The ANQDN Comic's Fiasco

An update to this post is that the ANQDN, acceding to popular demand, has apparently restored "Pooch Cafe" as of Monday, April 17. It looks like they made room for this by removing, not one of the newer, mindless comics, but "Get Fuzzy" the strip with Rob, Satchel, and Bucky the sarcastic, single-fanged cat. "Get Fuzzy" has been in reruns for a while, but still continues to appear in other newspapers.

I am glad that the ANQDN has listened to a bit of their readers' input. The comics section is not just for kids anymore.

I wanted to write about a local topic that seems to be generating an unusual amount of public fervor these days. It's about Anchorage's sole newspaper, the Anchorage Not Quite Daily News, and the changes in their comics section. 

Anchorage Homeless Camp

I could have written about all the problems that the city is encountering, from the mayor's duplicity, incompetence, deceit, or just plain inability. Including, but not limited to, his revolving door of staff resignation problems, the library power plays, giving public funds through contract preference to his rich friends, and mismanagement of the homeless issues. There are also all of the power whiners' complaints on ranked-choice voting, election fraud, snow removal, and myriad other issues. The list goes on ad nauseam. But, no, those subjects are for another group of posts. 

 This print newspaper is relentlessly attempting to convert its subscribers to their online, electronic presentation.  I use the nickname Anchorage Not Quite Daily News. I don't know how they can keep the "daily in their name. Shame on them for not restoring the Saturday issue after Ryan (or John depending on which story you read) Binkley, let's agree to call it the Binkley Company bought the paper from Alice Rogoff in 2018.

Mother Goose and Grimm

The print edition has prompts and touts to "check ADN.com for further information" always wanting you, the reader, to download the phone app or subscribe to the electronic edition. Their phone app and website are both quite daunting requiring passwords repeatedly. The phone app is rife with pop-ups and ads. I notice that the Saturday web version has no new stories unless there is an earthshaking one, like an earthquake. most of the articles say "2 days ago" or some such statement.

 

Yes, I'm one of the dinosaurs who still get the print issue delivered. I like nothing better than to sit down in the morning with my hard copy of the paper and a cup of coffee, except on Saturdays. I used to save the Anchorage Press which was published on Thursday to read on Saturday if I could hold out. But it is no more, insert sniffs here. I'm not going to get into the political slant of the paper, It would take too long and the left wing/right wing meter would be quivering like a tuning fork.

 9 Chickweed Lane

I truly subscribe to and support the ANQDN print edition as I believe it is one of the benchmarks of a "flourishing village that it takes to make a prosperous city", to paraphrase a famous quote. I totally appreciate my delivery person who braves the crazy weather in the early hours to toss my orange plastic bagged paper just where I can get to it. The price per issue thus the monthly subscription price has steadily risen over the years to $2 per issue except for the  Thanksgiving one at $3. Still, I plod on with being a loyal customer. 

I love the NYT Crossword, Cryptoquote, Sudoku, and Jumble. I leave the Daily Commuter Puzzle for others. I really like to complete them in a newspaper that I hold in my hand, not on some electronic phone app. 

Okay, on to the subject of this post, the comic's changes.

  

Pooch Cafe

So, around the end of February, the ANQDN made some changes including the elephant in the room, the canceling of six comics, and replacing them with six others. 

Here is a link to the ANQDN announcement of the changes:

ANQDN comics changes

In the ANQDN story, the editor announced the changes giving the story spin that they learned from a lot of readers what they wanted to read from a survey taken in 2019. A search on this topic produced one printed letter from a 12-year-old reader suggesting a change in the comics also from June 2019. He wanted Calvin and Hobbes. Well, I do too.

Mother Goose And Grimm

Ok, Delbert had to go. I liked Dilbert's comic strips, and I even have a couple of his books of the strip, but Scott Adams crossed the celebrity line with his comment which got a bit racial on his "Real Coffee" youtube show.   

Here is a link to reactions to Scott Adams's comment. 

Washington Post Scott Adams reactions

If the Washington Post nags you to register or subscribe here is a link to the article from the ANQDN to use: 

ANQDN Scott Adams racist rant

I have given the new comics a fair chance and still see no humor in them. They are not even close. I don't know how the ANQDN pays for strip subscriptions but I hope it's not much.

Pooch Cafe

One of the new ones is a single comic taking up the whole panel. It could be positioned like Bliss is above the puzzles.

Calvin and Hobbes

I now zip through the comic's pages reading only the remaining ones that I like. I truly believe that if the ANQDN had taken a survey of its readers they would have had a whole slew of comics that would replace the ones that had to go. I like The Far Side, obviously Calvin and Hobbes, Frank and Ernest, Cathy, and many more.

Who decided that Tundra was the favorite? I know Chad Carpenter, I see him at the Alaska State Fair every year that I attend. I believe that while his comic has a local, Alaskan flavor, it must be far from the favorite. How did Tundra get the number 1 position, top left, above the fold?

I certainly hope that the editors rethink the changes to the comics page and throw out a poll or some sort of survey to take the temperature of its readers on this subject.

Thank you for reading