What?! No #@%**!! daily TV listings?
I’ve talked to a lot of people and answered a lot of e-mails in the last two days about the elimination of the daily TV listings. Yes, my ears are ringing. Most people understand that it wasn’t my decision (it wasn’t, and I’m sad about it), but they’re frustrated and angry over the loss of a feature they’ve counted on for years. And hey, I looked at those grids every day too, just to make sure I hadn’t forgotten something I needed to watch that night.
The simple reason for the change is that the economy is bad, many businesses, including newspapers, are suffering, and the price of newsprint is soaring. As editor Arnie Robbins explained in notes to readers, many of the changes were intended to save newsprint — the TV listings alone took up almost a full page a day.
Printed TV listings are, I fear, a dinosaur. Fewer and fewer people use them, relying instead on interactive on-screen guides, customizable online listings or the old click-around method. The Post-Dispatch weekly TV magazine, which may have been on your coffee table as long as you can remember, has been cut way back and is now included only in papers delivered to subscribers. Even the iconic TV Guide magazine, which sells for $3.99 a week, has comparatively few listings these days.
If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you’re not one of the people who still makes much use of printed listings. For people who do still count on them, I can only recommend saving and using the PDtv guide from the Sunday paper and consulting my TV Picks in the daily Everyday pullout, which I’ll try to make as comprehensive as possible. If you have cable, check the TV Guide Channel; with digital cable or satellite, use its built-in guide.
And if you have computer access — and many of the complaints I got came by e-mail, so I know you folks have computers — I do suggest trying the listings on STLtoday.com. They are really very good, and not that hard to set up; they give you everything you need and more, and you can even print them out. Here’s where to go.
The TV page at STLtoday (click on the highlighted words to go directly there) is your first stop. In addition to my TV Picks and a link to new posts on Tube Talk, you’ll find a link to the TV Grid. Once you click through and set them up by entering your location, by ZIP code, you’ll get listings for your local channels. (If you don’t set the listings up, you won’t get all the info.) Click on a show title and get a description of the episode — and in many cases a list of upcoming episodes. Go forward in time, by hour or day, as far as two weeks. Set preferences to see only your favorite channels. Print the grid out, if you want to, and put it on the coffee table.
By the way, we’re improving the TV page every day, including adding the full day’s talk show listings, beginning with the morning shows and going straight through to midnight. So bookmark it and check back regularly.
Some people have also complained to me that there’s no place online to vent. Feel free to make use of this post by adding comments (watch your $#&! language, though). But phone comments are being compiled to gauge reader reaction, so please also call. The number is 314-340-8966. You can opt to leave a message or speak to someone; you can also e-mail comments@post-dispatch.com.
Is “sucks” a bad word?
Anyways, I’m not fond of the Post-Dispatch’s recent changes; it was kind of the last straw. My personal economy is bad too, so I’m cutting back to weekends only.