Ouch! Tony if you are reading this, no offense. Maybe having a column that is safe for liberal editors isn't what gets respect amongst conservatives at FR.
Posted on 08/29/2005 12:39:06 PM PDT by Pikamax
My opinion David Stoeffler: Opinion pages get a makeover
More words. More letters. No more Ann Coulter.
Since my arrival here nine weeks ago, we've been doing a lot of behind-the-scenes work aimed at making the Arizona Daily Star a better newspaper.
Today, we unveil some visible changes to your Opinion pages. More changes will come here and throughout the paper over the coming weeks and months.
First, the highlights of changes to the Opinion pages. Then a little about the process we're using to arrive at our plans.
When I first wrote to you as I assumed my duties here, I invited your comments about the paper.
Of an estimated 300 e-mails and letters, I'd guess one third or so have dealt with some aspect of the Opinion pages and a recent redesign.
Very few said you loved it. Some of you said you could leave it.
It's true enough that for some readers, the only way to win their hearts would be to reverse the longstanding editorial position of the newspaper on political and social issues.
But readers of all political persuasions said a redesign launched earlier this year on the Opinion pages had simply gone too far in emphasis on design. While strong visuals, including cartoons, can help pull readers into the pages, people ultimately turn to these pages for the commentary - ours, that of our local and syndicated columnists and that of other readers.
Beginning today, we're shifting the balance back toward more words. We'll still have photos and cartoons, but they will consistently run smaller. No more full-body photos of the letter-writer of the week or of people who contribute to our weekly highlights from local blogs.
The cartoons of David Fitzsimmons and others will run smaller - more similar to their size prior to the redesign. This will free up room for our two daily syndicated columnists, adding about 100 words to the average length of each column.
Fitz's Sunday "Tucson Boulevard" cartoon strip will move to Page 2 of the section each week, replacing his regular cartoon spot there. That will free up room for another columnist on the cover most Sundays. Sometimes, I'll have a column in this spot, but we're considering a variety of local and syndicated options for most weeks.
The design changes on the page opposite our editorial will mean more room for your letters. This was probably the No. 1 request of people who wrote to me. We've been publishing additional letters online, but now we'll get more of them into print, too.
Finally, we've decided that syndicated columnist Ann Coulter has worn out her welcome. Many readers find her shrill, bombastic and mean-spirited. And those are the words used by readers who identified themselves as conservatives.
Taking her place on Saturdays will be Tony Snow, host of "The Tony Snow Show," syndicated nationally on Fox News Radio, and "Weekend Live with Tony Snow" on Fox News Channel. He has worked at a number of daily newspapers and is a former speechwriter for former President George H.W. Bush.
We're also making a lineup change to the staffing of our Opinion pages. With the return of writer Sam Negri following a lengthy medical leave, Sarah Garrecht Gassen will resume her duties as a reporter on our Metro desk. Sarah will continue to coordinate Young Voices, the Friday roundup of opinion by local teens and young adults.
These changes are part of an overall effort to better serve our readers and improve our journalism.
Running a newspaper is something like building a three-legged stool.
We need to understand and satisfy a broad audience. Through a combination of market research and regular contact, we come to know what readers want.
We need a staff of reporters, photographers, artists, copy editors and others to gather and produce the content that meets the needs of those readers. Like any group of professionals, they do their best when they are engaged and excited about the direction of the organization. I've spent most of my time these past few weeks listening to them and getting them involved in building our future.
My role, and that of other top editors, is to serve as a catalyst to bring those readers and journalists together, to provide leadership and an overall vision.
With more or less equal legs, the newspaper can stand taller and reach higher.
As we make further changes, we'll keep you posted. Sometimes, I will write to explain our efforts. Other times, Reader Advocate Debbie Kornmiller will provide a guide to the remodeling or new features.
At all times, we welcome your feedback. You can write to me at the address below (or you'll find me listed every day on Page A2 of the paper). You'll also find Debbie's contact information there each day or with her regular Sunday column (on page H3 today).
Please let us know what you think.
David Stoeffler is publisher and editor of the Star. Contact him at dstoeffler@azstarnet.com or at P.O. Box 26807, Tucson, AZ 85726.
You are exactly right. She trades insult for insult while so many conservatives are in a state of status panic trying to look like nice guys.
1 instance? You mention one instance? Well, now that's REAL proof Ann is better.
And because he doesn't stick his finger in their eyes is why more people listen to him instead of tuning him out....like they do Ann Coulter.
Ouch! Tony if you are reading this, no offense. Maybe having a column that is safe for liberal editors isn't what gets respect amongst conservatives at FR.
I love Ann because her brain is like a roladex of information. If someone says A she counters not only with B, but about 10 bits of fact to validate it.
She is incredible. She doesn't just bite back, but there are fact based fangs in that mouth!
Thank you....as a conservative (yes, I really am one) I would have to say she is not one of my favorites.....to be fair I have not read any of her columns but never have liked how she comes across when I see her on FOX.....
Being a woodworker, I would like to point out that a three-legged stool is always stable, no matter the surface it sets on. It is always the fourlegged, or more table, stool or chair that wobbles, and occasionally needs a match book or other shimming to sit properly.
The editor intimates incorrectly that it would be difficult and undesirable to build a three legged stool.
Hopefully you will reassess and clarify your evaluation.
I personally consider myself to be a fairly conservative person and while I think that Ann Coulter can be amazingly intelligent, quick witted, and funny at times I think it can also be her own worst enemy.
She's usually right, but if the goal is to make liberals realize she's right, the way to convince them is not to insult them or call for their death in the title or first sentence of the book or article. When people are insulted or threatened they go on the defensive and are less open to new ideas.
If however she is not trying to sway public opinion then what is her purpose? Preaching to the choir seems like wasted energy.
Not from her point of view if it earns her a good living.
and very likely smaller..and smaller....and smaller :/
and very likely smaller..and smaller....and smaller :/
Got it in one! Well said!
WOW is that what liberals call non-pc truth tellers now ?
It's easy to call yourself a Conservative in a letter just look at you guys you call yourself a Newspaper !
Damn liberal shills !
Just another example of liberal inability to address a real problem. For this rag, it's circulation. Check out these numbers:
1991 Pima County population 674,000
1991 Circulation of this rag 91,000
2004 Pima County population 931,000
2004 circulation of this rag 98,000
So, the county has 250,000 more people and they picked up 7,000 subscribers.
The answer for them - become even more liberal. It's like throwing gasoline on a fire in order to put it out.
Right. Because no conservative who is upbeat and refuses to call his opponents names can be succesful. After all, Ronald Reagan made a career out of insulting democrats. That's why so many voted for him.
You see, in politics the goal is to insult and piss off as many people as possible.
/ sarcasm
She's the same way in her books. She is, basically, something that starts with "b" and rhymes with "witch."
Agree completely. Ann's a pioneer.
There's `pre'-Ann Coulter: The Today show, the CBS Evening News, etc.--all taken seriously. And then there's `post'-Ann Coulter, where we are today. I'll take post.
Shrill? You may not recall that Katie & Co. treated her like an addled, misbehaving child. She was one of the first to tell smarmy Cronkite-types: "If I want any more *stuff* out of you, I'll unscrew your head." And then she did.
Ann is Phyllis Schlafly, 2005. She gets better every year.
(Gushing completed, capping successful.)
Thanks for the additional info and perspective. We'll have to see how Tony Snow does with our readers.
David Stoeffler
I am perplexed as to how he will know, if he takes at face value emails from "conservatives" who object to Ann Coulter. If he checks the ISP of the emails, they probably mainly come from the liberal reporters in the newsroom.
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