Welcome to ajcSunday
Charles Gay, Sunday editor
[Thanks for all the feedback. Commenting for this post is now closed. To see what others had to say, scroll to the bottom.]
Sunday is different, isn’t it?
There’s a Seinfeld episode in which goofy Kramer talks about how days of the week have a different “feel.” Certainly Monday feels different from Friday. I don’t know about you, but some of those busy weekdays start to run together for me.
Not Sunday. I treasure my Sundays and I bet you do too. Rather than gulping down breakfast and speed-reading my AJC, I can linger over the A and Sports sections in the early morning. I’m gone for a few hours for church, then back home I pick up Living & Arts over lunch. Maybe some yard work, then back inside to cool off with the Business section. After supper, I’ll scoop up whatever I missed. If it’s a really good paper, I’ll still be reading it into the week.
When we revamped the AJC, we talked a lot to readers and they told us to keep that “Sunday feel” in mind. So you’ll find that ajcSunday is different in many ways:
-Obviously, the new design with all that color. We think it has a relaxing, inviting look that will make you want to spend time with it.
-Content that goes deep in explaining the news of the week. There’s a ton of information out there every day and it can be difficult to digest it all. On Sunday, we take time to explain it to you. As often as possible, our stories are relevant to the news you’ve been hearing about – or will hear about in the days to come.
-More watchdog coverage. Our reporters and editors have redoubled their mission to hold our leaders accountable for their actions and how they spend your tax money.
-Greater attention to balance and transparency. On the opinion pages, we’re debuting our new conservative columnist. And in the news pages, we’re using devices such as “Check Our Sources,” “Pro/Con” and “How We Got the Story” so you can see where we got our information and weigh opposing views.
And there’s lots more you can check out for yourself. I’d like to hear your views on what you’re seeing. Comment on the blog or e-mail us at tellus@ajc.com, or e-mail me directly in the coming weeks at cgay@ajc.com.
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41 comments Add your comment
Hal Boyd
May 3rd, 2009
8:20 am
8:15 and still no paper. It has been late everyday this week. Not a good start for a new product intro. I remain hopeful and cautiously optimistic though….
your target audience
May 3rd, 2009
9:11 am
I’m one of those readers in your ’sweet spot’. I’m over 40 and have subscribed to newspapers in every city I’ve lived in. Your redesign is hideous. The flow of the paper is fouled up. Today, for example, you’ll get to page A8, which starts your “Nation” section. A9 is more Nation, then A10 is story continuations from A1, then a nice 2 page ad, then, on A14, if you can find it, you’ll see “Nation in brief”, then ads and more continuations from A1, then, finally on A19, more “Nation”. This kind of “flow” is evident in the weekday papers too, which drives me nuts. I expect to see the “…in brief” content at the beginning of the section to give me a quick overview of what’s inside.
The color choices for the various sections are quite ugly and don’t make me feel “relaxed” or “invited” to read.
Please make the paper look like one from a major city and not like a neighborhood newsletter designed by an unskilled volunteer. People like me won’t bother looking at the “content” if the paper looks amateurish.
I have enjoyed the AJC for many years and want to see it last for many years to come, but please startup a new “redesign” effort ASAP!
whaler888
May 3rd, 2009
9:43 am
I’d comment on the new Sunday paper but it is now 9:40 and it still has not been delivered.
Just a comment from the weekly edition regarding a headlines that are whiteouts within a color block. Very amatuerish in my opinion, maybe if the letters had a black ink border or some depth and definition to make it really standout would add a “finished” and professional look.
Anyway if I ever get my Sunday paper I let you know what I think.
Charles Gay, Sunday Editor
May 3rd, 2009
9:58 am
Target Audience, we can refine the “flow” issue you address. To a degree we’re constrained by advertising configurations … and I should point out that today we have the full-page guide to the new AJC on A3 which won’t be there in the future. A3 will be available for news and that should help make the flow a bit more pleasing.
This kind of specific feedback is helpful, so thanks for submitting it.
Rosita
May 3rd, 2009
10:11 am
“More in-depth STORES” [sic]? If I were the editor I’d quit trumpeting about improvements until I was able to hire someone who could read and write.
