"American Idol" updates

"The surprising and unlikely 'American Idol' journey of Jason Castro ended Wednesday night in a week that saw nearly 51 million votes cast on television's most popular show," was the opening line to the story that appeared in Thursday's Times.

Several readers wanted to know more about the popular show than merely who won or lost, though: They wanted to know why the story appeared in the California section, not in Calendar, where stories about TV shows typically appear. As Scott Landsbaum of Beverly Hills put it, "Surely there must have been something more important or uplifting that you could have featured."

Calendar's early deadline is the reason feature stories sometimes appear in unexpected places, or at unexpected times; Calendar is printed by 3 p.m. As the "American Idol" competition comes to a finale, editors see it as breaking news. That means that coverage of Wednesday night's show had to be printed in another section.

The online conversation

Reporter Stuart Pfeifer forwarded an inquiry from reader William Franckē of the Fairfax District, who'd been moved enough by an April 8 story that he wanted to post a comment. But there was no place to do so. His note to Pfeifer:

"Stuart, just read your very disheartening story about the O.C. Sheriff's Department and the death of inmate John Derek Chamberlain. I cannot understand why these people (sheriffs!!!) are not being charged. Who at The Times decides whether or not to allow readers to 'discuss' stories?  It seems pretty hit and miss as to which story we will be allowed to respond to and I'm sure a lot of people have something to say about this story."

Reader S.J. Sand in West Hills sent a similar sentiment: "Please put a 'comment' box under ALL articles, as most newspapers, i.e. the Washington Post, are doing.  Don't make us go searching. If you value readers' comments, then you should make it easy for us to comment."

Mapping flames

As those who live in highly flammable areas know, fires change with the wind -- and trying to map them is almost as hard as predicting where a fire might spread next. Graphics over the past few days of the fire near Sierra Madre have tried to show the burn areas and the areas of evacuation, even as those situations change by the minute.

The blaze began Saturday afternoon; because initial reports had it burning out before it would threaten homes, no map was put together for Sunday's newspaper. By Sunday morning, however, the fire had grown more dangerous; evacuations had started late Saturday night, so editors at The Times' website quickly put together an interactive Google map showing the evacuation area, based on information from the city of Sierra Madre. That map was posted by midday Sunday, and continues to be updated as the story is updated. (It's a part of the current story, linked above.)

In this case, a reporter with a cellphone was the first step in the process of showing readers exactly what was going on: Steve Hymon, at a news conference in Sierra Madre's rec center Sunday afternoon, snapped a photo of the huge map that city and county authorities were using to plan their firefighting strategies. He sent it by e-mail to artist Matt Moody in The Times' graphics department, who quickly updated the online map. Moody then turned his attention back to re-creating the map for the print edition, a task that ended up taking several hours.

"Museum of crazy stuff"

On the Wilshire offramp of the Harbor Freeway, David Chan of L.A. saw a panhandler holding up a poster that said: "Having visions of an IHOP pancake."

Only in L.A., right?

Which is why a recent announcement in The Times worried some readers who feared they'd see less of Steve Harvey and his Only in L.A. column, which chronicles the weirder and wackier parts of the region through observations and photos, many provided by locals.

The column has long appeared in the California section on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. The note, published April 10 in the California section, advised readers that the popular feature will now run Saturdays and Sundays, but that more of Only in L.A. items will also be posted periodically on L.A. Now, The Times' local news blog.

Harvey has been writing the column for some 20 years and has been at The Times almost twice as long. He sees his role "as a sort of curator of the Museum of Crazy Stuff in L.A." (He notes, "boundaries are flexible -- remember, L.A. is a state of mind.")

While he sometimes finds items for that museum himself -- for example, a doughnut shop in Long Beach that shares a sign with a dentist's office -- his real role is in channeling readers: "I'd guess that three-quarters of the art items in the museum are from readers whose minds are as twisted as mine."

Life in the shadows

The Life in the Shadow series has since mid-March been examining the impact of illegal immigration on the region and its residents, and the stories have tried to capture the day-to-day realities of life for those here illegally. The series complements the paper's continuing coverage of the debate over legislative reforms, and the effect of illegal immigration in the state and nation. The effort to reach and reflect the region has extended to having the articles published online in both English and Spanish.

