I want to thank our readers for their wonderful response to the readers’ survey that we sent out in December last year. We received well over 600 responses and were heartened to find that our readership is generally very happy with News Weekly, both in content and in the then anticipated changes that have since been inaugurated.
I can appreciate that some readers may have had misgivings about some of the proposed changes, in particular the rise in cost. However, now that you have a taste of the fresh look, we are pleased to report that feedback so far has been very encouraging. We feel reassured that the price rise, which was in great part forced upon us by Australia Post, has allowed us to deliver to you a better reading experience than ever before.
The fresh design, the fact that you now receive your copy without the creases that formerly defaced it, the colour throughout, the addition of some lightness and humour where appropriate, are all improvements that it pleases us to bring to our readers.
And, as for the content, as promised, we are still bringing you the same quality of informative and analytical reading in the same spirit that has characterised News Weekly since its inception.
Many readers took the opportunity of the survey to make suggestions as to fresh content, which we certainly keep in mind even as we ensure News Weekly does not break away from its moorings as expressed in the National Civic Council’s “Five Primacies” (see page 2).
One thing in particular that I would encourage is that readers write to us with their views; a vibrant letters page is among the sections most read in a publication.
It is my hope in future to publish a letters page in every edition, keeping in mind, as production editor, the interest that such a page can attract.