George Gardner
May 3rd, 2009
10:32 am
Paper didn’t arrive this morning so I called Customer Service(?) at 8:14.
Was on hold until 8:58…….44 minutes
Is this the type of service we should come to expect?
HS Teacher
May 3rd, 2009
10:32 am
I’m about 4,500 miles away from home this week. Otherwise I would not bother to read the excuses for AJC. After subscribing for 31 years, I stopped. Not much to read on Sunday or any other day of the week. I wondered how my life would be without AJC, but realized the last 5-6 months I didn’t really have it due to all the changes.
For 20 years, I received AJC through News for Kids program once per week in my classroom. In all those years only one student in my class subscribed to AJC. I used to think that was sad–until I stopped it in my own home and realized it was not necessary in my life. Scary thought.
I’ve bought the Sunday paper twice this year for $1 at a roadside vendor. I read most everything in less than 3 hours. It used to be 5-6 hours of information. I don’t have TV by choice and you no longer meet my needs. Seems there are thousands who feel the same way. What happened AJC? You dictate what you want us to know instead of giving what we want. So, I voted with my feet.
bubbatech01
May 3rd, 2009
10:42 am
to the managing editor: okay, i gave it a week, as you suggested. i dont like the style, but am getting used to it. my big deal is still the writing. its like the writers at the AJC on staff really dont seem to care. they give the most shallow and surfaced of accounts. i mean, this is their city. they should report more than some national outlet. its really bad. has everyone that was good left? I am sorry, i wanted to give you a chance, but you really didnt change anything other than the look in my opinion.
Charles Gay, Sunday Editor
May 3rd, 2009
10:43 am
HS Teacher, when you get home I’d ask you to give us another try. The new Sunday paper is the product of more than a year of conversations we’ve had with lots of readers from all over the Atlanta area and we’re trying hard to closely align the news content with reader interests. Spend a couple of bucks one Sunday and see what you think.
And I hear what you’re saying about not spending as much time with the paper, but 3 hours of information/entertainment for $2 is really not a bad value these days.
Red, White & Blue
May 3rd, 2009
10:49 am
There is so much liberal slobber that by the time I get it all wiped off, the paper is not legible. Perhaps I’m having trouble with flow due to the writers’ abilities these days ~ typos and grammatical errors galore! As a reader since 1976, with intermittent moves across the country and much travel globally, I must admit it really is not well thought out. Keep working, I believe it can happen.
sanman
May 3rd, 2009
10:52 am
Mr. Gay: Do you really come home from church and go through the Arts and Leisure sections? Really now. Anyway, the first Sunday section is well done. You should be proud. You sound like an intelligent young man. Probably cut your teeth with some other fine journalists who have since departed. The Sunday paper is good, and I was prepared to be critical. Well done CTG.
Charles Gay, Sunday Editor
May 3rd, 2009
10:56 am
Hey Red, have you checked out Kyle Wingfield, our new conservative columnist on today’s opinion page? It’s his debut column and it’s pretty interesting. Kyle is a Dalton native but he’s spent the past few years writing from Europe for the Wall Street Journal, so he has a unique perspective on the path the U.S. is taking under the Obama administration. Check it out if you haven’t already. One columnist is just one columnist, but I think you’d have to call it a step in the “right” direction. (Sorry.)
Charles Gay, Sunday Editor
May 3rd, 2009
11:01 am
Sanman, have we met somewhere? I’ll have you know I used to be a season ticket holder to the Atlanta Opera and had tix for Friday night but couldn’t make it due to a lingering cough. Opera patrons tend to not appreciate that.
Thanks for the positive feedback.
Scott
May 3rd, 2009
11:02 am
It’s the only printed choice we have and it has grown completely intolerable and almost unreadable since the beginning of the Obama presidential campaign. Think there is a correlation?
Cynthia “Mckinney” Tucker can be singularly credited for it’s decline and she is rewarded with an assignment in Washington DC. Good riddance, she is the most intellectually dishonest new person this city has ever seen.
