By Jody Brannon, Inside MSN Editor

Dec. 7, 2006

In our inaugural Quick Question, nearly 1,700 people told us which topic we should tackle in this new forum: 41% selected News/Sports, followed by Lifestyle (22%), Entertainment/Fun (20%) and Money and Finance (18%), though Peggy of Joplin, Mo., objected to Sports and News linked as a single choice.

News writing textbooks help journalists hone their nose for news by listing basic factors. Among them: timeliness, prominence, proximity, impact, conflict, emotion, usefulness, unusualness, human interest, etc. 

We strive for such a blend on MSN. Do we succeed or fail? We like to think that everyone mostly agrees with Laura of North Canton, Ohio:

"I have looked at several other sites but have always come back to MSN.  I am very impressed with your content and appearance.  I know I can count on you to have the 'hot' topics of the day, helpful advice articles, interesting video clips, and it is always presented in a classy format that appeals to me.  I find everything I need right away and have made sure my home page is set to MSN whether at home or at the office.  Keep up the excellent work.  We need to maintain all the integrity we can on the Web."

But then we hear comments such as this one from Charles of Nashville: "I like the variety of things you report, and the timeliness seems good. I think your political reporting is slanted to the left, but then that's typical for most large news outlets."

Let's drill into the topic, and I ask you to participate. This week, please examine our site for a story or feature that you think is a hit or a miss, regarding news judgment. In your letter to the editor, explain why you think it’s spot on – or off target. Be sure to share the actual link. Next week we'll take a look at what you see.

Next week: What should we call this time of year? Vote and give your feedback in our Quick Question.