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.
This guy wants us to believe that the conservatives complained about Ann Coulter, but the liberals did not. Ummmm-hmmmm.... I've got a nice piece of choice Florida real estate for anyone who believes that.
Everything after "IMO" is wrong.
/Thoughtfully yours
He replaced Coulter with another conservative columnist. He didn't drop the conservative viewpoint from the op-ed section.
If this were a "real" Ann Coulter thread, there would be pictures. Lots and lots of pictures.
Will they also remove Helen Thomas or Maureen Dowd?
This paper sounds like the paper in my hometown. They've all but eliminated any conservative "opinions" and letters to the editor.
You have a valid argument, but it is not a sound one. If her points are fact-based, and Moore's Franken's are not, then they are not simply two sides of an ideological coin. It's not just ideology, it's also "facts".
Having said that, I admit Anne can write like a buzzsaw.
Enjoy FR ;-)
Bogus. Clearly anyone who complained about Ann lied when he defined himself as a conservative.
I guess you know about these changes in your hometown paper eh?
If he had any balls at all, he'd have replaced Annie with Mark Steyn.
Link says requested document not on this server??
I agree. Coulter is OK, but I find her shrill at times. I really like Tony alot.
Suuuuuuure they were.......
She IS bombastic, but I still enjoy reading her.
Hmmmmm.... When I clicked onto it on the newspaper website, it goes to an Outlook email. Just cut and paste the addy into a composed email. That'll work...
Personally I like the idea of replacing Coulter with Tony Snow. But I guess it would be asking too much to have TWO right-leaning people at one time.
I know what you're saying about the Editorial pages, but there is one editorial section that is worth reading whenever you can get it. The Wall Street Journal has the best and only editorial section that I read. They always have interesting people including world leaders, Nationally known politicians and business leaders from around the world. I strongly suggest you check it out if you have not seen it before. My two cents.
Lessee which conservative columnist gets more attention at a conservative forum. Tony Snow’s talk show thread gets a lot of views, but FR little notes nor long remembers what he writes. The last column of his someone posted was August 10th. It garnered 266 views and 7 replies.
On News/Activism 08/05/2005 4:43:54 PM PDT · 7 replies · 266+ views
Ann Coulter’s column August 5 had 2,125 vies and 54 replies.
On News/Activism 08/10/2005 4:26:30 PM PDT · 54 replies · 2,125+ views
Ann’s “abrasive” column was such a turn-off for conservatives, that she had seven times as many commenting posts, and eight times as many views.
Obviously, gaining more readership isn't what is motivating this move.
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