COMIC SURVEY RESULTS IN: 'PEANUTS' WILL STAY

One comics survey respondent probably summed it up best: "I can't imagine life without Peanuts.'"

You spoke. We listened. We're keeping "Classic Peanuts," the best of the strips drawn over the years by Charles Schulz.

The Southeast Missourian published a comics survey Jan. 23. The entries quickly poured in nearly 420 in all. Not bad, considering we ran the survey form only once.

The survey included two parts. First we asked readers if they'd like to keep "Classic Peanuts" or add a new comic strip. Eight possibilities were suggested. With the recent retirement of Schulz due to health reasons, some papers are considering replacing "Peanuts" reruns. In the second portion, we asked readers to rate our daily comics.

Of all the respondents, 268 politely asked, pleaded, begged and even demanded that we keep "Peanuts." That's an endorsement of nearly 64 percent.

One response arrived on an elegantly monogrammed, cream-colored card. Carefully pasted inside was a vote for "Peanuts." Forget about the rest of the survey, this reader was only concerned with "Peanuts."

Another self-described long-time subscriber said: "I can't think of anything catchy to say but PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE keep Peanuts!'"

One respondent gave us strict instructions: "Do not replace Peanuts' with any of these," referring to our other choices.

Another beautifully monogrammed letter included five or six pleases followed by this observation: "It's the first cartoon we read. We need it in the paper with all of Charlie Brown's wit and wisdom."

One reader pointed out that Schulz would appreciate our honoring his work by continuing the strip.

We also heard the complaints that some of the comics seemed distorted. You were right. The graphics in "Classic Peanuts" have been compressed to make them fit on the page. This practice will stop.

While readers were firmly behind "Peanuts," many also expressed interest in several of the new comic strips.

One reader put it bluntly: "The issue is not which comic strips you offer, it is the number you offer. ... Now take the next step and add comic strips."

Another point well taken.

In response to the survey, the Southeast Missourian is considering the addition of three or four new daily comic strips with little change in the regular lineup. The ones that finished best behind "Peanuts" were "Rose Is a Rose," "Lola," "Baby Blues" and "Non Sequitur."

If new strips are added, the Missourian is looking at moving "Dear Abby," "Out of the Past" and the movie listings to the page with the movie ads. We're also considering beefing up the feature selection on that page with the return of the daily bridge column and an "Ask the Doctor" column.

How did our daily comic strips fare in the survey?

"Family Circus" was by far the overwhelming favorite. Of the 410 who responded to this portion of the survey, 374 respondents gave it a thumbs up. That's an impressive 91 percent approval rating.

It was closely followed by "Blondie," "Hi and Lois," "Beetle Bailey," "Born Loser" and "For Better or for Worse," in that that order.

"Ziggy" and "Garfield" finished out the top eight in the comic survey. Finishing at the bottom of the heap were "Cathy," "Dilbert" and "Herman." We're considering keeping both "Dilbert" and "Cathy," but we may drop "Herman" to enlarge the size of "Family Circus" and "Ziggy."

But let's not stop there.

The comics survey spurred a comprehensive look both at our daily and Sunday color comics. Many of the respondents were unhappy with the Sunday comics and the fact the color-comics lineup doesn't match the daily offerings.

The Southeast Missourian buys a generic Sunday-comics section offered to a number of newspapers. But we are negotiating with our current company and two others to see if the selection can be improved.

We'll keep you informed.

Thanks for your input. It made a difference.