Jeremy Boyer: Vanished page was certainly noticed

By Jeremy Boyer

Friday, June 26, 2009 12:01 AM EDT

Two Saturdays ago, the phone calls were flooding our customer service desk.
A computer error that we failed to catch resulted in a page that was supposed be printed in the Sunday edition to actually be published in that Saturday's paper. And a page that was supposed to run Saturday was no where to be found. (We ended up running that on Sunday with a note to readers on the front page.)

Plenty of people were calling Saturday morning to ask about the missing page, which happened to be the one that contains comics, advice columns, a sudoku puzzle and the horoscopes.

Obviously, we hated to make that mistake, but I did manage to find one silver lining in that incident - it confirmed the value of that page to our readers.

Even though the comics/advice page is typically buried in the paper - usually page B5 and sometimes on B6 - many readers said they're always sure to turn to it as part of their daily reading of The Citizen. In fact, a few said they go to it before reading anything else.

This feedback got me thinking again about the content that we're now running on that page. I had asked readers a few months ago to offer some thoughts on which daily comic strips we should keep, which we should throw out and which we should try to get.

I received a decent amount of input on that, and this incident has reminded me to take a thorough look at the page.

Coincidentally, a few days after the page switch debacle, a representative from a syndicate that sells comic strips and columns stopped by the office to pitch some of her products. She was particularly pushing a comic strip called Pickles by Brian Crane, and suggested that perhaps we drop For Better or for Worse or Beetle Bailey to fit it in.

Like a good consumer, I made no on-the-spot commitments but promised to look into it. If readers have some opinions on that potential switch, I'd welcome them. (Comics.com/pickles is a place you can check out that strip.)

We're also coming up on a decision to make about our daily sudoku puzzle. We had been getting that puzzle for free but the vendor now plans to start charging for it, so I'm curious about how much value readers give to that feature. Is there a different puzzle or feature you'd rather have in that space, or do you look forward to the mathematical challenge each day.

One thing the calls did make clear - people love the horoscope. It seems like that's something we'd be smart to leave alone.

Executive editor Jeremy Boyer's columns appear Tuesdays in The Citizen and he can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 231 or at jeremy.boyer@lee.net

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There are 3 comment(s)

cm wrote on Jun 23, 2009 7:46 PM:

" I would have to agree that the comics are not very comical in the past few months!
Pickles would be my choice to get, we have it in our paper! "

Farmer's Gal wrote on Jun 23, 2009 1:00 PM:

" Beetle Bailey is only a tiny step above Marmaduke and Family Circus for stupid -- the same handful of simple jokes over and over and over. I've seen Pickles in other papers, and it's OK -- better than any of the others I've mentioned here -- feel free to dump any/all of them. "

anonymous wrote on Jun 23, 2009 8:49 AM:

" Dump Beetle Bailey? Are you freaking kidding me? I check every day trying to find the guy's eyes. "

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