What do you want to see in the Roadrunner?




Sometimes, it’s funny how things turn out. If you were to go back as little as 20 years ago, you would find a lot of community newspapers looking like the Valley Roadrunner. That is to say broadsheets, the traditional big-size look about 11-12 inches wide and 20 inches, or more, long.

This put the Roadrunner and those community newspapers looking like in the same class as the New York Times or Washington Post, if looks alone sufficed as one’s journalistic guide.

A lot has changed in the newspaper business over the last two decades, a lot more than many readers, much less publishers, ever could imagine.

Newspapers were cash cows for a long time. If somebody wanted to get the word out about anything in any community, small or large, they had no choice but go to a newspaper. Publishers reaped the benefits of this, as it turned out, relatively short-lived phenomenon before, heaven forbid, the Internet and World Wide Web changed information dissemination forever.

As competition became fierce for informational resources, and revenue, many smaller, community publications went to tabloid style to save printing costs. These tabloids are narrower than broadsheets, smaller and fold into neat little origami patterns if you like. Bottom line, they’re cheaper.

How many community newspapers do you think remain the very old school essence of community journalism? How many in San Diego County look like that old-line substantial holder of all that can be printed about the community?

The answer to the first question is not many. The answer to the San Diego County question is one. You’re looking at it right now.

That, if nothing else, makes this newspaper unique and worth having in today’s crazy world. Sure, we’re all looking online for instantly breaking news and everything else. I’m doing it. You’re doing it. The Roadrunner maintains an active website for all that jazz.

As many online journalism and community sites dot the cyberspace as there are stars in the sky. Some are good. Some are not so good.

However, we have the real deal in print here. A genuine, what newspapers should look like, broadsheet that you can throw on a coffee table and that’s special. There are but a few of these community broadsheets left, keeping this fast-fading heart of journalism beating, alive and well, well into the 21st Century.

It’s a pleasure bringing the community something special. But we want feedback to bring content in line with what people want to see on their community’s permanent record.

Here’s a quick template for anybody wanting to help us improve what we send you in our unique broadsheet. You don’t have to “snail mail” it, that would be asking too much. Feel free, though, to email any, or all, answers as well as other suggestions to editor@ValleyCenter.com. We’ll see what we can do.

What do you want to see in the Roadrunner?

1. What do you turn to first in the Roadrunner?

2. What is your favorite part of the paper? Why?

3. What is your least favorite part of the paper? Why?

4. Is there any part of the news you would like to see covered more?

5. Is there any part of the news you would like to see less of?

6. When you pick up your local paper, what do you expect to see there?

7. If you don’t currently subscribe, can you tell us why not?

8. A subscription costs 50 cents a week. What would the Roadrunner need to add to its coverage for you to spend the 50 cents?

9. How do you read the paper? Online? Subscriber? Rack copies? Email or app?



*Note: Opinions expressed by columnists and letter writers are those of the writers and not necessarily those of the newspaper.

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