EVERY SO OFTEN, WE IN THE publishing business get to doing things a certain way and we just take it for granted that our readers will "get it." Every so often we are reminded that we aren't doing things in a clear and consistent manner. Those reminders come from you, the readers who expect us to put out a newspaper that is entertaining, practical and useful.
The other day, I received an e-mail from a reader who liked the way we were presenting our casino headliner listings ... up until we went and changed things up on him (and all of you). This wasn't the only response we got, so I thought I'd share it with you, along with my response, so that those of you who were similarly perplexed might understand what went down.
Why is it that in the last [two or three] issues of your newspaper you have changed? In the "Upcoming Headliners" section you only list [performance] dates which start two or three weeks from your issue date? You previously had listed all dates coming up [including the dates for the coming weekend]. Everyone would like to see what is coming up within the next few weeks without having to look at all pages to find it.
-- R. Faruolo
via acweekly.com's
feedback form
We apologize to Mr. Faruolo and all other readers who are bothered by having to look for this information in three separate places in our paper. Space constraints are continually our cross to bear, and that plays a part in limiting our ability to present the casino headliner information in ways that work best for everyone. But the decision to break our information out in three sections comes from feedback we've gotten from lots of other readers who like being able to look in one place to see at a glance who's in town this week ("Casino Capsule," on pages 42 and 43), in another place for a more comprehensive breakdown of who's coming to town in the next two-week period ("AC Weekly," starting on page 38), and in yet a third location for a quick list of what headliners have been announced to perform here in the next couple of months ("Upcoming Headliners," page 6).
When we have a lot of editorial space we sometimes expand the "Upcoming Headliners" section to include the coming week and to include dates further out, sometimes for months in advance. But when space constraints force us to make cuts, the info that is duplicated elsewhere in the newspaper is eliminated first. We'll try to include all dates in "Upcoming Headliners" as often as we possibly can.
Thanks for your feedback. Even though we don't currently have a "Letters to the Editor" section in AC Weekly, I do -- on occasion -- publish some of your letters in this space. I read all of your letters and learn a lot about how to give you more of what you like to read by doing so. If you have something you'd like to share with us and/or our readers, drop me a line using the contact info below.
We're all ears ...
Go to acweekly.com/feedback to share your thoughts. A form on that page will facilitate your comments. Send e-mail to editor@acweekly.com or send faxes to 646-7338. Snail mail is still an option:
Attn: Editor
Atlantic City Weekly
Bayport One
Suite 350, 8025 Black Horse Pike
West Atlantic City, NJ 08232-2965
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