Bert

Peaches: I meant to say something about your concerns about the way we played the stem cell story. I think you may be right about that one, and I’ve said so in the office. This is a complex story in which people are invested deeply on both sides – as if there are only two sides to the issue. If I remember correctly, we clearly represented the opponents of lifting the restrictions on the front page but the stories that day, taken as whole, could lead one to believe that the newspaper was celebrating the decision. I honestly believe the decision making in this case – including my own – was off key. We tried to make up for it in subsequent editions, but that one gave me pause as well. Thanks for giving us another chance.

I agree will Jack about the online news articles. After about a week or so, replace them. The articles about the Weeks have been online for months. Keep them fresh.

What about a section dedicated to helping those readers that have been devastated by the recession? Articles on jobs, job fairs, training opportunities, etc. Along this line, how about more help with seeking the best price for goods, perhaps help locating coupons, free services, etc.

Each month, each municipality in each county has a Council Meeting. How about including those in the Metro sections in the county coverages?

When we read about a subject, it would be nice to be able to read the previous articles on it as well. We have to pay to enter the archives to do this. Could you create a link online, in the article, so the previous articles can be viewed also?

I enjoy reading the AJC every day. It is set as my homepage. Good Luck!

And again, I challenge everyone who comes to this conversation with a preconception about the AJC to have the courage to be challenged by actually reading the newspaper for a couple of weeks. If you see evidence of bias or anything else that concerns you, let me know and I’ll take your concerns to heart.

To those who no longer receive the paper, it breaks my heart. But let me say again we didn’t leave your parts of the state by choice. I guess we could continue printing everywhere in Georgia and continue with the same size and staff we had in 1990, but I’m guessing we’d be broke in a matter of weeks. We’re are taking these steps to preserve the newspaper because we believe in what we do. Let’s all hope for better days.
On sports, it’s true we’ve reduced space and have become pretty conservative about how we assign reporters and editors. It isn’t that we don’t care, it’s that we must respond to the realities in front of us. And we’re are listening very closely to sports readers as we proceed. When we can make changes that are within our means, we do. But it would be dishonest of me to suggest that sports readers wouldn’t see the difference. My best advice is to be patient with us as we move through these changes but make it clear to us what you believe you must have in your sports report.

We don’t have a military writer at the moment. As I hope you know, we’ve had some good ones in the past. Let me take that concern on board as we look at our staffing. If you have a specific story you’d like to discuss, give me a shout.

And Billy, if you sit in the target, you get dunked. That comes with joining the carnival.

Those of you with specific service complaints, I will share those with the right folks on Monday. And let me know how it goes. I’m at broughton@ajc.com, 404-526-5681.

As long as the AJC has Bookman, Luckovich and Tucker it will continue to die a slow death. I know you have one conservative columnist but frankly- he is just a token so the AJC can pretend to present both sides. Hey, you have a cool last name…but good luck. The AJC is sinking fast.

I think it’s admirable how you’re responding to the veiled attacks here by some. We all know it’s a tough economy…some things have to change, whether we all like them or not. That’s just the truth of it.

Anyway, keep up the good work. You’ve still got a supporter in me.