Anthrax scare is
page one news -- period

A reader's letter reflects a complaint heard more often lately, that the press has sensationalized the threat of terror, particularly from anthrax. Referring to Tuesday's paper, the reader contends: "This non-story should have run well inside with a couple of paragraphs and a headline like, 'People lose heads downtown.' Instead, it's a quarter of the front page with a massive scare headline."

Give this reader credit for suggesting how the story should be played. Most people complain but then have no idea how to handle the story. While one might quarrel over the type size in a headline, playing a story about a possible anthrax attack on the front page would seem to be good news judgment in the context of these parlous times. Not to warn the readers would have been irresponsible.

To follow this reader's prescription, the story of the September 11 airplane crashes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon should have been buried back between the mayonnaise and brassiere ads with a headline: "Airline hijackings delay passengers." Or the headline in the local news on Dec. 8, 1941, might have read: "Sunday morning disturbed by foreign aircraft."

--Richard Halloran

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