Innovative step

Innovative step
At the outset, I was a bit shocked to read the front page headline saying ‘From today, DNA does away with the edit page’ (Feb 1). But even before I could become disappointed, I could see reasons in what you had stated. Gone are the days when the editorial page & its columns were avidly read for a newspaper’s views & its standings. In fact, I recollect that the edit page and the
editor’s views were rather mandatory, even during the Emergency, a couple of newspapers carried a “recipe” in cookery or a piece on travel etc... as “edit” topics! As a letter writer for over 30 years, I was wondering what will happen to the letters column. I was happy to note that you will be retaining the readers’ letters column. This is perhaps the first time that the readers’ letters column has gained a promotion or an elevation by being moved to page 2 in a major newspaper.  Thank you and hats off to this innovative step
—S Krishna Kumar, Dombivli

II
The initiative of DNA to do away with the editorial (Feb 1) is innovative.  No daily, weekly or periodical has taken such a bold step and a departure from the general convention. With the new editor-in-chief Aditya Sinha joining DNA recently, surely it will add verve to the daily. There were days when readers never missed the editorial, with their busy schedules.  The contemporary generation scans the headlines.
—H P Murali, Bangalore

III
I laud your revolutionary idea of doing away with the edit page. You are right that nobody reads 3 edits in a paper written anonymously by people who don’t care and who write simply to fill up the space. But at a time when the Sena is anyways dying, I was shocked to Jyoti Punwani harping about them as the goons of Mumbai. Punwani lives in the past. There is no Sena on the streets any more, not in the way they were 20 years ago.
—Tarun Gaikwad,via email

IV
DNA relinquishing the editorials and the edit page comes as a whiff of fresh air. It is a very encouraging change which will surely prompt many youngsters to read newspapers which are slowly but surely fading into oblivion due to television, mobile phones and the Internet. DNA has taken a bold step and ventured out to wipe out serious and - for many - boring editorials and lengthy articles that people hardly read. An occasional editorial on the first page, however, would be welcomed as it would reflect the opinion and the voice of the newspaper. Kudos for ushering in this change.
—K Chidanand Kumar, Bangalore

What’s up, DNA?
It is hard to comprehend how many of the numerous DNA readers would hazard a guess behind your logic to do away with the edit page. Your reasoning that “it has long lived its usefulness, it’s boring, very few read it” sounds presumptuous, ambiguous and partial.  An editorial reflects the policy, profile and philosophy of the paper. Some papers have editorials with 2 or 3 parts written by different sub-editors or assistant.editors. Your change in the format is welcome.  However, I’ve never heard of a newspaper without an editorial!
—Cliff J D’Souza, Mumbai

II
By doing away with the edit page you’ve smothered the soul of DNA. A newspaper without edit page is like a nation without a flag.  Your audacity amounts to self-flagellation. Moreover, in the beginning, Speak Up was the liveliest page. The page was been gradually shrunk. What’re you up to, DNA?
—KP Rajan , via email

Shocking collision
It was shocking to read about the mid-sea collision off the Bombay port, the third major one in the last two years.   While the incident is of a serious nature, it is sad that no worthwhile steps will be taken by the authorities concerned to prevent such incidents. We seem to be graduating from road accidents to near mid-air collisions to sea collisions.  

A committee headed by a senior naval officer will be appointed, which will spend time and money and finally submit a fat report that will gather dust in some archive.  It is sincerely hoped that we learn form such accidents and take steps to ensure the non-recurrence of such unsavoury accidents.
— KR Prithvi Raj, via email