Your piece on an Adelaide reader’s comments on Age circulation cutbacks only confirms to me that Fairfax is going precisely the wrong way in combating circulation problems.

It should be obvious to many that Australia is poorly served by quality national newspapers; some might say it isn’t served at all; I’d nearly agree.

I pay $1.50 a day for the SMH here in Qld, and $3.20 on weekends, as it is the closest thing to a quality national broadsheet one can get. It’s certainly more balanced than the other on offer, and the Letters page indicates a healthy national (and international) readership.

So, Mr Whitehead, why not re-open your interstate bureaus and get real about a truly national newspaper.

A great many people would say there’s no opposition – it’s an open field for the taking.

Sunshine Coast journo.