An e-mailer today suggested that The Star cover an upcoming protest at a soldier's funeral by Fred Phelps and the members of his church. "Seems news-worthy to me," he wrote.

As I've written in the past, protests are always a problem, especially when they involve such a small number of people as Phelps' regular demonstrations. The Star's policy is not to cover any protest unless it has at least 25 participants - a bar the Phelps group rarely meets. 25 can, but doesn't have to, merit a brief, and there need to be at least 100 for a photo or a short story. If the reporter can't count the participants, the story shouldn't cite a number.

So, what do you think: Are Phelps' regular protests news, or should they go uncovered - and therefore unpublicized?