This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2008, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

What's wrong with us?

We got an earful during the past five days. Hundreds of readers told us: You messed with the comic pages, and we do not like it.

Here's a sampling:

"The new layout on the comic pages for puzzles, quiz, bridge hand sucks. You can barely read the quiz answers and the cards in the bridge hand."

Or:

"I'm not particularly fond of the new set-up for the comics and puzzles, but I'll probably get used to it. However, I have a couple of issues with Isaac Asimov's Super Quiz new look. The printing is extremely tiny and there is no longer any space to put your answers. I find the crossword puzzle quite large. Perhaps this could be made a bit smaller and the other a bit larger."

Or:

"I do not like having only the previous Sudoku puzzle key printed. As a novice Sudoku player, having that day's Sudoku key published allows me to solve the puzzle and sharpen my skills with a sense of accomplishment. I will not save the paper to the next day. It has taken the fun, challenge and satisfaction of completion away. Please go back to publishing the current day's solution."

Or:

"Greetings from a disgruntled reader. What are you doing with the comics, puzzle pages this week? The bridge column has been shrunk to such small print I had to find a magnifying glass to read it. The crossword puzzle is on a separate page from the answers to the previous day's puzzle. As someone who is accustomed to tearing off that page to work when I have the time, I'm hoping the editors will reconsider and put them both back in the format we've grown accustomed to and love!"

Those are just a few messages we got from our readers, after we debuted a new design for the comic pages last Monday.

How could this have happened? Frankly, we were trying to save space, but we did it at the expense of the people who have subscribed to The Salt Lake Tribune for decades. (Disclosure: I sit here writing with my plus 3 reading glasses sliding down the bridge of my nose.)

The wrong will be undone soon. Lisa Carricaburu, Tribune assistant managing editor for features, will run the following announcement on the features section front page Monday:

"Your comments following last Monday's launch of new comics/puzzle pages led to changes you'll see on the pages soon. The type will be darker, the daily bridge column will increase in size and we'll provide same-day answers for Sudoku and crossword puzzles."

The changes should show up within the next two weeks.

And for those of you who have complained that the "new" crossword puzzle is easier than the old one: It is the same crossword puzzle, edited by the same man. The difference, my dear fellow x-word puzzlers, is one of perception. The grid is bigger, so it is easier to visualize words in the blanks.

The ways readers work puzzles and the reasons they do are as varied as the readers themselves. Some of our oldest readers admit they work the puzzles to check if they are sliding into dementia. If they can work the puzzles, they figure they are OK and they go about their business.

Is he a vulture:

Longtime Tribune writer Sean Means - who has been with the paper since he was about 8 years old (just kidding) - will take on some new duties next week. He will continue with movie reviews, but he will also take over the Culture Vulture column on Tuesday and create a new daily Culture Vulture blog.

"The blog will be similar to the column," Means says. Traditionally, the Vulture has been a snarky way to "look pop culture through the Utah lens," Means says.

And, Means will add a lot of wit to that look.

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* THE READER ADVOCATE'S phone number is 801-257-8782. Write to the Reader Advocate, The Salt Lake Tribune, 90 S. 400 West, Suite 700, Salt Lake City, Utah 84101. reader.advocate@sltrib.com

This week's stats

* 301: Number upset about redesign of comics pages.

* 53: Number pleased overall with local coverage.

* 9: Number who want more Iraq war coverage.

* 7: Number who want more tips on saving money.