Wed, Dec 03, 2008

Opinion

Reader Advocate

My opinion Debbie Kornmiller : Funny you asked; comic changes minimal

My opinion Debbie Kornmiller
Reader Advocate
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 05.06.2007
Inquiring readers last week wanted to know: ● When will the comics survey results appear? Rosemary Carmody e-mailed: "Several months ago the Star offered a survey of the current comics to get readers' opinions on which should stay and which go. Did you dump that in a scrap heap or is something actually going to come of it?''
Features Editor Maria Parham said the results and the changes will appear Sunday, May 20. For the most part readers like the comics that now appear and didn't care for the ones that were tested as possible replacements. The delay in implementing and announcing any changes is due to a delay on the availability of one of the comics that will be added, she said.
● Why did the business section suddenly drop TIAA-CREF from the mutual fund listings? Joseph Cowan e-mailed "Please pass along my request that they not only reinstate coverage of TIAA-CREF funds but if possible include even more of those funds than they did before.''
Business Editor Tim Steller received similar questions from readers and posted this response April 27 on his department's Clocking In blog, on the right at www.azstarnet.com/ business.
"We've received a few calls lately from readers asking why we no longer publish any TIAA-CREF mutual-fund prices.
"On April 23, the TIAA-CREF mutual funds merged with other funds that haven't yet applied to be included in the AP media list. This is the list we use to publish our mutual-fund listings.
"Data for the funds are still available online, on Internet sites like Yahoo! For now, that is the best way to find the latest values of your TIAA-CREF funds.''
All of the business writers and editors contribute to Clocking In, a blog of behind-the-scenes and niche news.
● When a concert review appears online only, where exactly is it? Don Benjamin called because he couldn't find the promised review of last Sunday's Arlo Guthrie Family Legacy Tour concert at Centennial Hall.
The Accent section Tuesday urged readers to look online at www. azstarnet.com. Benjamin did Wednesday and couldn't find it.
I found the review, part of writer Gerald Gay's blog Planet Tucson, on aznightbuzz.com, the Star's youth-oriented entertainment site. That's also home to the Star's entertainment blogs on movies, TV, poker, music and where you can listen to local music. To find the review directly, go to http://regulus2.azstarnet.com/ blogs/planettucson/3730.
Don and Barbara Benjamin, by the way, not only attended the concert but sponsored it as well. As for the review, Barbara Benjamin said it was "absolutely accurate, terrific.''
Bungled a bit
Democratic candidate John Edwards was in Tucson Thursday. But using the Star for details on how to hear him speak would have kept you at home.
The only mention in the Star of Edwards' upcoming visit was one line on the Editorial page that said he'd be "speaking this afternoon at the Plumbers and Pipefitters Hall in Tucson.'' No more information was given on the Editorial page because a news story was expected. One was written, but didn't appear because it was dated wrong — March 2, 2007 — so it wasn't picked up by the page designer.
Editors posted a news update online Thursday morning, but left out the time and address. By the time I tracked that down for Lorna Pierson, Democratic committee chairwoman, Precinct 123, she pointed out that the correct address was for the Plumbers and Steam Fitters hall, not the Plumbers and Pipefitters hall as was in the stories and based on a press release.
Finally, six hours after my first reader phone call, all five W's — who, what, where, when and why — were in the story, with barely an hour to spare before the event.
Contact Debbie Kornmiller weekdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 434-4080 or advocate@azstarnet.com.