There seems to be a significant reduction in the letters published in the Star Democrat since the appointment of a new editor and the change in format of the paper.
The paper appears to have dedicated less space to its reader’s “letter to the editors” than to its regular columnists.
Has its readers become less interested what happens in the County?
The letters to the editor section of the Star Democrat is an important voice to the community, as is the Talbot Spy. It is a way for the readership to make known some issues in the County that are not generally known and provide a way for the readership to express itself to the general population.
So – I’m just wondering – has anyone else noticed this trend?
Bill Mocarsky
Easton
Michael Davis says
I’ve written my share of letters to the editor to the Star Democrat and I have also noticed a big reduction. Where they used to publish up to four letters each edition, they seem to publish only one once a week or so. They have also changed some editorial coverage which I suppose is the perogative of a new editor. But you are not imagining how few letters to the editor they publish now compared to some time ago.
Barbara Lee Jefferson says
I absolutely agree with Bill Mocarsky’s comment about lack of readers’ ‘Letters to the Editor’ in the Star- Democrat. Not only do they not print your letter, they don’t respond if they have received your letter. I submitted a cartoon 3 times, and never got a reply.
Plus, some of the ‘regular columnists’ are flat- out nut jobs!
Barbara Perry says
Absolutely! It seems that the obituaries are also much larger, which is at least of local interest but I am sure that folks were writing letters to the editor but once we all noticed that they are not published, then I guess most of us decided to stop. We know that a lot of the letters were often to counter what another reader wrote but it was a way for folks to express differences of opinion by writing to the editor.
Sarah Sayre says
Great question!!!!
MM Revell Goodwin says
The Star Democrat and its associated papers like the Bay Times and the Record Observer may not be getting letters to the editor because the actual paper is not available to be picked up in most places. Here in Queen Anne’s County it is no longer in the grocery stores on any regular basis. In fact the papers are not even available at a convenient spot in the stores. Further, most people now get their papers online, which sadly means the paper gets read rapidly and sent to the trash. Many of the younger generations did not grow up with all the things newspapers did for us, newspapers are not so much a part of our home culture as they used to be. And we don’t save them in long time collections so we can go back and see our years and our lives written up. It makes me very sad in so many ways. It is a kind of connection in our culture that is rapidly slipping away. And then of course there is the “other impact”–the social media impact where you can put up any news you want, even when it is not true and that brings out many who might have been at least some of the newspaper letter writers.
Michele Johnson says
I agree with Bill, this is very disappointing. I also agree with Barbara Perry having also noticed the pages of obituaries. We need a robust local editorial page in our daily paper. It is wonderful that the Talbot Spy is now filling the gap left behind by the Star Democrat.
Art Cecil says
The absence of published letters has been fairly obvious for some months. The newspaper seems to prefer space for paid advertising and obituaries to comments from its readers.
Linda Wise says
Definitely. By the way, why isn’t the paper covering the Lakeside debacle. Isn’t this one of the top issues facing Talbot Countians? Silence says it all.
Jeff Hart says
Yes I’ve noticed that and the backwards sports section
Lynn Baker says
The Trump crazies are in remorse over their hysterical, short-sighted Biden 2020 votes and too embarrassed to write letters to the editor deploring the unstable state in which Biden’s far left administration has left our once proud and self sufficient nation.
Vincent De Sanctis says
Absolutely there has been a decline. Not sure the actual factors but I suspect the structure of what constitutes the opinion pages has been restrictive. But what is irrefutable is that the paper does not seem interested in vigorous community involvement. A couple of paid op-eds focused on national issues does not reflect day-to-day matters of concern to local residents. The paper is mostly press release type accounts wrapped around obituaries.
Eva M. Smorzaniuk, MD says
The Star Democrat seems to be on a mission to become less local in its content. Issues of importance (such as Lakesdide, County Council decisions, land use issues other locations in the county, are rarely covered, and certainly not covered in depth. Editorials range from conservative to far right wing. The weekly Limelight section features cultural events in Rock Hall, Annapolis, and points further west. I think a local newspaper can thrive only if it is pertinent to the people that live here!
Lynn Baker says
The Trump crazies are in remorse over their hysterical, short-sighted Biden 2020 votes and too embarrassed to write letters to the editor deploring the unstable state in which Biden’s far left administration has left our once proud and self sufficient nation
Lynn Baker says
I can’t believe you are censoring my comments.
Annabel Lesher says
Yes, I have raised the same question. There used to be issues of the Star Democrat that had a page or more of letters to the editor. Now they are rare. Is nobody writing, or are the letters being discarded?
Dan Watson says
Amen.
DW
Brenda Meier says
I agree and really miss the letters. Even if I don’t always agree with the writers, I do want to hear what they have to say.
Roger Bollman says
Agree. Really miss the old format.
Lyn Banghart says
Could it be because there are increasingly fewer readers of the Star Democrat? I know I don’t read it anymore….
Stephen Schaare says
Hi Bill, Though I have not looked at a Star Dem in some twenty years, I suppose they are having financial challenges like all of print media.
We have “The Spy” for the exchange of ideas and opinions. Works for me-Steve
Kevin Knussman says
All print media faces significant challenges. I have been a SD reader since it went to a daily publication. I read the on-line version daily. Recent changes have been less than welcome. The sports section continues to be the foundation of all local coverage. And the obituary section is the most comprehensive local coverage featured. Occasionally there are feature stories of local interest that are well written. There is so much great local news available. It used to be the SD extensively covered local government meetings and did an especially great job covering the small municipal government meetings. So many of the stories today in the SD seem to revolve around national issues, especially so called social justice and climate change issues. Please take me back to a SD that tells us who was born, died, and got married. And give us coverage of local government meetings and discussions. I prefer the old format with multiple feature news stories on the front page. A vigorous op-Ed section with local content is really important. But readership in all print media has slipped significantly.
Sharon Lee says
The Star Democrat is no longer relevant to the people who live and work in Talbot County. That is why we canceled our subscription.
Jon Powers says
I agree completely with your observations. But, alas, the Star-Democrat is no longer a local newspaper but instead an advertising supplement. Notice how many stories are repeated? Notice how many photographs are reprinted? Notice how many times the front page is used to advertise a local business? Notice all obituaries are now PAID obituaries?
We have all witnessed the slow death of a piece of good journalism.
Jon Powers
Saint Michaels
Steve Shimko says
I too am disappointed by the new Star (Democrat). I like to do a lot of my reading on line, but it sometimes takes me 30 minutes to log into my account, getting many “too many requests” error messages along the way. Then when I finally gain access, some of the articles don’t display correctly, in that only the headline is displayed and the body of the article is blank. Seems like their website needs some work.
Also, the price is out of line for a local paper. I pay less for the Washington Post (on line access plus Sunday paper) than I do for the Star.