Sunday crossword creator Sylvia Bursztyn dies

As Obituaries Editor Claire Noland reported Saturday, Times Sunday crossword puzzle creator Sylvia Bursztyn has died.

Bursztyn began creating crosswords for The Times in April 1980 along with puzzle partner Barry Tunick and continued on her own after Tunick's death in 2007.

Bursztyn's last crossword was published Sunday. Puzzles by Merl Reagle, which had alternated weeks with Bursztyn's, are now scheduled to run every Sunday.

The blog L.A. Crossword Confidential described Bursztyn's puzzles as an "institution for many Angelinos."

Readers were sorry to hear of Bursztyn's death.

Teresa Andrade wrote, "The Sunday Crossword puzzle has been part of my life for the past 20 years.  I was deeply saddened when Barry passed away, barely tolerated Merl, and then happy when I would get at least a Sylvia puzzle every other week.  I am deeply saddened again now that she is gone."

And Irma and Frank Bernard wrote: "We were saddened at the loss of Sylvia Burtszyn.  We always enjoyed her clever crosswords."

--Deirdre Edgar

Coming Sunday: Expanded health coverage

In a memo to the staff, Times Editor Russ Stanton announced an expansion of health and wellness coverage, beginning with this Sunday's paper:

Our outstanding Health section is expanding its reach beginning this Sunday with two new pages in the A section devoted to Health & Wellness.

Readers will find additional coverage of nutrition, psychology, fitness and other issues. There also will be Q&As with experts on sports medicine, aging, children’s health and insurance, along with reports on the latest medical products and therapies. As part of this expanded effort, we are renaming the Monday section Health & Wellness.

Kudos to Health Editor Rosie Mestel and her team for broadening our coverage of a topic that is of high interest to our readers.

 

Times is bringing back Bridge column

Good news for Bridge fans: The daily Bridge column is coming back.

Starting Monday, it will be back in its old home, on the first Comics page.

The Times has been bombarded with e-mails, letters and calls from disappointed readers since the column was discontinued Nov. 29.

Many of those were longtime subscribers like Doreen Schlesinger of Santa Ana, who wrote, "For 55 years I have started each morning with the Bridge column and found it a perfect mechanism to activate my brain and prepare it to face the day.  Without warning, the column was removed from the paper, and I have been miserable ever since."

Editors made the decision to remove the column after subscriber surveys showed that only 3% of respondents read it. However, that 3% is a devoted and loyal group.

As of Tuesday, The Times had received nearly 600 e-mails and 400 phone calls regarding Bridge.

"The outcry from our readers compelled us to reconsider our decision," said Sallie Hofmeister, assistant managing editor for arts and entertainment. "While readership surveys showed that Bridge was the least popular of our offerings of puzzles and games, we discovered from this outpouring of response that its fans are engaged readers and some of our most loyal subscribers."

The demise of the column resulted in relatively few subscription cancellations. However, that impressed editors as well: Despite the large outcry, Bridge fans kept the paper even after losing one of their favorite features.

The column is a cornerstone of many readers' days.

George Doane of Rancho Palos Verdes wrote, "I am dismayed at your decision to discontinue the Bridge column.  I went the week without it, and I clearly am showing withdrawal symptoms. I always, ALWAYS do mine at lunchtime and look forward to reading the column all morning.  I plead for you to bring it back."

Several readers noted that the column was often discussed at their regular bridge games.

Charlene Carnachan of Glendale wrote that the Bridge column "has been a standby for me and my friends and the basis for discussion for many years.  'Have you seen the latest Bridge column in the L.A. Times?' would be a frequent conversation topic."

Many readers said Bridge was one of the things they liked most about the print edition.

Barbara Glabman of Newport Beach wrote from her iPad, "We have subscribed to the Los Angeles Times for over 40 years. In an era when we can get our news streaming live on computer, it is the extras like the Bridge column that keep us subscribing."

--Deirdre Edgar

Photo: Bridge column writer Frank Stewart. Credit: Tribune Media Services

 

Food editor explains how restaurants are reviewed

It was the outing heard 'round the food world: Times restaurant critic S. Irene Virbila had her photo taken and was refused service at a Beverly Hills restaurant when she tried to dine there with friends Dec. 21. The photo was then posted on the restaurant's Tumblr page and was quickly picked up by other websites. And just like that, 15 years of anonymity was gone.

In an editor's note on the cover of this week's Food section, Russ Parsons writes that the "unfortunate"  situation provided the opportunity to shed some light on how The Times reviews restaurants:

First, we are not going to change the way we do business. We'll continue to make reservations under assumed names; leave varying call-back numbers; and pay for our meals under a variety of credit card names.