Charles Gay, Sunday Editor
May 3rd, 2009
11:12 am
Folks, I’m off to First Methodist off the Square in May-retta. If you’re heading that way I’ll be the guy sporting a green bowtie and damp hair. Be back online about 12:30, but y’all keep the comments coming.
sportsfan
May 3rd, 2009
11:13 am
The How Do You Like Me Now column in sports is a really fun idea. But so far, almost every one of them has been someone I, a lifelong AJC readers, couldn’t care less about. And don’t ask me for suggestions. It’s not what I get paid for. Tell your sports staff that in order for people to want an update on someone, they have to have once been someone we cared about.
Patrick
May 3rd, 2009
11:20 am
Charles Gay, I think you hit the nail on the head without realizing it: for you, the paper is A and Sports. For me, it’s Business. For other readers, it’s probably something else.
But you still print just ONE paper and ask everyone to take it or leave it. The redesign is the same. Take it or leave it. That’s just hard to accept when there are plenty of online options that don’t ask readers to settle for anything.
Another problem is distribution. On a typical daily basis, I am never in a place where the paper is sold. Never see vending machines for it. Don’t smoke so no need to go to a store for that. For fuel, pay-at-the-pump means no need to go inside for that either. And grocery stores don’t seem to ever have papers any more. Even if I wanted to read the whole thing (and I usually do when I get one), it’s hard to buy what one never sees.
Home delivery? Not an option for me. My lovely neighbors steal every copy and your subscription sales department is currently asking customers to commit to EZ-Pay for months in advance when those customers are not certain they’ll have a job. Once again, a take it or leave it way of doing something.
Marion G. Webb
May 3rd, 2009
11:47 am
Good Morning. Some change from April 28; but in the words of Richard Dawson from the old Family Feud show, “Not There!” The Vent became easier to read, and the ink may be somewhat darker; but the box scores and the standings in the Sports Section are still too small and “busy-looking.” “Busy” probably describes the readability in general, because one has to “read through” a point of interest before that item can be read easily.
I have already started my transition to the online version, and I can handle that. Just tell me why I cannot find the Judge Parker comic strip online; it’s the only one I read.
My current subscription deadline is May 13, and I will give every consideration to the tweaks and reworks by that time.
I can go back to 1966 when I first knew The Atlanta Continue and Mr. Ralph McGill. There were bumps in the road then, but he and his newspaper always landed on their feet. I’m still hoping for a smoother landing.
Watch over us, Mr. McGill.
Marion G. Webb
May 3rd, 2009
11:49 am
Make that The Atlanta “Constitution,” not “Continue.” Dadgum proofreader.
Ms Decatur
May 3rd, 2009
12:02 pm
I don’t like the lay out of the paper. I looks very cheap…to busy.
Scott
May 3rd, 2009
12:07 pm
Re: Investigative stories not being authored or reported by the AJC or any Media
This Obama Administration is a target rich environment for watchdog stories and none of it seems to be getting pursued.
1) The CIA Debacle: Juxtaposing the Valerie Plame kerfuffle with the recent outrageous “cherry-picked” disclosure of the CIA Interrogation docs. Align this with the CIA’s often leaking like a sieve during Bush’s eight years. CIA gets payback and our country is not safer because of it.
2) Unchecked Executive Power: The incredibly non-constitutional powers given to the Treasury Department, the FED thusly expanding the power of the Executive Office of the President which was one of the call to battle cry’s of the Democrat Party and the Big Media for the last 7 years against Bush.
3) The EPA: recent designation of greenhouse gas as toxic and harmful to the environment to lend support to the Global Warming oops Climate Change oops “Whatever new talking point is” that the environmentalists whackos come up with to scare monger the people and drive politicians to non-sensical legislation to TAX 100% of the people. Al Gore lies to Congress on April 28th about his business connections to global warming totally discrediting his testimony. Alternative Opinion testimony blocked by Henry Waxman after the witness Lord Monckton flies over here from Europe.
4) Nancy Pelosi: third in line to the Presidential throne and she is caught red handed being notified of interrogation methods as far back as 2002 then lying about it all in April 2009. This should be a 10-part expose leading to her ouster from the leadership of the house. Throw in the Jane Harman chapter, the Dianne Feinstein debacle and this reveals a California Politician based corruption of the Democrat Party unseen in history this story will SPIKE your readership big time.
