
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, April 21, 1991                   TAG: 9104220270
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: B-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

HALL STORY FOR STOCK TABLES: UNEQUAL TRADE

I WAS AT first fascinated by your feature article "Puttin' on the dog" (April 11), which offered readers a lucid understanding of not only why Arsenio Hall likes to make barking noises but also how far into the future he can be expected to do so.

Then I remembered another recent article in which you plaintively discussed the high cost of newsprint and the "hard choices" that must be made in these difficult times when deciding what limited space allows you to offer to your readers. It seems that the quantity of paper needed for this latest enlightenment was just about equal to that which you say you can no longer justify for printing the valuable business information contained in your erstwhile somewhat complete stock tables.

Two possible explanations for this perplexing editorial choice spring to mind:

(a) You are very closely attuned to the interests of the majority of your readership and are in fact accurately selecting the information they consider most important, or

(b) You haven't the foggiest idea what your readers want to know.

Sadly, I don't know which possibility bothers me the most. BRUCE HENDERSON DALEVILLE

by CNB