LETTER FROM THE EDITOR: CHANGES AFFECT PEOPLE, OPINION AND TV LISTINGS

There are changes occurring at the Southeast Missourian. That isn't so unusual, because change for the better is progress. I thought you might be particularly interested in three areas of change:

-- On page 3A of today's paper there is an announcement of some staff changes. These were set in motion by the recent announcement that our news editor, Jay Eastlick, will be moving to the St. Joseph News-Press in mid-April. This is a good career opportunity for Jay, but he will be sorely missed at the Southeast Missourian.

Many of you know Jay for his weekly columns that appear each Saturday on this page. His insight and analytical ability are as good as any of the columnists whose work appears on this page, even those who are nationally syndicated and have national or even worldwide reputations.

One thing about Jay: You always know where he stands. No mincing of words in his columns.

As news editor, Jay has played a key role in reviving the copy desk at this newspaper. He also has written editorials each week and has participated with his usual candor at the weekly meetings of the editorial board. Everyone here wishes Jay the best in his new position as a senior reporter for the St. Joseph newspaper.

-- Some of you may notice some differences on this very page. For example, there are some new fixtures at the top of the page. And Speak Out has been moved to its new home on the Opinion page.

The decision to move Speak Out was based on several factors: The comments in Speak Out are opinions of our many readers. Putting those comments on the Opinion page allows more room for news elsewhere. Readers' views, both in letters to the editor (which must be signed) and in Speak Out (which is anonymous) will be side by side.

Speak Out and letters to the editor have traditions that go back to the earliest American newspapers. Two hundred years ago, newspapers were published expressing to make viewpoints available to the public. Attempts by faraway government control to suppress these opinion sheets led to the adoption of the First Amendment.

Over the years, the voices of the people have become more and more diminished as many newspapers have developed severe cases of opinion laryngitis. Not so at the Southeast Missourian, where we take our opinions -- and those of our readers -- very seriously.

-- Finally, a word about TV Update, the weekly guide to television listing that is a part of the Southeast Missourian on Fridays.

I know that many of you have been upset by recent changes in TV Update. So have I. But the aim was to improve the product. And, slowly but surely, I think readers will come to see the benefits.

This week the company that does TV Update for us has honored some of the requests we have been making. There are, for example, synopses of movies in the daily "Highlights" section. This was the biggest omission during recent changes.

Many of you have become more and more frustrated, because it takes the TV Update company so long to make adjustments. But we are listening to your concerns and doing everything we can to see that the listings are useful and up-to-date.

~R. Joe Sullivan is the editor of the Southeast Missourian.