This ensures that a restaurant has minimum warning that a critic is coming, on the theory that there is little that can be done once he or she is in the door. There is no way for a chef to dream up some super-elaborate dish or acquire higher-quality ingredients at the last minute.

He talks about the anonymity of a critic:

The reality is that most high-end restaurants already have a pretty good idea of what the leading critics look like. After all, a big-deal restaurant is a big-deal investment. With millions of dollars riding on a business that can be dramatically affected by one person's opinion, owners of course do everything they can to find out who the critics are.

And he explains the oft-misunderstood star system:

When we were establishing the criteria for judging restaurants, we started with the assumption that L.A. was a world-class city and its restaurants should be able to stand alongside those of anyplace else. It would be insulting to the restaurants to do anything less — to judge them "on a curve."

Thus, a four-star restaurant is one that is the equal of any restaurant in the United States, and even the world. Accordingly, there have been few of those.

Parsons' editor's note has more details.

— Deirdre Edgar

 

Times publisher cites the year's highlights

Publisher Eddy Hartenstein sent the following memo to Times employees:

Colleagues:

As we approach year-end, I want to thank each and every one of you for doing your part in this enterprise we call the Los Angeles Times Media Group.

And “doing” is the understatement of the year. Together, we have far exceeded our own stated mission of being the No. 1 source of news and information for Southern California. We have continually and methodically improved upon our goals of serving the diverse communities and constituencies of our immense geographic region, and done so throughout 2010 with distinctive style and, above all, heart and soul.

It is well worth the “ink” to highlight a number of our business and editorial accomplishments. They encompass giving our readers some of the best journalism anywhere in the world, with an emphasis on accountability reporting and news they can use, as well as creating new digital, event and distribution revenue streams. We are committing resources to areas that we know are of key interest to our readers and advertisers, and that make California the unique place that it is. All of these efforts are aimed at further distinguishing our coverage and reach in the crowded media landscape.

Our editorial highlights include:

• Investigating Bell and other L.A. County cities in articles that unraveled a sea of corruption, fraud and mismanagement of public funds.
• Unveiling a groundbreaking project that sought to determine the effectiveness of thousands of Los Angeles Unified School District teachers in raising students’ test scores. Drawing on data the district had largely ignored, our “Grading the Teachers” project fueled an intense national debate over how teachers should be evaluated and whether the results should be made public.
• Shining a light on flaws in the L.A. County child welfare system, where children under its care continue to die.
• Remaining one of the handful of news organizations committed to foreign news, with a staff of dedicated correspondents covering the Middle East, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the deadly drug war in Mexico, the economic crisis in Europe, the tensions between North and South Korea, life in Africa and developments in the ever-changing China and India.
• Providing the only late-breaking print report in Southern California – LATExtra – detailing events such as the San Bruno pipeline explosion, congressional passage of the tax-cut bill, Toyota’s Prius recall and the North Korea missile strike.
• Continuing to lead in the digital era, providing a wide range of searchable databases on important issues such as neighborhood crime, as well as blogs focused on specialty pursuits like photography and video (Framework), technology (Tech Blog) and health (Booster Shots).
• Hiring more reporters and editors to cover L.A.’s signature arts and entertainment industry.
• Adding reporters to what was already the largest newsgathering bureau in our state capital.
• Increasing the number of staff writers contributing to our Book Review.
• Unveiling a new, weekly Op-Ed column focused on local government and politics.
• Launching a new weekly print television listings guide, TV Times.
• Better engaging in dialogue with our readers by dramatically increasing our Readers’ Representative Journal efforts, sharing more information about the inner workings of the newsroom, what goes into the decisions about coverage and how readers react to them.
• Ensuring that we serve Southern California’s important and diverse audiences with unique editorial products, as we continue to enhance Brand X, Hoy and Los Angeles Times Magazine.

Readers respond to demise of Bridge column

Many readers were disappointed to see this note on the front of the Calendar section Monday morning: "The Bridge column has been discontinued. Ask Amy will take its place on the comics pages."

By noon Monday, 60 readers had called the Readers' Rep office, and 31 had e-mailed to protest the change.

Sallie Hofmeister, assistant managing editor for arts and entertainment, explained the decision. "A recent survey indicates that only 3% of our subscribers read the column every day, and that 89% never look at it," she said.

Moving the Ask Amy column to the spot where Bridge used to be “frees up space for news and features” elsewhere in the Calendar section, Hofmeister said.

John Blowitz of Indian Wells was among those who wrote in. "Perhaps us avid column readers are not your most desirable demographic, and perhaps your surveys showed that there weren't enough of us compared, say, to 'Bizarro' aficionados, but we are loyal, Frank Stewart Bridge column, L.A. Times readers nonetheless. Please reconsider," he said, adding: "P.S. And I love 'Bizarro,' too."

