Letter to the Sacramento Bee

Dan Schaub
Senior Vice President

Dear Sir:

As I was framing my response to your letter and one from my local carrier, I saw a 1/4 page pictorial in your Sunday issue featuring Mayor Kevin Johnson reading your paper, for which, as the ad copy said, the "audience is growing." Well, it's not growing in the I-5 corridor north of town, where we are now faced with three unsavory alternatives: Pay an outrageous increase in price, read it on the internet, or receive the paper by mail at least a day late, which turns the "news" into the "olds."

I have read a newpaper every day for at least 50 years, and you have decided to attempt to deprive me of that pleasure. Almost invariably, my perusal of the paper has been accompanied by a meal, but I refuse to turn my computer room into a breakfast nook. Fortunately, for the time being, I still receive home delivery of the Chico Enterprise-Record, a smaller but more politically pleasing publication. Let me know when you are truly interested in having me back.

As for your editor, who spends most of her time writing long, rambling articles attempting to justify her existence, you might suggest she do some proofreading instead, as the paper is rife with apologies for its mistakes.