5) George Soros: This person is a convicted felon ineligible to vote in most states in the USA and he controls the Democrat Party with his billions. Juicy Juicy Story. This foreigner is manipulating national politics openly and without watchdogs of the press interest at all. Openly brags about earning $1 billion dollars during the economic meltdown since Sept 08.
Incredible juicy stories with lots of accurate content that will BOOST sagging AJC subscriber ship. Go against the liberal progressive conventions and AJC popularity will SOAR.
The AJC has an opportunity to make Georgians proud where are you on this AJC?
C. Allen
May 3rd, 2009
12:32 pm
I think the vast majority of people who read your paper take these changes in stride and don’t want to lose a daily, much less Sunday, paper. Critics can be found everywhere; there’s a natural tendency for some, even many, people to want to speak back to their newspaper as loudly or louder than the newspaper speaks to them.
I disagree with some comments here that the writing in the ‘new’ paper is lower quality. I find this can be easily refuted by the facts, too numerous to go into here, but facts that can be demonstrated by the many examples I see everyday in your articles. I will take the time, though, to give some examples of the most important aspect, to me, of a good news story. And that’s how the beginning paragraph transitions from the headline to the essentials of the story. For instance, in today’s ajcMetro section, every story on the front page made this connection. Example 1: Story: Secrecy shrouds Cobb’s parkland plan. “Cobb County officials won’t disclose locations of 277 properties they are eyeing for parkland, and a county committee says it will meet behind closed doors to decide which ones should be purchased with taxpayer money.” Now, tell me this doesn’t make the instant connection to the headline and set up the rest of the story. I like articles that begin with the crux of the matter. Articles that start out in the clouds somewhere are not as likely to grab my interest in reading the paper, which is to get information and news.
Example 2: Story: Medical mistakes unhappy reality. “A surgical team at Northside Hospital was supposed to remove one of the patient’s breasts – but performed a double mastectomy because of a mistake, state records show.” Example 3: Protecting and serving homeless. “A cop who encounters a homeless man can ignore him. Or he can simply tell him to move on.” What better set-up could you get than these two examples?
Bottom line, your writing’s fine, even exceptional in many cases.
I read two in-depth articles today, the one on Zinkhan, which provided information I had not heard or read before, and the one on schools and the need many high school graduates have for remedial courses as college freshmen.
I also read Kyle Wingfield and disagree that there are few choices in European economies or that they get ripped off. I lived in Germany for 5 years in the ’80s and this is just not the case. Bring it on, Kyle!
Charles Gay
May 3rd, 2009
12:45 pm
I’m back. Mr. Webb and Ms. Decatur: I’m no expert on fonts but I can tell you we’re paying close attention to readability. I think today’s Sunday paper benefited from the feedback we got from readers earlier in the week and we have made improvements. The baseball standings in the Sports section are on our radar and we’re working on that.
Scott: Those may very well be great stories but the AJC isn’t in a position to investigate them and it’s got nothing to do with our politics. We made a strategic decision some time ago that our staff needed to focus on local and state news – something readers can’t get in depth from other sources. Now that our staff is smaller, it’s even more imperative that we focus our resources on our local communities. In addition, the type of investigations you’re talking about need to be undertaken by reporters who cover Washington, not reporters in Atlanta. Happily, the NYT, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Washington Times, and others are positioned to look into those types of stories. If they produce them, we will publish them.
Now, if you or anyone else has a tip about something fishy going on in local or state government, that’s our job and I’d like to hear about it.
Mr Attitude
May 3rd, 2009
12:51 pm
I am one to give new products a chance, so I will do so with the new design of the AJC.
One thing that is really disgusting is how the top brass of AJC is tripping over themselves trying to appease the conservative base in Atlanta. I have never seen such kowtowing in my life!!! For example, look how quickly the editor pointed out the reader about the new conservative editor. But has he yet to defend the writingS of Cynthia Tucker? It’s like he is distancing himself from one of the most esteemed writers at AJC. Ms. Tucker has even been referred to as “Cynthia McKinney” and once again, no comments from the editor. There is an old saying that goes “You can please some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time. But you can’t please all of the people all of the time.”
