From the Editor: We listened; we’re bringing back NYT crossword

Published 1:30 am Sunday, March 26, 2017

On March 1, the Daily Herald took the cost-saving step of reducing the number of syndicated columns and comics it publishes. I predicted the change would not win any popularity contests — and I was right.

For three weeks, we’ve listened to voice messages and read emails from hundreds of you. And, far and away, the single biggest issue has been the elimination of the daily New York Times crossword puzzle. So, starting tomorrow, the puzzle returns.

Although it did not bring nearly as many comments, the loss of our bridge column was the second-place finisher. We certainly aren’t the only source of this kind of content — Amazon lists more than 1,500 titles for bridge quizzes and puzzles (more than 50 of them by our former contributor, Frank Stewart). But readers made a convincing case that bridge is not just a game, but a “community” activity. And so, we are talking to local bridge fans about providing local bridge content for our pages. We’ll announce that once it is worked out.

What other themes came through?

Differing opinions: Many readers seemed willing to accept our need to economize, but felt we were dropping the exact wrong features. The problem was that features some people cherished were the exact ones others disdained.

A sampling of what readers wrote:

Most of the comics I enjoy have remained but I very much will miss Pooch Cafe and Phoebe and her Unicorn. I do not read Zits, Big Nate nor Mother Goose and Grimm, and selfishly wish those had been chosen to disappear instead.

I don’t understand your selection of comics. How could you keep mediocre strips like Big Nate and Mother Goose and Grimm and leave out two of the best comics ever: Luann and Tundra? I also hope that you bring back Pooch Cafe. I’m glad that you kept Pearls Before Swine, Dilbert, and Zits. And thank goodness Phoebe and her Unicorn are gone!

I would give up WUMO, Big Nate and Carolyn Hax and even a couple political columnists but please please please bring back Buckles.

New York Times crossword puzzle: These messages were not just the most numerous but also the most pointed. Samples:

My husband and I are devastated by the news that you are dropping the NY Times Crossword. We do the crossword to warm up our brains every morning before we start the day. The puzzles are not “just” entertainment. They are informative, clever and often funny.

I believe we are a majority of your subscribers who don’t “do” online reading of the Herald if we’re at home. A paper in hand with a cup of coffee is a great way to start the the day. … For mental stimulation I do the New York Times crossword, which gets progressively more difficult through the week. The “Daily Crossword” is a joke! No educational value what so ever.

Dear Abby: Although not as prevalent as bridge or the New York Times puzzle, fans of the vintage advice column also weighed in:

The rest of the changes are fine but I’m really going to miss Dear Abby. Don‘t much care for Carolyn Hax. One has to work through her sarcasm to figure out what she’s really trying to say, where as Dear Abby gets to the point, most often in an empathetic way.

A newspaper isn’t a newspaper without Dear Abby and the comics. … What is the point of getting the paper now?

Some of these callers and writers seemed sympathetic when they learned the distributor charges top dollar for Dear Abby, even though the originator retired in 2002 and died four years ago.

Local news: When I announced the cuts, I described them as necessary, not optional. They are the kinds of tough decisions newspapers must make if they intend to be around, covering their communities for years to come.

And among the brickbats, it was reassuring to get supportive messages from our readers as well:

I have to say, after I read your article “changes begin in today’s paper,” the first thought I had was to cancel your paper; but that thought went swiftly away because I like to know what is going on in our community. I am going to continue subscribing.

You have done well with your changes. Local topics investigated and reported by staff writers is my main interest in The Herald, and you have some very good reporters and writers. I have grown fond of the Street Smarts, and (Robert) Horton, the film critic, is usually bang-on. You are welcome to also dump Charles Krauthammer and his ilk as well as the items reprinted from the Washington and New York papers.

I support the changes you made to preserve economic viability of The Herald. I think the news is more important than the “comics” page. I have subscribed to The Herald for 40 years and hope that it’s around for at least another 40.

Neal Pattison is The Herald’s executive editor.