"I am so disappointed in The Tribune's coverage of Sasha Cohen's performance [Thursday] night. Yes, she fell twice. But the remainder of her performance was spectacular - good enough to earn her a Silver. (Something to be ashamed of? I think not.)

"One photo of her falling would have been enough. I would have loved to have seen shots of her beautiful performance.

"She took what could have been a devastating performance and turned it into something we should all admire and respect. I saw no respect for her in the photos you printed."

And, "Poor Sasha Cohen. Not only does she have a bad night, but The Tribune has to rub it in by publishing at least three photos of her falling - a big one each on the front page and on the front page of the special Olympics section, and a third in the 'vote for the best costume' section. Certainly, her falling was sports news, but why three pictures? Such overkill. Have a heart!"

Michael Anastasi, managing editor for sports and features, says the big story of the night was "Sasha Cohen choked again and fell in the Olympics. This is the story of her career; she messes up when the big win is on the line."

He feels three pictures of the two falls was a good call.

I have to agree partially with the readers on this one. There was no reason to run the falling shot in the feature asking "Who deserves fashion gold" that asks readers to vote on which figure skater had the best costume. Of the eight skaters pictured, only Cohen is shown with her butt heading for the ice. Irina Slutskaya, who also fell during her performance and took home a bronze medal, is shown in the feature gliding on one skate and holding her other skate above her head. The other six skaters are depicted jumping, gliding and spinning.

Two photos of Cohen falling were enough. The third one was overkill.

Put them inside: About a dozen readers are still unhappy about the Britney Spears story on the front page last week. This e-mail sums up their points:

"We know editors hold meetings to decide what goes on the front page and placement, and are concerned with the 'silent majority' they think they are serving.

"A mix is fine, but I have to wonder if the ultimate decisions come from a higher policy determinator. It sure looks that way. Of course, newspaper policy is determined ultimately by the main editor and the publisher of the paper. It though looks as though you and the commenting editors seem to have to placate the vocal minority. The explanation from Michael Anastasi was, I think, way inadequate to the reader's points.

"I know you and this editor must follow some guidelines from superiors, but it's starting to look obvious. Like 'Spears made a poor choice' so that means it is front-page material?

"I suggest that pop stars, for example, be relegated to inside pages. After all, I am sure the paper does not want to alienate those loyal intelligent readers, or does it?"

Rest assured, The Tribune does not want to alienate loyal readers. And, there is no dark Darth Vader-like visage that dictates editorial policy from above.

The top editor at The Tribune is Nancy Conway and she usually participates in the afternoon news huddle. She expects editors to debate what goes on the front page. Such lively debate results in a better overall paper.

I would like to see pop stars like Britney - especially ones whose contribution to society and the arts over the past several years has been marrying someone with no talent and having a baby - relegated to the inside pages.

But there are economic concerns to the business of publishing and newspapers are trying to figure out how to draw new and younger readers. Some such attempts work and some don't.

The story about Britney may have turned some readers off before they reached the main point of the story, which was how important it is to Utahns that parents strap children into car seats before leaving the driveway or the shopping mall parking lot.

19

Number of people upset over three photos of Sasha Cohen falling.

25

Number of people upset about time required to load sltrib.com.

21

Number of people upset about long wait to talk to NAC circulation.

51

Number of people who want more puzzles.

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The Reader Advocate's phone number is 801-257-8782. Write to the Reader Advocate, The Salt Lake Tribune, 90 S. 400 West, Suite 700, Salt Lake City, Utah 84101. reader.advocate@sltrib.com