If this was an accepted and regular weeklly practice, which it appears to have been, the newspaper would have a firm deadline for receipt of such a list that would be well in advance of the publication date. Maybe due on Thursday for Sunday publication. Do we know date of publication for the Obama announcement?
This kind of information, not time-sensitive, would have been typeset in advance (this was still during the days of linotype), when there was no deadline pressure. Unless there was some huge breaking story, those columns would be ready for printing before the daily news copy was sent to the backshop for setting.
Barring an exceptional event, the announcements would be printed in full, the entire list. And the editor in charge of that section of the paper would likely expect the list to be longer on the weeks when the outer islands reported.
Things like birth announcements (and weddings, and obits) sell papers. That’s why small local papers are doing better than the big newsy dailies in the internet era. Folks like to see their names in print, and those of their neighbors. This was not just a public service, but also a way to boost circulation.
Yes, I worked at a newspaper in linotype days, watched firsthand the switch to offset.
Pardon me now while I go feed the pet pterodactyl.
lol. I’m in the middle of feeding my pteradactyls too. Potato soup.
What if the lists were long or if the number of pages for the paper didn’t add up just right? Would those things change the process? Could you see a scenario where a list would be cut in half and only half be printed and the other half be printed later? If so, how much later?
Would there be an agreement to print all the announcements the DOH sent in the list?