Gazette depends upon its friends

Put yourself into the picture.

The Sequim Gazette has commissioned an online survey of readers that needs at least 200 respondents to achieve statistical validity.

The questionnaire is a hybrid of questions the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association is taking statewide plus queries that are specific to Sequim and the Dungeness Valley.

The main purpose of the survey is to help the Gazette serve its advertisers better, so that's what's in it for us.

What's in it for you is a chance to help local businesses sharpen their advertising and increase business, which well may make for a healthier local economy and a happier place to live.

There's also a $1,000 prize that survey respondents across the state are eligible to win, which would be a very good wage for the 30 to 45 minutes it takes to complete the survey.

You can take the questionnaire only online at www.pulseresearch.com/sgazette.

Even if you don't win the big bucks, you'll be part of a snapshot group portrait of Sequim Gazette readers and their shopping habits. We'll share some of those results as they become available.

Since I'm already seeking readers' help, let me ask this:

Do any of you use the two pages of television listings the Gazette publishes each week?

Viewers whose programs arrive in their homes on satellite systems or cable networks have program guides provided by those services, so our listings may be redundant at best and useless at worst.

Worse than worst, they may be a waste of paper.

To help us measure the need, please participate in an online straw poll.

Send an e-mail to editor@sequimgazette.com with TV yes or TV no in the subject line. That's all you need do, although you can add a message if you wish.

If one thing has surprised me in the month I've been editor of the Gazette, it's been the lack of letters to the editor.

I can't believe that our erudite readers - they're the ones who know what erudite means - don't have views to share about events and issues ranging in scope from Sequim Avenue and Washington Street all the way to the cosmos.

Freedom of the press extends far beyond the people who put ink onto paper. It is a precious privilege for all citizens and community newspapers like the Gazette are privileged to be the conduit for your views.

We don't slam the door on letters that you may have submitted to other publications. However, we have a few guidelines.

Length: 250 words is a good average (this column has 774 words to this point), mostly because we can publish more short letters than long ones - and short letters are more likely to be read.

Besides that, avoid libel, obscenity, plain old bad taste and, well, lies.

Although readers write the letters, the Sequim Gazette shares responsibility as their publisher.

Also, please include a telephone number or an e-mail address where we can reach you with questions.

Otherwise, start opining, preaching, fulminating, observing, commenting and contending.

You'll make the Gazette a more interesting place to pause and read.