SEEING Dawn in its new format and layout was a huge surprise to me, though a pleasant one. I have been an avid Dawn reader for as long as I can remember.

To me, it has stood for the essential journalistic values that embrace temperate reporting with insightful and almost scholarly analysis. All this have gone to place Dawn in a class above, among the national dailies, and comparable to the best on the global scene.

But there is much of the old Dawn that I miss. The highly perceptive and well-informed articles and write-ups which featured on the ‘Encounter’ page, and no miss. Besides, there used to be syndicated columns by Jim Lobe and others on the international pages that served to illuminate the backstage manoeuverings behind international events and much else.

All this would have me see Dawn in no other way than its staid style which it had come to represent over its long history.

But then change is the law of nature and by all accounts this is positive change. However, it would not be too much to wish for if a balance is maintained between tradition and change so that the gravitational pull of Dawn is not diminished in any way and the paper, which epitomises the best Pakistani journalism has to offer, continues to inform and entertain its countless readers.

Nahed Pervez

Lahore

DAWN’s readers, including myself, the editor and his team, deserve accolades for bringing in changes to the layout of the newspaper. The most notable features of the fresh layout include the addition of ‘70 years ago’, analysis on page 3, pictorial summary of major events on the front page, indicating details on various pages of the paper (on other pages) and a separate segment of newsmakers.

K.Z. Mahesar

Naushahro Ferozepur

I PREFERRED the old design and layout. It will take quite some time for senior citizens like me to get used to it.

I object to the reduction to a very minimum list of daily prices of shares quoted at the Karachi Stock Exchange. This is illogical as most of the scripts I own have been omitted. Do you expect us to spend an extra Rs20 a day to buy another newspaper to get the required information?

Please be kind enough and restore the full list of all shares as used to be done earlier.

In the ‘Markets’ (forex) section, you have given the exchange rates for currency notes. This is a waste of space as none of the schedule banks operating in Karachi buys foreign currency notes.

I recommend that you use this space to give open (free) market rates which will be a very useful guide to all your readers.

Please also issue the rate of Canadian currency as many Pakistanis have moved to Canada in the last 10 years and visit Pakistan to meet their relatives.

Raza Ali Dossa

Karachi

DAWN has come of age. Over seven decades of history and during the last three decades we have seen its format changing, every time for the better.

The new layout is really excellent and makes Dawn what it stands for -– the pioneer and leading English-language newspaper.

My only submission will be to change the logo back to what it was envisaged on Oct 12, 1942. The logo stood for the authenticity and became a brand for the newspaper.

The effect around the letters Dawn stood for its mission, epitomising everything black and white, fearless and independent. The new logo is nice, but the original logo stands for Dawn’s mission.

No other newspaper -– English or Urdu -– ever came closer to beat the journalistic principles of Dawn for over 70 years now.

I. Ahmed

Canada