Don’t forget AJC, those “liberals” you are trying to distance yourselves from spend money just like the conservatives you are out the red carpet. How about just giving Atlanta a top rated paper instead of trying to please a certain segment of Atlanta.
Charles Gay, Sunday Editor
May 3rd, 2009
1:05 pm
Mr. Attitude, I appreciate your comment. We have taken some flak from the left for moving right and from the right for still trending too far left. What we’re trying to do is bring more balance to the political discourse in our pages. Our goal is to present points of view from all sides so readers can make their own, informed decisions about the issues of the day. I’m sure everybody will let us know how we do.
dave
May 3rd, 2009
1:16 pm
How did you post an, “I’m leaving for church, etc.” at 11:12 a.m. and drive/park/walk there and get there in time to be a part of the service? Seriously, I want to know how to pull that off and if “First Methodist off the square in May-retta” is the key, I’ll start coming there. Have the pastor contact me.
Charles Gay, Sunday Editor
May 3rd, 2009
1:21 pm
The service we attend starts at 11:15, and we live right off the Marietta Square, less than 1/2 mile away. If only my daily commute were such a breeze!
Waiting for AJC's Obituary
May 3rd, 2009
1:48 pm
I’ve lived in other major media centers and the AJC is the worst paper I’ve ever read, or attempted to read. Editorials aside, there seems to be a race angle to most stories. I’m wondering what percentage of readership cares about such things. Just report the damn news without the obvious slants. How about some conservative or middle of the road perspectives? I can tolerate Cynthia Tucker and Jay Bookman by avoiding their socialist diatribes.
Dave
May 3rd, 2009
1:54 pm
Thanks for the specifics, Charles. I didn’t know how I was gonna explain to the family about the new trek to “May-retta” from Johns Creek . . .
Michael H. Smith
May 3rd, 2009
1:58 pm
Thanks for the new conservative editorial voice AJC. (You need a few more.)
Margaret Thatcher’s dictum still holds true: “The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money.”.
Thanks for the keeper Kyle. Now when is our President and the Democrats going to run-out of China’s money and we have to begin covering our own debts through the hidden tax of inflation?
I’ve also noticed the Republicans are now concerned about spending and job loss. Where were these guys Kyle, eight compassionate Bush years ago when we conservatives were screaming at them to stop their job destroying, taxing, borrowing and spending ways?
Just two wings on the same bird.
Dr.R
May 3rd, 2009
2:15 pm
I think Pearls Before Swine today is not only dead-on accurate, it’s one of the funniest strips I’ve seen in a long time.
Sue12345
May 3rd, 2009
2:48 pm
I have been an AJC subscriber for 10 years. My subscription is about to run out and the AJC has been calling me twice a day for the past two weeks to urge me to subscribe again (when I see the caller id says AJC, I don’t pick up). I have been horrified by the typos, spelling errors and general errors in the paper for the past couple of months. I waited until I got today’s “new” Sunday paper before making up my mind. You lost me AJC. A couple of suggestions to keep readers who have not made up their minds yet. 1. Hire proof readers for the online and print version. 2. Get rid of silly columns like “Social Butterfly” that no one reads (except the people pictured in the column) and have more in depth local stories.
Charles Gay, Sunday Editor
May 3rd, 2009
2:55 pm
Sue, I’m sorry to hear you’re dropping us. I’ll just tell you and everybody else that we’re aware that typos have been a problem lately. I think a lot of it is attributable to the change in fonts and other operating system issues, but that’s no excuse. We brought in additional proofreaders last week and they caught a lot of errors but evidently not everything. We will work harder at it.
Gang, I have grass that needs cutting (all this rain!) so I’m going to attend to that and come back later in the afternoon. Keep posting comments; I’m reading every one and other editors are too.
Trent
May 3rd, 2009
3:00 pm
All in all, Mr. Gay, I think Sunday is better. Question, though: What happened to Gimme Five, which used to be in sports? I used to like the daily lists. I even had a suggestion make it into print as an idea. Why not revive it?
