I am a regular reader of the Independent on Sunday in Berlin, Germany, and am writing to complain about the recent decision not to include the Sunday Review any more when exporting the newspaper. According to your import company, Saarbach, this is due to a decision made by your paper in November of 1998.
It has always been a bit of a struggle to obtain a full version of the IOS, with the inclusion of the Review having been hit-and-miss affair over the past year or so. If there were no references to the Review in the main part of the paper it would perhaps be a little more bearable, but this is not so. One is constantly reminded of what one is sadly unable to read.
Just as irritating is that the price has remained the same despite the shrinkage in size. It is certainly unfair to the foreign reader, who pays almost 3 times the price for this luxury in the first place. Your rising sales-figures, as boasted on the front page of IOS 14.3.99, should perhaps be reflected in better export services. Although the Observer has lost more than 11,000 sales over the last year, it still manages to export a complete Sunday paper.
I would be very grateful if you were to reconsider your decision to stop distributing the Sunday Review outside of Great Britain, because I really enjoy reading the newspaper: if I manage to get hold of it, it is the highlight of every monday. If this is not possible, a drop in the export price of DM8 would be gratefully received.
I thank you in advance for any positive steps you might take toward correcting this situation.