Several people have noticed that a graphic about spot gold prices with today's Page A-1 centerpiece story is all but impossible to read in the print edition.
As you see on the left above, the chart is in a pale gold color, atop a pale beige background. On the right, I've done a quick adjustment to make the line easier to read.
An e-mailer objects to an entry on the Letters page last week:
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has determined that any persons opposing the House and Senate pushing through health care reform or opposing uncontrolled government spending by voicing their opinions at town hall meetings are part of a “mob” and “un-American.”
I believe it is time for someone to tell her she is “acting stupidly.”
Multiple readers have asked me why The Star hasn't published the name of the 19-year-old woman who allegedly struck and killed 70-year-old woman in her Overland Park yard last month.
That's because the police haven't filed any charges against the driver as yet. That's standard procedure for most journalists, and I think it's the right thing to do.
A reader objects to today's Page A-1 story about the 1994 baseball strike, which it posits was the beginning of the Royals' slide.
"I don't care, I don't care, I don't care," he said. "Keep it on the sports pages where it belongs."
That's a constant criticism I hear about many sports stories. This reader thought news about the "Cash for Clunkers" program or health care reform deserved a spot on the cover instead.
Several readers have asked The Star to question Dennis Moore about why he isn't conducting town hall meetings about the proposed health care legislation.
He was in The Star's offices this morning to meet with the editorial board, and reporter Dave Helling attended. He's filed a report and posted a video at the Prime Buzz blog where Moore replies to that question.
A very nice caller with a heavy French accent just asked me something I've heard many times: What does the name of the FYI section mean?
A lot of English speakers know it's "For Your Information," and many people use the abbreviation in everyday speech. But you know, that's not universal. I've spoken to dozens of people through the years who have never heard anyone use "FYI" in that manner. More than one reader has asked how it's pronounced.
Several readers have asked me in recent weeks whether The Star is planning to drop Leonard Pitts' column from the Opinion section, where it currently runs on Wednesdays.
No way -- there are no plans at all to get rid of the column, the editors of that department tell me. He did take a vacation in June, though, which is why he didn't appear on the 30th.
I've had several e-mails from readers who objected to the tone of the story Emotions spill at town halls on health care. Discussing White House spokesman Robert Gibbs' words about the anger some citizens have expressed over the health care reform debate, the story looked at some Democrats' complaints about the incivility of their opponents.
Mistakes in the crossword are really annoying to readers, and even though The Star doesn't create the puzzles, it has the duty to correct them. Here's a catch from the Wednesday puzzle in the FYI section (not available online) from one of several readers who noted it:
For Sunday, I'm planning on summing up some of readers' many comments on whether The Star should or shouldn't write about all manner of info that gets passed around, often by e-mail, with the suggestion that the "mainstream media is afraid to write about this."
When Mark Zieman was my boss, we talked about my doing a sort of "truth check" column to air and investigate the rumor du jour. We ultimately decided that work was already being done quite well by several others, especially the stellar Snopes.
