i Editor's Letter: Two new i elements

Today, you will find the debut of two features which we hope will increase your enjoyment of i.

First, there is the belated launch of the talented young cartoonist Ben Jennings in i. His acerbic take on the news events of the day and his dramatic style really stood out in our recent competition to find new talent. Ben will appear every Monday, but this may change. I apologise to readers who have waited so long for the winners to appear, but sometimes the bestlaid plans... We hope to bring you a second new cartoonist soon.

The other new i element is the daily Codeword. This is something readers have asked for since i launched — particularly many of you transferring to us from a rival paper that contains one.

We are happy to oblige. You puzzle fans are a tough crowd. There is scarcely a day that passes without a complaint that the Maths Puzzle or Sudoku or Crossword (Concise or Cryptic), is “too hard”, “too easy”, illegible or inappropriate. Which is, of course, entirely as it should be — after all, it’s your 20p.

One complaint we struggle to resolve regards women’s sports coverage — or its relative dearth. i reader Irene Jacobson takes me to task as the father of daughters. I do spend happy hours losing all feeling in my toes standing beside a lacrosse pitch or netball court, it is true. They are passionate about those sports when they play. But, it is poor Fulham FC coverage in i they will complain about rather than women’s sports news.

It is supply and demand. We do try to cover smaller sports, but it is inevitable they will receive less coverage than the mass spectator sports. That said, I am — as ever — genuinely open to suggestions in this regard. Over to you.