Letter To The International Herald Tribune
Mr. Oreskes,
As a long time reader of the International Herald Tribune, I want to voice my strong complaints about the changes you have made to your newspaper over the past few days.
I have lived in France for eight years and during that time, picking up a copy of the IHT and reading it in a cafe has been one of the highlights of my day. While some would say it would be easier to simply get my news online - for free - I'm old fashioned enough to be willing to pay 2.5 euros for your publication.
I always felt it was worth it - until yesterday.
The changes you've made to the comics section are inexcusable. I'm only 39 years old, but you have made the comics so small I had to put on my glasses to be able to read them. Plus, you have removed some of the most comforting strips - like Beetle Bailey - simply to be able to run a daily Sudoku puzzle.
I understand that Sudoku is popular - but to be honest, if that's what I was looking for I can buy a book of 100 Sudoku puzzles for two euros at the train station.
The new editorial pages also are disappointing. If there is one feature that has always made the IHT stand out, it has been the quality and caliber of your Editorial and Op-Ed page. To see the amount of space reduced in favor of a large advertisement is deeply disappointing.
As to the new logo: Sorry, but I don't want to be reading “The International Edition of The New York Times.” If all I wanted was to read The New York Times I'd either read it online, or have my family buy and mail me copies of it. (In fact, it would probably end up being cheaper for my family to buy and send me 30 days’ worth of the Times once a month than it is to purchase the IHT everyday.)
One of the bright spots of the IHT over the years has been the sense of its independent editorial slant. That's why when I'm in the United States, I purchase the IHT instead of the Times when I can find it.
I hope you do not take my complaints lightly. I come from a newspaper family. My mother has been a newspaper executive her entire life and I was journalist for Gannett for 10 years before I moved to France.
It would take a lot for me to no longer purchase the only American-produced printed news source in France - but that is a choice I am seriously considering.
Thank you for your time,
Bart Calendar
As a long time reader of the International Herald Tribune, I want to voice my strong complaints about the changes you have made to your newspaper over the past few days.
I have lived in France for eight years and during that time, picking up a copy of the IHT and reading it in a cafe has been one of the highlights of my day. While some would say it would be easier to simply get my news online - for free - I'm old fashioned enough to be willing to pay 2.5 euros for your publication.
I always felt it was worth it - until yesterday.
The changes you've made to the comics section are inexcusable. I'm only 39 years old, but you have made the comics so small I had to put on my glasses to be able to read them. Plus, you have removed some of the most comforting strips - like Beetle Bailey - simply to be able to run a daily Sudoku puzzle.
I understand that Sudoku is popular - but to be honest, if that's what I was looking for I can buy a book of 100 Sudoku puzzles for two euros at the train station.
The new editorial pages also are disappointing. If there is one feature that has always made the IHT stand out, it has been the quality and caliber of your Editorial and Op-Ed page. To see the amount of space reduced in favor of a large advertisement is deeply disappointing.
As to the new logo: Sorry, but I don't want to be reading “The International Edition of The New York Times.” If all I wanted was to read The New York Times I'd either read it online, or have my family buy and mail me copies of it. (In fact, it would probably end up being cheaper for my family to buy and send me 30 days’ worth of the Times once a month than it is to purchase the IHT everyday.)
One of the bright spots of the IHT over the years has been the sense of its independent editorial slant. That's why when I'm in the United States, I purchase the IHT instead of the Times when I can find it.
I hope you do not take my complaints lightly. I come from a newspaper family. My mother has been a newspaper executive her entire life and I was journalist for Gannett for 10 years before I moved to France.
It would take a lot for me to no longer purchase the only American-produced printed news source in France - but that is a choice I am seriously considering.
Thank you for your time,
Bart Calendar