What a jolt to return from vacation and find more than 1,000 e-mails from readers with questions, objections, and suggestions about the Globe. But we rolled up our proverbial sleeves electronically — or is it our electronic sleeves proverbially? Whatever, now they’ve all been read and guess what? Most were thoughtful and sometimes erudite. Many were well-written, often passionate, and a few brought a smile to the face of the ombudsman, no easy task.
Herewith a sample, along with answers from the staff:
David Klein, Haddonfield, N.J.: The article entitled ”America could learn about manners from the Japanese” by Ellen Goodman is insulting to the memory of tens of thousands of American and Allied soldiers brutalized by Japan. While we’ve apologized numerous times for the submarine accident, Japan never apologized for Pearl Harbor nor for the murder of millions of civilians. Get real, Bleeding Hearts!
Goodman: I certainly don’t think the Japanese are paragons of virtue and in the column, you’ll see that I note they have a lot to apologize for. But this is peacetime and a genuine apology by us was too slow in coming. Be assured that this daughter of a World War II vet is well aware of our history.
Mary Derie, Internet: I read Judith Gaines’s article in The Globe Magazine on the Boston subway system. It was great, but whatever the MBTA was accomplishing with undercover cops is nullified. Why on earth did she have to include descriptions of all those working undercover? It was frivolous.
Gaines: Far from frivolous, the descriptions were included with the knowledge and cooperation of the undercover unit. Based on such vague descriptions — ”a construction worker,” or ”a blue collar guy going to work” — you could ride the Red, Blue, Green, and Orange lines all day and not identify a single undercover agent.
Brad Scully, Internet: Bob Hohler’s article about Hideo Nomo is plain wrong. Ichiro faced Shigetoshi Hasegawa earlier this season, as noted by several members of the media prior to and during the game. For Hohler not to be aware of this is inexcusable. He obviously did not do his research.
Hohler: Thanks for your vigilance. But sometimes there may be excuses even for the inexcusable. First, the second paragraph of the story made clear that Nomo was the first Japanese starting pitcher Suzuki had faced in America. Hasagawa is a reliever. And each game story I filed for early and late editions included this paragraph: ”Last month, Suzuki singled off Anaheim reliever Shigetoshi Hasegawa in the first major league matchup of a Japanese pitcher and Japanese batter.” In the edition you received, that may have been cut for space considerations.
Laurence Tribe, Harvard Law School: Although I’m a well-informed and highly educated reader, I experience enormous frustration, especially on Sundays, in locating things within the Globe. Today, I wanted to know where I could find information about which movies are playing where. In the classified Index on page A-2, I looked under Arts (no entry), under Films (no entry), and under Movies (no entry). The index proved useless. I was about to give up when I happened upon the movie listings in Arts Etc., Section M. If I had this problem despite my background and general literacy, I imagine many others experience the same problem. If the entire paper weren’t so voluminous and so filled with purely commercial material, it wouldn’t be that big a deal to locate a topic by flipping through. A reader shouldn’t find it necessary to search without guidance for something as common as film times. I hope you can correct this defect by putting more care into the preparation of a more comprehensive index.
Mary Jane Wilkinson, Deputy Managing Editor/Sunday: When someone of Professor Tribe’s accomplishments has difficulty navigating the paper, it makes me think twice about the system we’re using. I’d like to believe the index is easier to figure out than court documents. On Page 2 each Sunday, we attempt to direct readers to major sections and features as well as to classified advertising. There is the danger that because the editors know where to find things we assume readers do, too. We’ll accept this as a challenge from Professor Tribe and take another look at the index.
C.R. Krieger, Lowell: What happens to letters to the editor? If one writes about a columnist, say Eileen McNamara, but the editors elect not to use the letter, is it forwarded to her for (1) consideration or (2) amusement? Are letters that don’t make it to print circulated amongst writers for their edification? Are they posted on a bulletin board, like Dear Johns, for the amusement of the staff?
Robert Turner: deputy editor of the editorial page: Letters chosen for publication that comment on a story or column are sent to the writers, who may raise questions of fact. The writers do not approve nor disapprove of publication; we print many letters critical of Globe stories and columns. Hard-copy letters and e-mail letters are available to editorial page staffers but are not posted or otherwise widely circulated. So if you’re writing a letter to the editor and want to ensure a reporter or columnist sees it, send a copy to him or her.
Joshua McInerney, Internet: Regarding ”Hotel Intrigue” by Steve Bailey, it’s strange that Mr. Jacques’s personal life is newsworthy of the Business Section of the Globe. Since when does the Globe allow its writers to take on smear campaigns on small businessmen. I guess the Globe is trying to steal customers from Star magazine. Mr. Bailey is a disgrace.
Bailey: Mr. McInerney is not alone in wanting to dispatch me to the Star. Here is why I wrote what I wrote: The Boston Harbor Hotel is one of the city’s best. It lost two top executives over this issue. Hilton, which manages the hotel, was concerned enough to send in accountants to review the situation. And the general manager, according to court documents, was fired from his last job for an alleged relationship with a subordinate. All together, pretty interesting stuff.
