Call Again Later   

Some cellular phone users have probably suffered from shock when their pricey bills arrived in the mail. Certainly, Philadelphia Newspapers Inc., parent of the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Daily News, did when it received a string of high-end fees charged to Inquirer reporter Tom Turcol's phone. Like, say, $1,000 one month, and a couple more for around $700. The bean counters decided to cut Turcol off.

The New Jersey state political reporter does yak a lot with politicos statewide, as well as in Washington, New York and other U.S. locales. Right before the June New Jersey primary, which included a tense, nationally-monitored Senate race, he was using the phone around the clock, he says. Turcol and his cell traveled up and down the Jersey Turnpike, calling in stories while driving. His coverage earned the Pulitzer Prize winner a spot on Brill's Content's All-Star Newspaper list.

But the word that he was disconnected didn't make it to Turcol before a source unsuccessfully tried his cell in June, and later reached him to say his phone wasn't working. The move was part of PNI's cost-cutting measures, which have affected cell phone use (see Bylines). Julie Busby, editor of the New Jersey bureau, says, yes, Turcol's bills were above and beyond what other reporters were spending, and she was aware that the service would be turned off. Fortunately, after some discussion between editors and Turcol, he got his phone back in October, four months after he'd gone without.

So what is Turcol's reaction to becoming wireless? "And I was just getting used to pay phones again," he says.