Hi Mary,

I had to write to you in comment on your recent article in the Chicago Tribune entitled “How to dump the Yellow Pages.” http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/ct-met-schmich-0407-20100407,0,5323243.column I have read your article and although I usually refrain from commenting, but felt compelled to respond. It’s quite ironic that a newspaper reporter would have such a negative view of an industry that is very similar to your own. Maybe you feel as though you are doing the public a favor or perhaps doing your part to help the environment, but either way your comments seem out-of-line and uninformed.

I wonder how many people kick the newspaper off of their front porch when it arrives, or perhaps they use it to discipline the dog for peeing on the carpet. Our industries would not exist if not for the support of readership and advertising revenues. Some 70+% of local residents still refer to yellow pages when looking for a local business just as many households who receive your newspaper may clip the coupons for the grocery store that week. Perhaps if we all discarded the recycled paper and went all digital we could save some more trees, while shutting down billions of dollars of industry related revenues. Lumberjacks and paper recyclers could learn how to write Java Script and create little Apps for your iphone. Newspapers could go all on-line and “stop the presses”. Yellow Pages could go away forever and local residents and business could meet up by chance in some chat room or search engine. Whatever happened to the face-to-face handshake? Now it’s more and more some mini photo icon on some website.

Sure print is a bit nostalgic, but it is also well received by many who still believe in supporting their local community. Our directories are much more than just bulky, fat advertising catalogs. We include listing information for local residents and businesses as well as very valuable community, town, government, area attractions, maps and more. Just like you provide newspapers with ads, coupons, obituaries and entertaining articles on how to slander an entire industry in just a few short paragraphs. I wonder how many business owners who advertise in newspapers and yellow pages would feel about your comments. They must be pretty uninformed to be spending over 28 billion dollars per year in our publications. I’m sure that your paper’s sales team would love to loose their jobs by never printing another issue and delivering it to peoples doorsteps. Imagine how your newspaper would be effected by $0.00 in advertising revenue.

I feel that your opinion and account recorded of one woman’s bad day kicking the phone book is way off base and frankly simple minded. Your negative comments, if anyone is listening to them, could have wide spread negative effects on industries such as yellow pages, newspapers, magazines, printers, paper mills, recycling plants, ink manufacturers, bindery houses, delivery vendors, the US Postal Service and let’s not forget the journalists who write for such publications. I have been in printing and publishing for over 30 years now and with the yellow pages industry for the past fifteen of them and have literally heard only one complaint about receiving a phone book and that was because she could not get the number for some place that was in a different town. Instead of bashing an industry maybe you could be a bit more supportive of the local economy which helps you get paid for your writing talent. This country could use the economic help right now. Thanks for the kindling for my fireplace.

Sincerely,
Kirk Whitpan
Member/Partner of Local Pages Publishing, LLC

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