whole raft of people -- from reporters to artists to photographers -- work hard every day to make sure Deseret News readers get all the news they want and need, but our editors found out the hard way that some people subscribe to a daily newspaper not for the hard-hitting news, editorials or features but primarily to read . . . the comics.
Early in the year, when the newspaper's feature editor announced that because of space she was considering reducing the number of comic strips in the Deseret News and invited readers to express their preferences, the roof fell in.The brief announcement in the paper requested that readers pick their top 10 comics preferences and send them in by Feb. 15 to help editors make their decision.
More than a thousand readers responded.
The letters and e-mails indicated that many readers look to the comics pages for release from the pressures of the day, laughs in the midst of stress and mental relaxation.
Physicians and psychologists have been telling us for years that the more we smile and chuckle during the day, the healthier we will be. Norman Cousins, famous editor and writer, even wrote a book about the therapeutic effect of laughter in helping him to overcome a serious illness.
But nobody here was prepared for the avalanche of responses, many of which were lengthy letters extolling virtues of comics and their value to the newspaper.
Some people were shocked that anyone would consider dropping even one comic strip from the paper.
Some readers were irate that their personal favorites might be in jeopardy. Some even threatened cancellation of their subscriptions if their favorites were excised.
A few said that even if their own favorites were retained, they would still bolt. It was a matter of principle, they said.
There were a few who said, "Right on -- get rid of MOST of them." R.G. Willie suggested retention of only five: Pickles, Wizard of Id, Herman, Family Circus and Dennis the Menace.
Hal Larson said he never reads the comics any more because "they are not funny!" He advocated dropping all of them.
But Willie and Larson were in the minority. Some people either intentionally or perhaps in passive protest disobeyed the instruction to name their top 10.
Instead they listed their least-favorite 10.
Some just ranted about the unfairness (even stupidity) of dropping even one comic strip but refused to make a list.
John Johansen was typical when he said, "I really enjoy the comics. They are often the first thing I turn to. It is nice to have something light-hearted and fun to help unwind and relax after a hard day."
Wayne Gladden said, "I basically only get the newspaper for the comics. I read them every night before I go to sleep. It helps me get the day's activities out of my system. I like the laughter, and it helps me sleep."
Kelly Knudson warned editors, "Readers feel VERY STRONGLY about their comics -- you could have a mass mutiny on your hands if you recklessly eliminate too many of your readers' favorites. . . . Remember, comics are sacred!!"
One reader wrote that the comics helped keep him laughing the year his wife of 21 years left him and their four children. "We suffered through this heartache with a good dose of comics from the Deseret News."
While his kids were on LDS missions, he said, he dutifully sent them a total of 364 packages of comics.
Glenn Jacobsen felt genuine "anguish" over a potential reduction. "Say it isn't so! In these troubled times, from ethnic cleansing in southeast Europe, to global economic crisis, disease, famine, social injustice, religious war and global warming, I am appalled that you people would even consider reducing the amount of humor available to mankind."
Timothy Tate was fatalistic. He wrote, "What has come over you . . . evil demons? I know how these things work. My resistance to this unfair and unwise edict from on high will not affect the outcome. Even if I organize pickets in front of your building and demand everyone boycott your paper, I just know the comics will be cut."
A 43-year-subscriber, Kenneth L. Minson, said he is "not a happy camper. The comic section is my escape for a few moments from the real world. . . . My whole family of grown children subscribe to the News for much the same reason. Two said they would cancel their subscriptions if this takes place. I could be right behind. I have a son who lives just outside of Houston, and his paper has over four pages of comics. When visiting him, I thought I had died and gone to comic heaven."
Chuck Johnson said, "DON'T GO THERE! The three main reasons I subscribe to the Deseret News are the comics, the editorial page and the Church News. If you cut back on comics, I'll have to cut my subscription! I can get all of the national news on the TV or the Internet. . . . If you're trying to go out of business after 150 years, dropping the comic page would be a great place to start."
Roger Peterson wrote, "No, no, no, no!!! Say it isn't so. . . . C'mon, we all need and deserve more smiles than we usually get each day. Don't do it!"
Elaine Call said, "I TAKE THE DESERET NEWS FOR THE COMICS. They are all so great, I would miss any one of them." When she leaves town, she asks her neighbor to save the comics for her, because "laughter is the best medicine."
Thomas T. Williams said he had "rarely been to a lecture in which comics have not been used as illustrations for some of the concepts being taught. They make great 'overheads.' I have seen them used as illustrations for many psychological diagnoses . . . and they illustrate the problems of marriage, family life and education. I, myself, use them in counseling sessions and lectures."
Ellis Worthen says when he leaves town, he has his papers saved. When he returns, he reads all the comic strips "in order of publication. They are important for relaxation, entertainment and for a break from the tediums of everyday life."
Violet Reese wrote to say she reads the paper for the comics and the obituaries, and John Pack called the comics "the only really enjoyable section of the paper."
Karen Leep, an elementary school teacher, said she uses many of the comics in the classroom. "Plus I just need the laugh I get from reading one-and-one-half pages of funny stuff."
According to Helen Young, it would be better to cut the TV column, because the comics help readers escape "all the crap in the world and the trash of the day -- we need something to make us smile."
Scott Westwood recommended food articles, recipes and "Dear Abby" be dropped instead of comics. He listed three comic strips he would insist the paper retain, or he would cancel his subscription: Sherman's Lagoon, Foxtrot and Mother Goose and Grimm.
Finally, Miriam Murphy pleaded against "radical surgery" on the comics. "Perhaps some executives consider the comics 'fluff' -- something to fill space until something 'more important' comes along. Nothing could be further from the truth. The comics are a genuine American folk art and reflect current social customs and values. They give us a needed laugh after reading pages detailing humanity's inhumanities, natural disasters, the moral turpitude of public figures, and . . . all the crimes committed around the world in the past 24 hours."
Murphy maintained that family strips show the challenges of child rearing and "could be compiled and used as a teaching tool for new parents." Then she provided brief commentary on each comic strip carried in the paper, adding that "an asterisk indicates that I would be desolate to lose this strip." (Only four did not receive her vote of confidence.)
Well, the readers have spoken and the top 10 you chose were Pickles, Baby Blues, Crankshaft, Fox Trot, Hi and Lois, Sally Forth, Family Circus, Sherman's Lagoon, Drabble and Wizard of Id.
All of those will stay. Better still for comics' fans, the editors have adopted a new pagination system that allows more comics to fit on a page than before.
So beginning March 29, all comics currently carried will be back except the four that came in dead last in the voting: Kidspot, Whatzit, Claire and Webber, and Buckets.