Published: August 25, 2008 09:45 am         

New comics page debuts today

WEATHERFORD — Beginning today, Weatherford Democrat readers will have daily access to popular health columnist Dr. Peter Gott. Gott’s column will debut as part of a new features page to run every day in the Democrat.

The newspaper will also discontinue daily publication of the daily horoscope, as well as the comic strips Over the Hedge, Sam and Silo and Monty.

“Dr. Gott’s column was an overwhelming choice among readers who participated in our recent survey of comics and features,” said Steve Boggs, publisher of the Democrat. “At the same time, surprisingly, the daily horoscope was very low in readership,”

The Democrat recently polled its readers on how closely they follow the daily features and comics.

“The response was very brisk. We had well over 100 subscribers respond in the first couple of days, and we used the results of that survey as the basis to revamp our daily page,” Boggs said. “It wasn’t the only factor, but it was the biggest. Dropping the daily horoscope was not an easy decision, but it’s the right direction for our daily lineup at this time.”

Boggs said the lineup of daily comics available to community newspapers is changing, and availability is also a major issue.

The new lineup will combine the Pastimes and Comics pages into one page, anchored by Dear Abby, the daily crossword puzzle, Celebrity Cipher, Dr. Gott and a lineup of nine daily comics.

Favorites such as the Everyday Cheapskate will continue to appear in the Sunday edition. Phillip Adler’s daily bridge column will be amended to include the opening hand graphic only, and will no longer be accompanied by the column.

     

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