Second-rate readers

Regular readers of The Sunday Times of the UK will sympathise with Anthony Curmi's letter (September 9) on this subject. Mr Curmi rightly pointed out that Malcolm Miller's letter in reply to Leo Brincat's did not deal with one important aspect, namely, that no attempt seems to have been made by Miller Distributors Ltd to find out what the consumers' preferences are.

Like Mr Curmi, most readers of The Sunday Times are loyal readers, many of whom have bought the newspaper in Malta regularly every Sunday for decades. It is therefore quite understandable that readers feel cheated to find again and again that parts of their newspapers are missing. Why should overseas readers be treated as second-rate customers?

Mr Curmi goes on to say: "...while looking after the profits factor, [Miller Distributors Ltd] make no real effort to establish what readers consider to be good value for money... no attempt has been made by the local distributors, who enjoy a monopoly in overseas newspapers and magazines distribution in Malta, to ascertain which parts the majority of Malta readers prefer... once we cannot have the full package..." Exactly. This is well worth repeating.

Overseas readers have been short-changed yet again this very month. They were looking forward to receiving the first issue of the newly-introduced "Ultimate guide to arts and entertainment" on a compact disc along with their copy of The Sunday Times. But they have again been singled out for second-class treatment. The CD, we are told, is only issued with copies of The Sunday Times in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Why?

Mr Curmi rightly points out that parts of The Sunday Times which are of virtually no relevance outside the UK, such as the Home section, which is also bulky, are included whereas the magazine is omitted. The vast majority of overseas readers (if not every one of them) would far prefer to have the magazine. Doubtless what lies behind this is simply that the (glossy) magazine is more expensive to print; it is therefore not included with the overseas edition under the pretext that it is "heavy", so readers have to do without it.

There are anyway other sections which are of little or no use to the overseas reader; these are the appointments section and the 32 (or so) pages of radio and television programmes which are only of relevance to UK residents since none of these programmes can be received outside Great Britain. Unfortunately, the programmes currently form part of the Culture magazine, so the extra bulk has to be included.

If the publishers of The Times insist on depriving customers of sections of the Sunday edition, maybe Miller Distributors Ltd could show how appreciative they are of their local customers by suggesting to the publishers that The Sunday Times magazine and Style magazine are included and the appointments and home sections (both of which overseas readers probably dump unopened in the waste paper basket) are omitted. Another suggestion would be for the publishers to work towards issuing the 32-page television and radio section separately from the culture section and omitting it from the overseas edition of The Sunday Times.

Finally, a suggestion - readers of The Sunday Times in Malta who are indignant at being treated so shabbily might register their protest by cutting this letter out from their issue of The Times (of Malta) and posting it to the publishers of The Sunday Times at the following address: Customer Service, The Sunday Times, 1 Pennington Street, London E98 1ST.