Doonesbury Readers Are Second-Class Citizens

Of course, in Bush's Amerika, we already knew that, didn't we?

From the Bloomington, IL, Daily Pantagraph (sic):

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Get 'Doonesbury' out of Classified ads

Pantagraph Editorial
Get `Doonesbury' out of Classified ads

"Experienced Bartenders - apply in person'' ... not there! "Great Dane - free to good home'' ... no, not here! "Looking for a Porsche? Or a piano? Need to clean out your garage?'' No, not there either! My daily search for "Doonesbury'' begins again.

It rankles that because my societal and political outlook tends to the independent side, even though I have been a "Pantagraph'' subscriber for 30-plus years, I am relegated to second-class reader status. Dragged daily through the want-ads on a search to read a column that should be on the Op-Ed pages.

When the familiar irritation passes, it occurs to me that perhaps this isn't personal. Maybe I'm incorrect in my perception that I'm being regularly chastised for my interest in "Doonesbury''! Perhaps it's positioning in the want-ads is really a very savvy marketing tool! But you know, if the readership of "Doonesbury'' is as small as you seem to think we are, maybe this plan isn't serving the paper as well as it could. Your strategy would be better served by selecting a comic to search for in the want-ads that reflects the interest of the majority of your readers. I vote for Beetle Bailey!

Remember when wingnuts complained that "Doonesbury" belonged on the editorial page because of its purely political content-- and not where children could find it on the comics page?


File this under: Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose, y'all!