Opinion: Thank you, readers

A story about The Times, and its readers. View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Thursday, November 23, 2017 [NYTimes.com/Opinion »]( [David Leonhardt] David Leonhardt Op-Ed Columnist I want to start this Thanksgiving edition of the newsletter with a short story about The New York Times. The Times, like the rest of the media, is suffering from a drop in advertising. Print advertising is shrinking, and much of the new digital ad revenue is flowing to only two companies, Facebook and Google. The Times’s ad business remains robust relative to the competition, but it’s not immune. Our print advertising revenue dropped 16 percent — or $43 million — [during the first nine months of this year]( compared with the same period in 2016. A rise in digital advertising — of $23 million — wasn’t enough to make up for the decline. But something else was more than big enough to make up for the decline: Subscribers. Revenue from digital-only subscriptions jumped 44 percent — or $75 million — in the first nine months of this year, compared to the same period last year. (And print subscriptions remain strong. So don’t worry, print subscribers: The newspaper isn’t going away. It’s still a great technology.) In practical terms, Times subscribers are increasingly paying for Times journalism. If you’re a subscriber, you are helping to pay for the investigations of the Trump administration and Harvey Weinstein, for the correspondents and photographers bearing witness around the world, for the interactive graphics, podcasts and videos, for the expert journalists covering culture, business, government and — as seems worth emphasizing today — [food](. “We’re a reader-supported institution, driven by people like you, who believe in truth and independence, rigor and fact,” as Jodi Kantor, one of the reporters who broke [the culture-changing Weinstein story]( recently wrote to readers. Or as my fellow columnist [Nick Kristof has written]( “We sometimes fall short — and I hope you’ll tell us when we screw up — but it’s never been more crucial that we play the role of a serious watchdog.” So thank you. It’s a privilege for my colleagues and me to be part of your eyes and ears on the world. I especially want to thank all of you who read this newsletter, including those who frequently write to me with their thoughts. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you. In The Times. My colleagues have put together a selection of Thanksgiving-themed pieces from our archives. It includes [Frank Bruni]( on his family’s Italian-American celebration; [Jennifer Finney Boylan]( on her first Thanksgiving away from home; [a 2014 blog post]( on how the Civil War created the national holiday; and two pieces from the latest Sunday Review: one on [intuitive eating]( and one on [staying on campus during break](. Also, on Facebook yesterday, Frank Bruni and Bari Weiss [talked about politics at Thanksgiving](. The full Opinion report from The Times follows. Contributing Op-Ed Writer [It’s Thanksgiving. Come On Home.]( By MARGARET RENKL My parents let me know that as long as they lived, there would be a place in the world for me. I hope my sons know that, too. Op-Ed Columnist [When Italians Meet Turkey]( By FRANK BRUNI  Our Thanksgiving menu tends to sprawl. But then so do our feelings. Contributing Op-Ed Writer [Freeing Thanksgiving From My Family]( By JENNIFER FINNEY BOYLAN I thought I wanted to celebrate the holiday on my own terms. Sunday Review [Thanksgiving Nutrition Tips: Eat Whatever You Want, but Not That]( By JULIE KRAUT Eat when you’re hungry and don’t eat when you’re not. Mostly. Sunday Review [How First-Generation College Students Do Thanksgiving Break]( By JENNINE CAPÓ CRUCET My classmates practically booked their flights home during the first week of class. I’d never even heard of green bean casserole. Disunion [How the Civil War Created Thanksgiving]( By KENNETH C. DAVIS It took the war to make a regional New England holiday into a national one. Op-Ed Columnist [Thankfully Recommitting to Resistance]( By CHARLES M. BLOW If anything, resisting Trump feels even more urgent than last year. Op-Ed Columnist [Your Thanksgiving Quiz]( By GAIL COLLINS Test your knowledge of what politicians have been up to before you share it between bites at the dinner table. Op-Ed Columnist [Thanksgiving Gratitude for a Father’s Lesson]( By BRET STEPHENS Who are today’s role models on acting like gentlemen? Gracia Lam [Editorial]( [What America Celebrates on Thanksgiving]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD It’s the one holiday that truly invites all comers. HOW ARE WE DOING? We’d love your feedback on this newsletter. Please email thoughts and suggestions to [leonhardt@nytimes.com](mailto:leonhardt@nytimes.com?subject=Opinion%20Today%20Newsletter%20Feedback). ADVERTISEMENT Contributing Op-Ed Writer [Tim Wu: Why the Courts Will Have to Save Net Neutrality]( By TIM WU The F.C.C. has overplayed its legal hand. Contributing Op-Ed Writer [A Conservative Plan to Weaponize the Federal Courts]( By LINDA GREENHOUSE Forcing a shift to the right by packing the courts with more Trump-appointed judges would undermine the judiciary’s legitimacy. Editorial [Can Zimbabwe Cure Its Hangover From Mr. Mugabe?]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD The people celebrated the ouster of Robert Mugabe, but his allies are still in power. Sunday Review [The Fall of Africa’s Most Hated First Lady]( By SISONKE MSIMANG African presidential wives are expected to unify their nations and respect their elders. “Gucci Grace” Mugabe did neither. Op-Ed Contributor [Flawed Justice for the Butcher of Bosnia]( By JANINE DI GIOVANNI After 22 years, Ratko Mladic was found guilty of genocide. Why did it take so long? And what about his fellow perpetrators? Op-Ed Contributor [What We Owe the Innocent Victims of America’s Wars]( By PATRICK LEAHY If we unnecessarily kill civilians and fail to help the innocent victims, we make the fight against terrorism harder. Op-Ed Contributor [The Honduran Candidate]( By JAN SCHAKOWSKY President Juan Orlando Hernández is moving closer to authoritarian rule. [Why Won’t Israel Let Me Mourn My Father?]( Joao Fazenda By RAED JARRAR I wanted to go back to the West Bank for a memorial service with my family. I was barred because I am a human rights advocate. LIKE THIS EMAIL? Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up [here](. ADVERTISEMENT Nicholas Kristof: On the Ground [How to Use Twitter]( By LIRIEL HIGA Start by listening. If you’re wrong, acknowledge it. Letters [For Some Liberals, the Al Franken Dilemma]( Readers discuss whether admiring a person’s politics should affect how we judge his behavior. 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