstandard.com.

Zechman said she is pleased to be able to offer the extra time off and hopes it’s not an inconvenience to customers. She noted the newspaper staff has been stretched thin like the rest of the community due to COVID issues.