To the Editor:

Editor Ellen Foley believes that "A new, improved State Journal in '08" will be just what the public is looking for. Actually, our town and the surrounding area is hungry for real national and international news, but it is apparently not possible, at least at this point.

Newspapers are under great pressure to produce a profit and keep the consumer entertained. Furthermore, a newspaper editor is likely pressured by the right wing corporate elite to suppress news that would be detrimental to them or their party. For the WSJ, national and international news is compressed into an astonishing one or two pages, hardly what our Founding Fathers expected of a free press and more what one might see in a foreign country that is not democratic.

When the press is controlled in foreign countries, such as in China, people there tell me that suppressing the national and international news and focusing on local news is the method used to control what information their people receive.

Readers of the WSJ should demand better news, not just better trimmings. I would suggest readers stand behind and encourage Editor Foley and all the journalists who publish our newspaper, to help them weather the pressure and bullying of the right wing.

Thank you.

John Murphy

From: Tim Kelley

Sent: Monday, January 07, 2008 1:59 PM

Subject: RE: New, Improved State Journal

Thank you very much for taking time to write us with your comments. Our changes over the years in space devoted to national and international coverage is not due to bullying of the right wing, advertisers or any other special interest.

It's much more a direct result of the changing media landscape. Far more people get updates on nation and world affairs from 24-hour news channels and national newspaper Web sites. Our own Web site includes every AP story published around the clock on nation, world and political news - more than we could ever fit into the newspaper.

This widely available news is now available worldwide as soon as it is edited. Publishing some of it a day later in a local newspaper makes less sense than back in the days before the Internet and cable TV, when a local newspaper might be the sole source of information for a community.

The State Journal is still the best and only source of in-depth local news, so that's where we're putting more effort these days.

And we still select a nation/world topic for in-depth coverage most days on the In Depth page. We've added a "Choice 2008" page that appears at least weekly to keep you updated on issues in the 2008 presidential race. And for readers without access or desire to use TV or the Web for updates, we continue to round up key daily developments with an expanded digest on A3.

I realize this may not be an entirely satisfactory answer for any longtime reader of newspapers. But I wanted to assure you that these decisions are an adaptation to changes in our readers' lifestyles, not a capitulation to political or profit pressures.

Thank you again for writing.

Tim Kelley, managing editor

Wisconsin State Journal

Sent: Monday, January 07, 2008 5:21 PM

To: Tim Kelley

Subject: Re: New, Improved State Journal

Thank you for taking the time to write back. I still cannot agree. Many people look at the front page right away and make their decision what is news. Today it is MOLD! Please does your editor have no dignity!!

I believe your paper has a responsibility to make us aware of the world around us so we can make decisions. The major decisions are national not local! Whatever reason you have to give us such mediocre, ghastly news, it is against everything I believe as an American citizen. In America, the newspaper has stood as a vangard against tyranny from our governement. If I read only the WSJ I might as well throw in my rights because I would never know when they have been take away!!

Editor Foley has made it sound like all we want is fluff--our puzzles,etc. She essentially admits that you need to go elsewhere for anything but local news-- then perhaps you should put a disclaimer in your paper saying that you are not responsible for what we know and please read the NYTimes or the Chicago Tribune!

Finally with all due respect, I would use a phrase from the right wing tool kit, and say that your paper is "unpatriotic". It is helping us, as Americans, lose our Constitution, Bill of Rights, etc.

Sincerely,

John Murphy