Ask the Qualmbudsman!

By: Dave Astor Want to vent about newspaper-related issues? Our new Qualmbudsman's column can help!

Dear Qualmbudsman:
If "blog" is a combination of "Web" and "log," what's the combination of "print" and "newspaper"?
-- Riddler on the Roof

Dear Riddler:
Put "print" and "newspaper" together and you've got "a medium not read by enough young people."

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Dear Qualmbudsman:
Judith Miller has a lot to answer for, but why is she and not Robert Novak threatened with jail in that CIA-agent-outing case?
-- Sharing the Plame

Dear Sharing:
Maybe there's a get-Martha-Stewart-before-Ken-Lay thing going on.

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Dear Qualmbudsman:
What do you think of the newspaper circulation scandals?
-- Numbed by Nutty Numbers

Dear Numbed:
As workloads increase due to layoffs, reporters are sitting at their computers longer. That's not good for their circulation, and it's scandalous.

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Dear Qualmbudsman:
Citizens questioned the candidates at last Friday's presidential debate. As a political reporter, I wish I could have questioned Bush and Kerry, too.
-- De-pressed

Dear De:
Don't be sad! You'll have plenty of other opportunities to not question the candidates during the next three weeks.

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Dear Qualmbudsman:
It's annoying when politicians don't answer tough questions. Yet some newspapers also don't answer tough questions when they're the object of criticism. Why?
-- Double-Standard Bearer

Dear Double:
No comment.

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Dear Qualmbudsman:
Conrad Black is my hero.
-- Conrad Black

Your Lordship:
Did the Chicago Sun-Times vacate its building to banish all memories of you?

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Dear Qualmbudsman:
Why did my newspaper prevent me from attending one of those Springsteen-for-Kerry concerts?
-- Darkness on the Edge of Free Choice

Dear Darkness:
I tried asking your publisher about the ban, but he's too busy hobnobbing with conservative bigwigs.

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Dear Qualmbudsman:
Reporters in Iraq say things are increasingly dangerous there. The military says things are getting better. Who do you believe?
-- Sick Orwell

Dear Sick:
Despite the Jayson Blair and Jack Kelley scandals, I'd trust the reporters on this one.

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Dear Qualmbudsman:
Why hasn't any major daily urged that we start withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq?
-- Dying for a Strong Editorial

Dear Dying:
I'll answer your question with a question: How many newspaper owners, publishers, and editors have children fighting in Iraq?

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Dear Qualmbudsman:
We're a group of under-30 readers. After seeing your pathetic mock-advice column on the Web, we decided that we need to read print stuff, too.
-- Youngian Analysis

Dear Young:
My work is done here.