A record response to the Star-Telegram comics survey flooded us with feedback. And from that sea of information came forth signs of deadwood in the daily lineup.
We’d been fishing for deadwood. That’s why we asked readers in the weeks before Thanksgiving to tell us what they read, not which strips and single panels were their favorites. We asked readers to rate the features according to whether they read them “almost always,” “often,” “sometimes,” “practically never” or “no answer.”
The percentages mentioned below are from totals for “almost always.”
We figured that if a feature on the comics pages draws so little interest that it’s relatively ignored, it’s certainly not a favorite. It’s a dead spot that we can enliven with new material.
We have such an opportunity, according to the 6,536 surveys that readers returned to us via the online form (which was used for the first time) and the in-paper form that had to be mailed in. Thanks to all who took part.
Readers have always participated well in the nonscientific survey. The last survey, in 2000, brought 3,362 responses via mail and e-mail. In 1999, there were 1,033 responses.
This time, we employed Internet technology and gained 2,506 responses. Meanwhile, mail-in responses climbed to 4,030 — a record response as well.
Family Circus appears to be the most-read feature (71.7 percent) followed by For Better or For Worse (65.4 percent) and Hagar the Horrible (65.3 percent).
The strips that barely draw interest are three of the four new strips that were introduced late last summer when The New York Times’ crossword puzzle was moved from the left-hand comics page to the Life & Arts section.
Although one of the four strips, Pickles, has quickly established strong and growing readership (36.7 percent), there was little reader interest in Get Fuzzy (15.1 percent), Jump Start (12.7 percent) and Frazz (12.2 percent).
The results generally sketch the same picture that a scientific survey would have found, said Gary Kromer, Ph.D., director of research for the Star-Telegram.
Kromer notes that mail-in response from readers in the age-55-and-older group was so heavy that it skewed results, requiring “weighting” to restore demographic balance.
As Kromer studied the response, he saw three types of readers: those who relish offbeat humor, those who prefer to laugh at everyday family life, and those who are loyal to the classic strips, most of which have outlived their creators.
Those tastes vary greatly, but the Star-Telegram’s daily two-page package of 34 comic strips and eight single-panel cartoons tries to appeal to them.
By my count, the mix leans heavily toward family life and the classics and less toward offbeat, edgy material that draws a few complaints now and then but is widely read.
It all adds up to a daily part of the Star-Telegram that’s read religiously by many readers. That’s why we publish 730 pages of comics every year, not counting the Sunday Comics.
By any measure, that’s a substantial investment in reader entertainment, and it looks as though we’re going to have openings for two or three new comic strips.
We’ll study the survey results further and search for new material.
We’ll get back with you in two weeks with our thinking.
The results
Comic strip followed by the percentage of respondents who marked it “almost always” read:
Top 10:
Family Circus 71.7
For Better/For Worse 65.4
Hagar the Horrible 65.3
Garfield 64.2
Beetle Bailey 63.2
Peanuts 62.5
Dennis the Menace 58.5
B.C. 57.6
Pluggers 56.2
Baby Blues 56.1
Bottom 10:
Baldo 31.7
Sherman’s Lagoon 30.2
Mallard Fillmore 28.1
Cathy 25.1
Curtis 24.2
Doonesbury 23.8
Mutts 23.4
Get Fuzzy 15.1
Jump Start 12.7
Frazz
