When we launched our reader survey of syndicated columnists two weeks ago, I assumed we'd get a deluge of responses.
I was wrong. The response wasn't a flood. It was a Pineapple Express.
Before we closed down the survey last week, more than 2,300 readers had filled out The Bee's online survey form, allowing them to state their preferences on the national columnists we publish.
More than 800 mailed in letters. Hundreds more sent in their choices by e-mail or fax. Late responses are arriving daily.
With the assistance of gracious helpers, I've been busy opening the mail and tabulating results. It could take a while.
In the meantime, I thought I'd share data from our online survey, which, through the wonders of a software called Zoomerang, offers immediate results.
Some 2,331 people filled out the online survey. The vast majority (85 percent) were seven-day-a week subscribers to The Bee.
Nearly 70 percent were men, and nearly two-thirds were 56 years or older.
Of those who responded online, 64 percent listed the New York Times' Paul Krugman as one of their favorite columnist we regularly publish. He was followed by the Times' Maureen Dowd and the Washington Post's Eugene Robinson.
Least favorites? Leading the list was Cal Thomas, with 70 percent listing him as their least preferred. He was followed by Rich Lowry and George Will.
Do these result reflect overall reader preferences? In all likelihood, no.
An online survey only captures a segment of a newspaper's readership. Lots of our readers are too busy to fill out surveys, or don't like surveys at all.
Nonetheless, I've found this survey to be helpful as we consider ways to revamp our opinion pages.
Based on the results, many readers want The Bee to more frequently publish Thomas Friedman and David Brooks, two of the New York Times more thoughtful writers. I fully agree.
Readers also offered some smart suggestions for columnists we could add to our bull pen. These range from conservative voices such Peggy Noonan of the Wall Street Journal and Charles Krauthammer of The Washington Post, to more liberal commentators such as Cynthia Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Amy Goodman, a co-host of the "Democracy Now!" news program.
As you might imagine, many of the people taking the survey were strongly ideological. Some wanted us to only publish voices that reflected their personal worldview.
Thankfully, not all readers felt that way. As one put it, "I seem to prefer columnists who are well-read, well-traveled … who tend to support what they write and occasionally express a thought I might not agree with."
One thing's for sure: The mix of columnists you've been reading in The Bee will not stay the same. New voices, both syndicated columnists and those from around our state and community, will be added. We are already mixing it up. On Friday, we ran a Krauthammer column in place of Cal Thomas.
I'll keep you posted as we make more decisions. And thanks for taking time to express your opinion.
Speaking of columnists, there was a great hue and cry in this town when Daniel Weintraub published his farewell column last Sunday. But as Dan noted, he will keep writing for these pages as an independent journalist. His first piece appears today on our California Forum cover. Welcome back, Kotter.
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