i: Letter from the editor 19 January 2011

Judging by our postbag, Twitter feed, Facebook page and email inbox, it certainly pays to advertise. Our television advert only started airing on Sunday, and already it seems that a whole new audience has been attracted to i. How can I tell this? Because many of the comments we received when the paper was launched 60 issues ago are once again pinging into our inbox. As Alan Partridge once said: “It’s deja vu all over again!”

Gratifyingly, most of them are positive. My favourite yesterday was from Thomas Lambert, aged 13. “My parents buy the Sun,”he writes, “which I think is full of rubbish celebrity gossip that no one really cares about. This newspaper... has articles about the things people really do need to read. I am sending this to show that it’s not just adults who read i.”

Others were more specific about the qualities of this paper. “Not only is i an outstanding vehicle for disseminating the news,” says Mike Simpkins, “but it burns better than the Times. I find it really excellent for lighting our wood-burning stove.”

Whatever purpose you put this newspaper to - and some people merely read it - I’d like to thank you for your comments. And for those who would like racecards every day, I’m afraid that, in a concise paper, there isn’t enough space for everything. In the spirit of John West salmon, it’s what we reject that makes i the best!

Thanks, also, to the readers who took issue with Susannah Frankel’s assessment of the Golden Globes frocks. She stands by her views. Handbags at dawn!

Simon Kelner