Letters to the Editor
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"Your hate has made you powerful, now fulfill your destiny..."
I'm fascinated that readers are initiating a letter writing campaign to advertisers based on the sheer suckiness of this strip. It is an extreme step, but probably the only one that will have an effect.
Another thing that readers could do is to become stockholders in Salon and then complain. Salon Media Group is a publicly traded company that trades under the symbol SLNM for about $1.60 a share.
It does not speak well of this publication that readers have felt the need to take this step. If the editors had run some explanation, editorial or otherwise addressed the readers' criticisms in some way, then people probably wouldn't have felt the need to do this. Many papers have ombudspersons who are employed to address the concerns of the readership. At Salon, we only have the letters section, the occasional red star and the blogging of the editors. That forum, clearly, has been insufficient in this case.
By choosing to not only disregard, but to outright ignore readers' concerns, Salon has damaged its brand. Management and stockholders should take note.