Jeff Sklar

We're here to serve you.

Come to think of it, those words should probably be plastered right up there next to the Arizona Daily Wildcat at the top of Page 1. You're that important to us.

Without its readers, newspapers are nothing. Without you, the students, faculty and staff of UA, the efforts of the Wildcat staff would be futile.

Improving your lives is our top priority. In fact, it's our only priority. If news breaks and you need to know about it, we'll tell you. If something interesting is happening in Tucson this weekend, we'll tell you. If there's more to a major campus issue than meets the eye, we'll dig up the dirt for you.

Last week, I asked each of the Wildcat's 11 editors to articulate their goals for the upcoming semester. Their answers ranged from including more in-depth analytical pieces about important issues to writing better stories about how you can have fun this weekend.

The one common thread in all their answers: making this newspaper as relevant as possible to your lives. You may not always agree with our methods (and when you don't, we want to hear from you), but I give you my word that every decision made at the Wildcat this semester will be done with you, our readers, in mind.

Our staff has been thinking about you all summer long, working to come up with ways to make the content of the paper more relevant to your daily lives and more enjoyable to read. And we've implemented a few changes that I think will make your reading experience more enjoyable.

As you picked up the paper today, you may have noticed one of the most obvious ways in which this semester's staff is working to better serve you ÷ our new design.

Newspaper-types like to say that without solid page design, the newspaper's content is useless. They say nobody reads stories on poorly designed pages. I agree. And I hope our new look helps attract your attention to stories you might have otherwise glossed over.

In the same vein, check out our newly redesigned Web site at http://wc.arizona.edu. You'll do a lot less scrolling than you used to and get the same amount of information. Plus we've included an interactive poll and a spot where you can download the front page of the paper. Keep checking throughout the semester for even more new features.

Thursday we'll unveil GoWild, a pullout section meant to serve as your guide for the weekend. Taking the place of our daily Arts section, GoWild will offer features like movie reviews, a weekend calendar and stories about fun things to do around Tucson. It will be supplemented by an Arts & Entertainment section every Tuesday that will offer a quirky glance at the people and places that make up our university.

If you haven't already, take a look at Page 2. We've condensed CatCalls to include only the important information about events happening around campus and around town, and added a new interview feature called On the Spot. We've also moved our Campus Briefs to Page 2, although they will be alternating days with news in brief from universities across the country.

Every Friday, our Opinions section will now include a point-counterpoint column offering opposing viewpoints on a hot issue. We've also expanded our staff of columnists from six to eight and, space permitting, each of them will write weekly. We hope that this larger, more diverse range of opinions will allow for a more complete debate on important issues and bring to light other issues that you may not have known about. And we hope that you won't hesitate to fire us an e-mail telling us why you disagree (or maybe even agree) with what they have to say.

We've worked hard to make all these changes with your best interests in mind. But what we haven't been able to get until now is feedback on their effectiveness.

The way I see it, you don't owe us anything. And most of you are probably content sitting in class, or at lunch or at home reading whatever we have to offer you each day. That's fine. We appreciate that you're taking the time to read.

But it is my dream that you make production of the Wildcat a two-way street. Don't just take what we give you every day. Tell us what you want to see. We take suggestions from readers seriously, and if there's something you think we should be offering that we aren't, let us know. I am happy to meet with anybody who has suggestions on how we can improve the paper.

So I plead of you: Help us help you. If you don't like something you see in the paper, call us. If there's a story you think we should cover, call us. If we made a mistake, call us and we'll correct it. A complete list of our phone numbers and e-mail addresses is at the bottom of Page 2.

And if you ever want to tell us something in person, or if you're just curious about how the Wildcat works, feel free to stop by our offices. We're in the Esquire Building, at the corner of North Park Avenue and East Helen Street, just north of the Park Avenue Garage.

You readers are all the Wildcat has. Our staff is ready to serve you.