Old Times, new Times
Congratulations on the new look and content of the Calendar section. Sunday’s Calendar section was incredible, and I am delighted that you followed up with the same insight in Monday’s paper as well.
This is the capital of the entertainment industry, and I always thought The Times was a little light on coverage of Hollywood and the business of entertainment. That is no longer the case.
Graham Harlow
Los Angeles
*
With the old Sunday Calendar, the format made it easy to read at a cafe, take along for an afternoon movie, or browse to find a quick review of a play. It was well designed, logical and a great size. It was the first section I read and the last section to be thrown out. The city mourns its loss.
Matthew Flynn
Studio City
*
Believe me when I say I am neither a nut, a reactionary, nor someone with too much time on his hands. I am a former professional editor (print, not film) at Columbia University who now works in the film industry. I have subscribed to your paper since moving to L.A. five years ago. I understand that papers change, and I normally don’t really care if it’s a little bit for either the better or the worse -- but your new Calendar section has gone too far in the wrong direction.
While the other sections seem to have resisted major graphic changes, the Calendar section has gone whole hog in its redesign. And the result is a nearly incomprehensible puzzle of type sizes, fonts, bars, boxes and other things beloved of graphic designers but the bedevilment of readers who are actually looking for information.
I find it hard to believe that Calendar’s new look will actively entice new subscribers in numbers outstripping those of us it alienates. Please listen to me, a reader; and when your writers complain that they can hardly find or read their own words, give their opinions due weight over the easy enthusiasm of your graphic designers.
Matt Logan
Santa Monica
*
Bravo, bravo, bravo! I’m absolutely in love with the redesigned Sunday Calendar section. It was broke and you did fix it.
A much better look, smaller print, more interesting, sophisticated stories and enough information about what’s happening elsewhere, that maybe from here on I won’t have to buy the New York Times as well.
William Criswell
Los Angeles
*
I’ve subscribed to The Times on and off for 20 years. As a film and music lover, one of the highly anticipated points in my week has always been to sit down with my Sunday Calendar and survey the week’s events so that I can select the screenings and concerts to attend. Los Angeles is a huge city with innumerable entertainment options on any given day, so the clarity, consistency and comprehensiveness of Sunday Calendar’s listings have made it invaluable.
This is why I was very disappointed that The Times decided to discontinue this format, and to instead pre-select a few events to highlight, while instructing the reader to refer to Thursday’s newspaper for more information. I believe this is a miscalculation; Sunday is simply the best day from whence to plan one’s week, and to have such a truncated menu of listings will prove frustrating. Please return to a format that was not only not broken in the first place, but that made Sunday Calendar one of the most reliable resources in all of Los Angeles.
Stephen Blake
Los Angeles
*
My husband and I don’t get why the changes were made. They aren’t for the better. As my husband puts it, now Calendar is just another section of the paper. We used to leave it around for part of the week to read like a magazine.
Maureen Discipulo
Redondo Beach
*
The most exciting aspect of your redesign is the reader’s ability to start and finish an article on the same page. Whoopee! No more maddening “continued on Page 86” (then 87 and maybe even 88). Even the writing seemed more interesting.
Ronald J. Levin
Pacific Palisades
*
I am not in the entertainment industry (I believe that puts me in the majority of your readers), and I am really irritated at having to wade through all that Calendar and entertainment stuff to get to the Living features. I’m a very busy working mom. You can consider this to be a negative comment on the new format, i.e., hate it! Please bring back Southern California Living.
Susan Vignale
La Canada
*
WOW! I’ve died and gone to New York! The new Calendar is a triumph. The new design suggests that there’s more to do here than in the Big Apple. We seem to have our very own Broadway. Who knew? After decades of having to separate Calendar from the Classifieds, we can now simply open the section.
William J. Becker Jr.
Los Angeles
*
Boo! I hate the new Calendar! I miss the comprehensive listings of bands/performers. Secondly, while I like the new fonts employed, in order to scrutinize ads for upcoming events, I have to fold the paper in such a way as to be able to hold it close to my face, so I can read the very small print. With the old way, it was easy to just take the section by its sides and hold it closer. So, by the time I was done reading the new Calendar, I had a big mess to contend with, which is a shame, for I often like to keep the Calendar for reference to events. Psychologically, having Calendar as a tabloid section resonated a “Yippee, I’m now at the fun stuff and have left the dire, hard news sections behind” feeling. Please rethink this!
Angel LaCanfora
Torrance
*
I am upset that your newly redesigned section has so drastically reduced its art coverage. Your Oct. 6 Calendar had 173 art exhibitions listed and yesterday’s had only 45.
The Times has been the best source for gallery and museum listings and art reviews. You employ a top-notch group of critics that have helped L.A. become the major art center it is.
Please do not abandon that crucial supporting role.
Thomas McGovern
San Bernardino
Thomas McGovern is an assistant professor of art at Cal State San Bernardino.
*
The Sunday summary is useless -- what if people haven’t kept the previous Thursday’s paper or, God forbid, didn’t buy it?
Richard Leary
Los Angeles
*
The Calendar section has always been the perfect size to fit the bottom of my parrot Bozo’s cage. Now I guess I will have to use the LA Weekly.
Saul Saladow
Los Angeles
*
Editors Note: The Guide, the new Sunday Calendar list, offers a selective look at the performances, events, exhibitions and special screenings that our critics and writers believe will be of most interest to readers. (The complete list of current movies in release still appears in the Sunday section.) Comprehensive arts and entertainment lists now appear in Thursday’s Calendar Weekend. Sunday’s expanded Contents, opposite, helps readers navigate the new section’s style component, features and columns.