Ann Cressman of Laguna Niguel also hoped editors would reconsider the decision. "I cannot believe you are discontinuing the Bridge column. Bridge is a wonderful card game. It improves memory and concentration," she wrote.

Several readers, including Carl J. Anderson of Simi Valley, mentioned the earlier loss of Bridge on Sundays. "I was more than disappointed when the Times discontinued the Bridge column in the Sunday Times," Anderson wrote, "but to delete it all together is unforgiving!" 

Readers often wonder why something else can't be cut instead of a feature that they like. " 'The Bridge column has been discontinued' -- and yet you continue Sudoku. Is the L.A. Times out of its mind?" asked D.B. Prell of Palm Springs.

Still others, including Harriet Himmelstein of Laguna Woods, explained their enjoyment of the column. "I have breakfasted every day for many years with the L.A. Times Bridge column and the comics (well, most of the comics)," Himmelstein said. "This respite from the world and local news before the daily grind is a great comfort. Please, bring it back."

-- Deirdre Edgar

 

Comics: Two more subtractions and one big addition

Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!

On Monday, The Times instituted its second change this month to the Comics section. Because of a reorganization of the section, which included the addition of a second advertisement, two more strips have been removed: “Home and Away” and “Brewster Rockit: Space Guy!” Earlier this month, “Cathy” retired and “Rex Morgan, M.D.” was cut to make room for the addition of the KenKen puzzle.

However, there also has been an addition this week on the comics front. For the first time, a selection of comics is available on latimes.com. “Rex Morgan” and “Brewster Rockit” are among them. So are others that readers ask about, such as “Mary Worth” and “Sally Forth.” (But readers have been disappointed to discover that “Home and Away” is not included in the prebundled package to which The Times subscribes. However, the strip is available on the website of its syndicate.)

As of Tuesday morning, about 15 people, most of them “Brewster Rockit” fans, had e-mailed The Times to protest the cuts.

For a sampling of the response, keep reading...

Rex Morgan: The doctor is no longer in

The departure of “Rex Morgan, M.D.” from The Times’ Comics pages this week has brought in more than 80 e-mails and 50 calls.

The last strip ran Saturday, and a note was published on the front page of the Calendar section that day announcing the change. It was also noted in a post on this blog Saturday, and again on the Calendar cover on Monday.

Many readers, however, missed the news and have been looking for the good doctor.

The change was prompted by the ending of “Cathy,” whose creator retired. It was decided that the KenKen puzzle would replace “Cathy,” but that meant dropping one more strip to make room -- and the one cut was “Rex Morgan.”

Among those who wrote was Dave Strickler, a research librarian who has cataloged all of the comic strips that have ever run in The Times. Strickler noted that “Rex Morgan” had been the longest-running strip in the paper, debuting in The Times on Aug. 2, 1948.

According to an article from The Times’ archives, “Rex Morgan” was one of six “new, top-rate” strips added to the paper that day to create a full page of comics, with a total of 18 strips. It was sandwiched between “Abbie An’ Slats” and “Dotty Dripple” (above). The article, which detailed other “improvements” to The Times (including printing the Sports section on green paper) concluded optimistically, “We hope you like it!”

Judging by this week’s feedback, readers did.

“How dare you take away my Dr. Rex Morgan? I look forward to it every day, and now you've removed it for a stupid math game. This is crazy,” wrote Helen Crisp of Glendora.

“There are a number of unfunny, inartistic strips that, for reasons known to you, remain on the comic page, while ‘Rex Morgan’ is eliminated? Very sad,” added Stephen Snow of Los Angeles.

“The day ‘Mary Worth’ disappeared from the Calendar section, I started holding my breath for ‘Rex Morgan.’ But to my relief, he got spruced up, married and had a child. It looked like Mary had been the sacrificial lamb and Rex was going to hold the space reserved for basic down-to-earth good advice in health and family matters. Wrong again!” said Dorien Grunbaum of Los Angeles.

Strickler, who lives in San Simeon “in the shadow of William Randolph Hearst’s castle,” as he describes it on his website, made another historical note about “Rex Morgan’s” place in The Times. “The demise of ‘Rex Morgan, M.D.’ also brings to an end the run of soap opera strips in The Times, as well as, arguably, the end of all continuity story-line strips. Continuity soaps have enthralled Times readers since at least the late 1930s.”

Strickler’s website, ComicsAccess.com, has a complete index of all comics published in The Times, beginning with the first six strips that ran on Aug. 21, 1904. Since then more than 900 strips have come and gone. Strickler’s entry for “Rex Morgan” has been updated with the ending date of 10/2/2010.

“No lament here,” he wrote in his e-mail this week. “Times change, and The Times changes with them. But the end of a fine, enduring cultural tradition should at least be noted, with a sigh.”