Both the series and translations have brought, predictably, strong reaction.

Four articles have been part of the series: The Column One on March 12 about a woman, in the U.S. illegally, who makes a living by collecting cans and bottles (it's in Spanish here, and there was an earlier posting on this journal). The front-page piece on March 23 about how those who wash cars are often here illegally and get paid under the table -- many times being shortchanged in the process (the translation). The April 2 story, also a Column One, on how families can be divided after someone here illegally dies (the Spanish version).

And the most recent, on April 13, which focused on two young illegal immigrants whose liver transplants were paid for by the state, but whose treatment costs when they turned 21 went to L.A. County -- which doesn't have the resources to cover additional transplants.

Passionate responses include thank yous, such as this from Frank Galvan of Los Angeles in reaction to the April 2 piece: "I appreciated your article on the traumas many undocumented workers face when dealing with a death of a loved one.  Your article helped put a human face on a population which is too often only considered by many to be just a 'problem' for the United States."

And there are objections, such as this from David Duron of Yucaipa, who wrote, "Your penchant for writing sympathetic stories about the 'plight' of illegal aliens has driven me over the brink. I tolerated the reports until I read the article about liver transplants. That was the last straw." And half of the 400 comments offered by readers as online postings were too filled with profanity to be used.

Covering the Lakers: Like a 'shot of espresso'

Reflecting fans' opinions about the Lakers, Sports reporter Mike Bresnahan's stories tend to be either loathed or loved.

Fans agree on one thing, though: Bresnahan's stories have to be read. His articles on the pro basketball team typically rank among the most viewed on latimes.com, no matter what other news breaks out, be it business, politics or sports. Covering the team keeps him busy...too busy, as he says. As Deputy Sports Editor Mike James puts it, "Basically, Mike starts working in September and doesn't have a day off until June."

And, as Bresnahan himself puts it, "It's pretty much guaranteed that many of my stories about the Lakers will be loved by half the readers and hated by the other half.  €œFans demand that the team wins the NBA championship every year and then get agitated when it doesn't happen."

Bresnahan follows the team through nearly 90 games that stretch from the preseason in September through April -- or late June, depending on how the team fares. Reader interest is year-round, so being the beat writer for Los Angeles' most popular pro team is, too: In 2007, Bresnahan wrote 343 stories about the Lakers.

The sports writer, who has covered the team for four years and been with The Times for 14 years, answers a few questions about the wit and wisdom of athletes he's reported on, and what it's like to have to file a story on a game only 15 minutes after it's ended.

Investigating health care

For all the work by California investigative reporter Charles Ornstein that has alerted the public and moved agencies to act, the question he hears often most is: Why don't you write more positive stories about hospitals?

His reporting has uncovered lapses in care in California hospitals and beyond. He and his colleagues examined the longstanding troubles at Martin Luther King Jr.-Harbor Medical Center -- which closed this summer after repeatedly endangering patients -- and won a Pulitzer Prize for their five-part series. Last year, he and reporter Tracy Weber chronicled the failures of the nation's organ transplant system, explaining how hundreds of patients in Northern California were effectively shut off from new organs when they were moved into Kaiser Permanente's new kidney transplant program in San Francisco. That coverage triggered a congressional investigation and changes in federal regulations; the program was forced to shut its doors within days of their first story.

Ask a Staffer: In the eye of the fire

Sometimes the reporting of a story becomes a topic of interest itself. This feature offers readers the chance to go beyond the bylines and credit lines to find out more about the reporters, photographers and editors who deliver the news. Reader questions and newsroom answers will be posted in the future.

    To start things off is the staffer whose unforgettable image published Oct. 23 still brings comments, even in the midst of newer fires. Last Saturday, Kim Orifice of Temecula wrote: "I would like to find out how I personally go about nominating a photograph or photographer from your organization, for a Pulitzer. I believe that the photograph of the firefighters in their deployed shelters, by Karen Tapia-Andersen,  should be nominated."  The half-page photo showed 12 firefighters on a ridge off Santiago Canyon Road in Orange County, huddled under glowing aluminum fire shelters and surrounded, as the caption said, "with hot, burning brush that left them no escape." Other readers wondered just how safe was the person capturing that image. Staff photographer Karen Tapia-Andersen offers some answers to the questions.