Congratulations To Jennifer

Along with many others, Jennifer Lin at the Sacramento Opera was shocked by the Sacramento Bee's decision to stop printing opera reviews in the print edition of the paper, and make them available only on-line. By converting her anger into action, and initiating an E-Mail campaign that flooded the Bee with complaints, she got the Bee to reverse its decision (with face-saving rationale below):

More than a few readers called or e-mailed to complain about the paper's decision to make a recent opera review available only online at sacbee.com.

Opera fans were upset that the review of Giacomo Puccini's "Tosca" by Sacramento Opera was not in the paper as prior performances had been. They said The Bee was sending mixed signals, because it had run an extensive "Tosca" preview in Ticket, and they were anticipating a follow-up review in the paper.

"I want you to know that I think it's grossly ignorant of The Bee to stop printing arts reviews in the paper by moving them to the Internet," e-mailed Darryl McGuire of Sacramento. "It's also a complete disservice to the struggling arts organizations of Sacramento, e.g., Sacramento Opera, Ballet and Philharmonic to name a few. What kind of warped thinking is this with today's declining newspaper business? Are you now trying to rid yourself of your most loyal readers?

"This is not a negotiable issue with me. I detest The Bee's decision and have cancelled my subscription. I'll get my daily dose of ordinary blues elsewhere."

Frances Pendleton, a retired Sacramento schoolteacher, was not as vehement but was equally disappointed.

"This is a break from the past," she said in a phone call.

Pendleton, 79, and a longtime newspaper and opera subscriber, said her beef was the paper's inconsistency, citing both the comprehensive "Tosca" preview and a separate package on the challenges facing Sacramento opera in last week's Ticket, both of which she praised.

Pendleton said she ended up reading the online review, which she enjoyed. But, she maintained, it also should have been in the paper.

Turns out there was a mistake and the review should have been in the paper, said Managing Editor Tom Negrete, who oversees Ticket and the Scene section. He said he was to blame for the miscommunication.

Negrete only recently took over supervision of the features department and he has had ongoing discussions with editors there about changes.

He said he wants to emphasize more in-depth coverage of the arts via personality and issue pieces, for example, that interest more readers beyond those who are ardent fans of the opera or the theater.

Reviews still will be printed in the paper, he said, particularly of shows with multiple performances.

What he wants to stop are reviews of one-night stands, where a performer or event are long gone by the time the review is published.