Dec. 14, 2006

Last week I asked you to evaluate our news judgment -- to pinpoint a story or feature that you thought was a hit or a miss and to share it.

Writing from Lovingston, Vt., Robert says, "MSN reporting is basically scattered and frivolous except when reporting about money topics." Sacramento reader Lissa  wants deeper coverage on religion. David in Birmingham, Ala., says he wants more on energy legislation. Sandy, of Huron, S.D., would like additional tips on reducing credit-card debt.

Meanwhile, Chicago resident Jack wants less on 9/11 conspiracy theories, and Matt in Hudson, Fla., wants more.

Jack and Matt make us happy. The prevailing opinion in most newsrooms is that if the feedback from users is split, then we're doing our job well. Our mission is to strive for both balance and breadth. And Mike of Arlington, Va., thinks we do it pretty well -- perhaps better than we think we do.

Mike writes: "Greatness: You achieve that daily. I have MSN as my homepage -- eye candy and substance: What more could you ask for?" 

Well, we would love to ask for more letters like Mike's, when we deserve them. But we know we fall short sometimes -- and we give ourselves a good talking to when that happens.

Meanwhile, we consider all feedback that reaches us, and I think Alan of Cheyenne, Wyo., makes a good point. He strikes me as a realist -- someone whose words have plenty of truth to them, so I'll share his comment in its entirety:

Wrong priorities
"After reading some of the letters posted ... I have to agree that people in the U.S. have their priorities screwed up ... me among them sometimes.

"We put so much effort and coverage into things that don't matter -- Hollywood, sports, etc. We need to hear more about the teacher who is making a difference, one student at a time; the police officer who kept the neighborhood kids in line and helped them understand they can be successful; the doctor who donates time at the free clinic; and the dad or mom who work their tails off and still come home and raise wonderful, respectful, intelligent kids who grow up to be productive members of society.

"We need more reality, not reality TV ... I don't know of anyone who has ever had 23 women falling all over them for marriage over the span of two weeks like you see on 'The Bachelor.' That's not reality."

It's also not reality, as editors staffing a portal, to be perfect every day, especially when it comes to the volume of news, variety of news sources (or lack of them) and other newsroom pressures (which will be discussed in coming weeks). But each day we give it a new shot. And each day, we welcome your letters.