If you’re going to have breakfast with someone, shouldn’t you have some choice on who it is?
I often hear from readers about how they feel like they’re having breakfast with the columnists in The Lima News. They’ll read their favorite authors while sipping their morning mug of coffee. Some even admit to talking back to the person on the page when they strongly agree or strongly disagree.
That got me thinking about whether we have the right mix of people on our pages. If a quarter century in journalism taught me anything, it’s that the best way to get an answer is to ask the question. As we begin 2023 and I start my second year as the editor here, I hope to spend time hearing from people about what they like and dislike about our daily miracle.
Who are your favorite columnists? Who are your least favorite columnists? Tell us at LimaOhio.com/survey. You can also mail me your answers to those questions via The Lima News; Your View; 3515 Elida Road; Lima, OH 45807.
On the webpage, there’s a place to share your thoughts on business, lifestyle and opinion columnists who appear in our newspaper and our website. You can read recent columns by these people.
There’s also a list of possible columnists we could start running in The Lima News, with links to samples of their work.
All of this started a few weeks ago when we learned that longtime syndicated columnist Leonard Pitts retired.
I know Pitts wasn’t beloved by everyone. Some of you really hated his columns and delighted in emailing and calling me to say so.
There have been other columnists who we regularly printed in The Lima News who’ve started writing less frequently or focused more on where they live than national issues. It’s just a good idea to look through your closet once in a while and toss what doesn’t fit anymore.
This is your chance to speak up on some possible replacements.
That’s not to say we’re going to stop printing people with whom you disagree. Well-reasoned arguments are fundamental to how democracy works best. Besides, our opinion pages should reflect all the people who live here as best as we can, not just the majority of them.
That means having columnists who agitate you, frustrate you and — worst of all — make you think.
That’s half the fun of a survey asking both who you love and who you hate. I fully expect to see some of the same names on both the love and hate lists. I might even see my name in both places.
I look forward to seeing your responses so we can make thoughtful adjustments in our quest to give you the best newspaper possible every day. With any luck, you’ll be able to have your morning coffee with more columnists who make you think, occasionally smile and understand our world better.
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See past columns by David Trinko at LimaOhio.com/tag/trinko.
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David Trinko is editor of The Lima News. Reach him at 567-242-0467, by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @Lima_Trinko.
