It was a pleasure to visit your office in Tallinn last week and to speak with a reporter regarding the consistent incorrect usage of Baltic language spelling (umlauts and suchlike) in your newspaper. As far as I recall, you did not have this problem with Baltic lettering when you were the Baltic Independent.
I think it is extremely important for a Baltic language newspaper to spell its own names and places correctly- and the fact that your newspaper still does not use the correct lettering gives the impression that you have a decade-old computer system that needs updating as soon as possible.
There really is no excuse for this misspelling at all, especially since almost all British newspapers, for instance, have long since had no problem at all with spelling foreign names correctly by using non-English letters. I can usually guess at correct Estonian names and places, but Latvian and Lithuanian ones prove more difficult- and I think it is unacceptable to have to guess at names.
I am sure that many other non-Baltic European readers would also expect and wish for an English-language Baltic newspaper to use correct lettering in their own respective language names. I have had numerous conversations with other readers on this subject over the last few years- and I am sure that it would be to your advantage and credibility if you could include a poll by asking readers to respond if they are happier with correct or incorrect Baltic name-spelling.
Maybe it's time to be seen to catch up with modern technology or failing that, even by using your old Baltic Independent computer system would be an improvement?
I look forward to reading future issues with updated, correct spelling some day but I fear that this is wishful thinking.
