Orlando Sentinel Peter Zollman told the Orlando Sentinel he wants more coverage of races like this. They heard him.

What a pleasant surprise. The times -- or more accurately: the Sentinels -- they are a' changin'.

Yesterday, in this Tidbits post and in a direct e-mail to the Orlando Sentinel's online editors, I lamented the state of that paper's online voter guide. (I didn't name the paper in that post -- no need -- but it's pretty obvious to people who know me or care to find out.)

Within just a few minutes of my e-mail last night, I had a response. An actual response! Not an auto-generated, "Nobody's ever going to read this anyway, so you should feel like you wasted your time" response, but a real live, honest-to-goodness, well-considered response.

T'aint the first time that's happened with the Sentinel, so they should be commended. Heartily. Especially since I recently dropped my print subscription, but that's another blog post for another time. They still haven't called me to say, "We want you back."

John Cutter, the paper's senior online editor, told me in his initial e-mail, "I am sorry the guide falls short for you. We have heard many positive comments, but need to hear what else voters would like us to do, in case we can add the feature next time." This clearly wasn't a canned response.

Then, he went one even better! In a second e-mail, he said, "Actually, your e-mail and a couple I received on missing city races have made me wonder if we should go other way -- focus on races/issues in which it might be hard to get detailed info. Obviously, I think the answer is do it all, but if a choice is required, because of time, resources, etc., I see how you could make the argument you do."

How cool is that? Whether or not this happens, as a reader/user I feel strongly that my voice has been heard, my comments are being considered, and they may help me with my needs next time. Cutter also said that what I'm looking for may be included in the print Voter Guide this Sunday -- and if so, it'll be online.

Separately, I heard also from Jane Healy, the paper's VP and editorial page editor. Now it may happen that my sig-block got their attention, or that I post to this blog. But no matter -- I'm tremendously impressed, and want to say so. For the record, I asked John Cutter for permission to use his comments; he graciously agreed.

As for the Sentinel's Voter Guide, I definitely feel that if necessary they should skip the biggest races, and focus on the ones that only they can watch. In 2008, the presidential election will be well covered by all media, everywhere. Only the Sentinel will cover the Seminole County School Board meaningfully.