Press Democrat readers weigh in

More than 1,500 people took part in our recent survey about what areas of coverage and features they would like to see in The Press Democrat of the future. Respondents’ names were not required. Here is a sampling of some of their comments:

“I would give up stories about national or international news that have no bearing on my life and where I cannot be a part of the solution to the problem.”

“Be careful to include international and national news, not simply more local news. It’s hard to buy the paper when the front-page headline features some issue that’s trivial compared to what’s happening nationally or internationally, always something of huge consequence.”

“Less national news. It can all be found online, TV, radio, etc. It is more up-to-date on those devices. Breaking news is always available and easily found on all devices.”

“We have been long-term subscribers to the PD and it has been our favorite paper because of its excellent coverage of national and international news, with a nice balance of local news. We urge you to not reduce any of the national and international coverage.”

“Your columnists are fantastic. We can get facts anywhere, in the 24-hour news cycle, with our phones and computers. But many times there are so many facts out there on so many topics; it’s easy to move on from a bad-news story to anything else, just a click away; we need your columnists to help the important facts hit home and register. It seems like if your columnists are talking about something, I ought to stop and ‘hear’ what they have to say.”

“While I am not a ‘sports fan,’ I check out the Sports section to see what Kerry Benefield has written. I enjoy her work because she writes from the heart, weaving the human interest aspect into the athletes’ lives.”

“I like Chris Smith’s column! Positive, real, inspirational and interesting.”

“The obvious bias of the PD is very liberal. I would prefer a more moderate outlook. …Otherwise, love the hometown feel.”

“I would hope you would consolidate the Sunday Towns and the other local-focus section; don’t need two.”

“I’m sick and tired of all the coverage of wine, wine problems, wine events. The PD should not be a paper for the wine industry.”

“We take the Chronicle, WSJ and our local SH Star - but I enjoy the PD as a first read - I think some of your in-depth local coverage is often exceptional.”

“I think The Press Democrat does an incredible job of resisting the trend to trivialize the news with slick stories about celebrities and cultural trends. I am a former journalist, relatively new to the area, and am a great admirer of your paper. Keep in mind that we get the NY Times print edition daily, seven days a week. But I often find myself opening your paper first.”

“We moved to Santa Rosa from NY State 9 months ago. We subscribed to the NY Times when we were in NY. We also subscribed to a poor-quality local paper in NY. … When we got to Santa Rosa, we started reading The Press Democrat and have been very, very impressed with your product: excellent local news and very good national coverage (and fairly good international coverage). “

“People from different areas have come to my home and stated what a great paper this is. Don’t water it down.”

“I am just one of those people who looks so?forward to the paper at my door. Waking up,?coffee brewing, and then you hear the thump.”