--Deirdre Edgar

Photo: Part of The Times' Comics page from Aug. 2, 1948. Source: Los Angeles Times archives

 

Changes to the Comics pages

Beginning Sunday, The Times will introduce some changes to its Comics pages. These are prompted by the ending of "Cathy," whose creator, Cathy Guisewite, is retiring.

The final "Cathy" is in Saturday's Calendar section. Beginning Sunday, "Stone Soup" will replace "Cathy" in the Sunday Comics. "Stone Soup" currently appears Monday-Saturday.

On Monday, The Times will add the KenKen puzzle as a replacement for "Cathy." "Rex Morgan, M.D." also is being dropped to make room for the new puzzle.

Comments are welcome at comics@latimes.com.

Friday editions delayed, incomplete

The day after the Lakers win the NBA championship is an especially bad day for readers to not receive their newspaper.

As the LA Now blog reported earlier, serious pressroom problems overnight resulted in late delivery of Friday's paper. And many papers that were delivered were missing the Sports and LATExtra sections.

A memo from Barbara Thomas, the newsroom’s production director, said papers didn’t reach the distribution centers until about 5 a.m. -- the time that papers usually begin landing on driveways.

Publisher Eddy Hartenstein said in a statement that 95% of papers had been delivered by 9:45 a.m. As of 1 p.m., some readers in Orange County were still awaiting replacement papers that contained LATExtra and Sports.

TV Times returning to Sunday edition

In response to requests from readers, the weekly TV Times section is being revived.

It will begin appearing this Sunday, June 13, in newsstand sales. Those subscribers who want to receive the section will be able to add it to their subscriptions. It will be available in home-delivered papers beginning Sept. 5. 

The section is planned as a 44-page tabloid and will include 24-hour TV listings, a feature that readers often request. 

Assistant Managing Editor Sallie Hofmeister, who oversees arts and entertainment, said the section would be "a great addition to our lineup of entertainment news and information.”

Weekly TV listings are also available for downloading and printing on the ShowTracker blog. 

Changes to comments, links on latimes.com

The Times has instituted two changes to latimes.com, involving comments to online articles and e-commerce links in some articles and blogs. Editor Russ Stanton and Managing Editor/Online Sean Gallagher announced the news to the editorial staff this morning. Here are excerpts from their memo:

Today we are making two key changes to latimes.com.

The first involves moderating reader comments. Our readers are fully embracing the functionality instituted in December that allows comments to be posted on articles, columns, photos and other non-blog coverage. However, the more the volume increases, the more time and resources it takes to moderate comments before publication.

Starting today, we will allow comments from readers who are registered through the new sign-on process (i.e., via Facebook, AOL, MySpace, Google, Yahoo and Twitter) to go live immediately. These will be scrubbed against a word filter, which will block an extensive list of vulgarities. Please be aware, though, that this system will not be foolproof. There are those who will find a way to slip inappropriate comments past the filter. Each comment has a link that allows readers to report abuse. Any comment reported twice will automatically be removed from the site. These hidden comments will be held for review by Times staffers, who will decide whether to republish the comment or keep it off the site. PLEASE NOTE: We will continue to moderate all comments on our blogs.

This transition will be a challenging one. There will be praise and intelligent conversation, but also barbs and outright hostility. As unfettered as the discussions may be, they are worth hosting – and cultivating. The fact is, readers of online news expect to be able to participate. They want to be able to share their opinions and interact with journalists and other readers.

We also can learn from conversations about our journalism. We will be closely monitoring the comment boards and will pass along news tips and other pertinent information. 

Second, we will begin adding e-commerce links in some articles and blog posts today as part of a pilot program.

These post-publication links to sites such as Amazon and TicketNetwork will serve as both a reader service and a revenue opportunity for the company.  During the testing phase, the links will be placed by an e-commerce producer based at the Chicago Tribune, where the program has been underway for about six months.

At no time will a blue editorial link be replaced with an e-commerce link.

Each article or blog post that includes a green link will be appended with the following disclaimer at the foot of the article text or blog post:

Clicking on Green Links will take you to a third-party e-commerce site. These sites are not operated by the Los Angeles Times. The Times Editorial staff is not involved in any way with Green Links or with these third-party sites.

These links will appear in Health, Image, Food, Travel, Books, Entertainment and Sports articles and photo galleries. They also will appear in the following blogs: 24 Frames, Culture Monster, Hero Complex, Idol Tracker, Pop & Hiss, Show Tracker, Ministry of Gossip, L.A. Unleashed, All the Rage, Brand X, Daily Dish, Jacket Copy, L.A. at Home, Dodgers, Fabulous Forum, Lakers and Outposts.

As part of this pilot program, e-commerce links will not be used in columns and news section articles and blogs.