Our Mission Statement includes words that say we want to bring out the best in people. It’s something we aspire to but it’s not always easy to achieve.

Once again, as business owners often have to, I’ve made a business decision in the best interests of my family, my staff and the community at large, but despite our Mission Statement, it has had the opposite effect and brought out the worst in some people.

A few weeks back, I reduced the size and format of our TV Guide for sound business reasons. Not everyone appreciated my actions as some of the responses we received through our Thumbs feature show -

Thumbs down to new format for TV Guide in OCL, terrible for older people.

A big Thumbs down to the TV guides new format. I understand about trying new things and change doesn’t scare me but why go and do a silly thing like that? Having each day spread across 3 pages is just bizarre and does not make any practical sense whatsoever.

Thumbs down to your paper’s new TV program format. Obviously you’re trying to cut down on the number of pages in your paper but are not thinking of the older generation who look forward to your free paper and the TV guide inside. It is too small, not enough information regarding if it is a repeat or not, and annoying to have to look over three pages for one day’s programs. Absolutely awful.

Thumbs down to OCL for the new tv guide format how do you expect the older people to read it some very unhappy residents at local nursing home.

Thumbs down to the new look of the TV program in OCL is dismal. Are you going to start providing magnifying glasses with each issue? The print is so small, you can't read it. Reducing the standard one day to a page to 3 pages of miniscule print, with no explanations of movies etc. is very difficult to read.

What I find very disappointing about responses like this is that people who say and think such things appear to have given absolutely no regard to my position. It’s as if I have no rights at all and that everything revolves around them and their interests.

Well I’m sorry, it doesn’t.

Giving everyone what they want, when they want it, in the way they want it, is not always possible. Sadly, we have created a society where too many people expect too many things for nothing and all that does is promote greed and selfishness.

I’d like to think we’re better than that and when we do have something taken away, we pause and think about the other person’s situation, rather than just think about ourselves and then lash out.

Orange City Life gives so many people so much pleasure, and I don’t want to change that. However, we can only provide what our resources allow us to do, and it’s often a case of prioritizing. It cost me $1000 a week to provide the previous TV Guide, I can no longer afford that, for something only a small number of readers use, and given the way television programs and technology are these days.