Jon
May 3rd, 2009
3:32 pm
Sunday paper looks good. It appeared to have more, longer stories than previously, especially in metro. I hope Mark Davis is a Sunday keeper — he’s a good writer, and has been in the paper too seldom.
Confused by the picture of food on the left-hand page between two stories. Didn’t make sense.
Enjoyed the article on Korean entrepreneurship in Gwinnett. I can’t find it on AJC.COM, though.
Charles Gay, Sunday Editor
May 3rd, 2009
4:15 pm
Back again.
Trent, thanks for the positive feedback. We felt Gimme Five had run its course after a couple of years and ended it a while back. Maybe it was because we were running it every day. If other readers like it too, there’s nothing to say we couldn’t just do it on Sundays.
Jon, Mark Davis is indeed a great writer and I’m happy to say he’s on our Sunday staff. It’s worth pointing out that we’ve created a staff of 32 reporters, editors and photographers who work exclusively on the Sunday paper to ensure that it’s strong every week. Other reporters from the rest of the AJC newsroom also contribute stories from their beats, but in past years the Sunday paper was an afterthought for many – even most – busy staffers. Our Sunday group works all week, and in some cases for several weeks, on stories we know will land in the Sunday paper and we think it makes the Sunday AJC a smarter, more comprehensive, and better thought-out read. You’ll of course be the ultimate judge.
That’s a long way of saying yes, you’ll be seeing Mark’s byline on most Sundays.
Charles Gay, Sunday Editor
May 3rd, 2009
5:07 pm
Folks, it’s after 5 p.m. and I’m signing off for the day. This blog should be active for a while longer so I’ll check for additional comments late tonight or in the morning. Thanks for the constructive criticism, which we do take seriously and helps us make adjustments. If you have a concern, an idea, a question, or anything else to say about the Sunday AJC you’re welcome to email me at cgay@ajc.com.
Steve
May 3rd, 2009
5:16 pm
It would seem what you are telling us is that we will get a paper whose quality we have come to expect, but only once a week. Take the rest of it because we tell you we talked to a really big bunch of people and they liked it so you should too. The fonts and readability seems to be better than Tuesday (could hardly be worse, but it at least keeps us thinking you are listening). However the content and quality of writers your readers are so ardently calling for seems to be an unreal expectation, and you guys can’t seem to quite figure out how to tell us that. Maybe you should go to a Sunday only paper, and put out a product we can all be proud of.
roy smith
May 3rd, 2009
7:31 pm
Today’s Sunday paper was depressing. A poor imitation of USA Today, or perhaps a neighborhood amateur paper. You guys are surely joking. It is sad to read your artificially upbeat comments about the current state, i.e. demise, of a once proud paper. I doubt if this poor excuse for a paper will be around even another year. Sorry, but its true. People who know how to read will be leaving in droves. Colorizing a bad product does not change the content.
roy smith
May 3rd, 2009
7:34 pm
i take it partially back, pearls before wine was excellent today as usual (read it and take heed).
Norman Hulme
May 3rd, 2009
7:41 pm
First off, I do like the overall redesign of the paper. As a long-time daily subscriber (16+ years), you’ve done a great job in a difficult time for all news organizations.
My only complaint is the new masthead for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. If I bring the NY Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, (and many other great newspapers) to mind… it’s that they all have a strong visual identity. The NY Times uses it’s famed masthead as a graphical icon for delivery trucks, paper boxes, online, direct-mail, and a wide variety of other applications. These mastheads all date back to the individual paper’s origins. Certainly over time they’ve been modified, tweaked and streamlined… but they still serve as the historical visual anchor for the publications.
I’m sad to say that the redesigned masthead looks like USA Today-Lite. I could remove “Atlanta”, and replace it with “Anchorage” or “Albuquerque” without much problem. When I first moved to Atlanta from New York, you had both a strong masthead along with the quote “Covers Dixie Like The Dew”. I thought this was perfect!
As a new resident of the Capital of the South, I wanted a paper that was the obvious voice of my neighborhood, my community and the region. You continue to do that very well… it’s just that I believe you’ve lost any visual connection to your long history. A loss indeed.