We asked for it, and you have been busy this week telling us what you like and don’t like about the business section of The Salt Lake Tribune.
I like to think about this process as a conversation. I always welcome the comments — even when they are harsh — because your opinions form the consensus of those who read the paper.
Sometimes your comments start with phrases like “What the hell is wrong with you people?” I heard that phrase many times from readers who were upset with the redesign of the weather page. We heard your discontent, and our Assistant Managing Editor for Presentation Josh Awtry is on about the eighth version of a new design. He has responded by e-mail to many readers who wrote about specific concerns with the weather page, such as color-blindness or other vision problems.
We take your comments seriously.
Nancy Conway, editor of The Salt Lake Tribune, says the paper exists to serve the readers: “They are everything.”
If you missed the note in the Money section, I’ll give you the gist. We want you to rank these features from 1 (being the least value) to 5 (the most value):
? Humberto Cruz column
? The Wall Street Journal pages
? Small Talk/ Small Business
? Good Housekeeping reports
? Patents
? Weekly Business Calendar
Your opinions are especially important at a time when the size of newspapers is shrinking because advertising has
declined.
One reader wrote:
“I have learned so much about keeping my finances is order from reading the Sunday Money section. Not being in business, I skip over any articles aimed at business owners such as Small Talk. I do, however, read the Wall Street Journal section completely. The business calendar, Good Housekeeping and patents are of no interest to me.
“Humberto Cruz provides practical information that is appreciated. A writer who is not an expert in finances writing about his or her personal discoveries, successes and failures with money would be interesting to the neophyte personal investor. In short, articles about personal finance, the stock market workings and saving for retirement are what I glean the most benefit from. More of this would be welcome.”
Other Feedback
Our News of The Weird feature has created consternation for some of you. Several days in the last few weeks we have forgotten to put the feature in the paper, and one day we ran the same News of The Weird items we ran earlier in the week.
This kind of problem makes some of you crazy. Several folks have told me the bright spot among all of the sad news in tough times is this feature that presents some of the seriously stupid things people do, some of the oddest lifestyles and other little strange items that can at least put a smile on your face and perhaps a giggle in your throat.
Our staff seems to have mastered the new software, so hopefully we will get better at remembering to put your favorite features in their proper places.
College Scholarships
The Salt Lake Tribune offers several scholarships to high school seniors who show great promise in journalism. This is part of a number of activities we do to encourage high school and college journalism in Utah.
Journalism teachers might want to encourage their best students to apply. Send a cover letter, a rsum and samples of work, plus a teacher recommendation to me at the address below by Jan. 22.
