L.A. Times opens up for Web questions from readers

With feedback or story ideas in mind, some readers of newspapers and magazines find it is difficult to contact editors or other staffers by e-mail or phone.  So it’s a plus that the Los Angeles Times is expanding communications with readers, notes Grumpy Editor.

The Times yesterday announced it is launching a blog (www.latimes.com/readersrep) aimed at bringing the public deeper into the process of how editorial decisions are made.

Hosted by a readers’ representative and an assistant readers’ representative, it addresses queries and observations.

A current example from that site deals with what “he said” really means:  “After a recent story, a source called to complain about the language ‘he said’ at the end of a quotation, noting that he had never actually talked to the writer of the story but had communicated only by e-mail. Do the words ‘he said’ or ‘she said’ imply a face-to-face meeting, a telephone conversation or an exchange of e-mails? Is there a difference?”

Another topic was spurred by readers who asked why an undercover Los Angeles police narcotics officer, seriously injured when he was run over by a suspected drug dealer, was identified in a Nov. 21 story.  They felt publishing his name compromises the officer's undercover status.

“We’re further opening the lines of communication with our readers and using new ways to make the newsroom more accessible,” said Times Editor James O’Shea.