Too many ads, previews fill TV time

I am not a TV junkie, but it used to be nice to sit down in the evening and watch a good TV show. That hardly happens anymore due to commercials, previews of upcoming shows and previews of the 10 p.m. news.

The breaks in the shows are beginning to take up more and more time. I timed one break a few months ago. It had 13 segments - commercials and previews. Last Wednesday we got five minutes of show and then five to six minutes of garbage.

I realize the networks need money to air shows, but it is completely out of hand. There are too many commercials. As for previews - stop. I do not care what the 10 p.m. news will have on it. I will either watch it or turn it off. It has nothing to do with previews.

What is the problem? Is it money, like so many other things in this country? Are actors or actresses too lazy to record a full show? Are the writers too inept to write a full show? Is it an American public who will put up with this?

I, for one, do not watch TV much anymore. I think I will buy a TiVo so I can fast-forward through all this malarkey.

Charla Colson, Centennial

Meadow is excellent

Congratulations to James B. Meadow for his first-place award in the annual Colorado Associated Press Reporters & Editors contest ("Rocky staffers bring home Best of Show, 11 top awards," Feb. 24).

Whenever I start to read an article and feel that I am listening to the person being written about, I check and - sure enough - it's one by Meadow.

He has the knack of placing you right in that person's life!

One recently was about the officer who got shot and killed in Aurora while driving to lunch after a break in a class he was taking. It was of his funeral and I did not know him but I sobbed throughout the article.

I keep forgetting to let the Rocky know how much I enjoy his writing and obituaries. Give him my best regards and keep him on the payroll!

Janet E. Berens, Aurora

Liberal bias 'myth'

It strains credulity to imagine that readers of The Sunday Denver Post's Perspective section are agitated enough to respond to the twice-monthly musings of conservative John Andrews in numbers sufficient to require a special section for their letters - yet are hardly ever moved to write by the dependable liberalism of Post regulars Gail Schoettler, Ed Quillen, Fred Brown or Bob Ewegen.

Perhaps Rocky Mountain News media critic Jason Salzman can address the mystery of the selective indignation of Post readers in a future column.

I suggest he title it, "The myth of liberal media bias."

Steve Baur, Westminster

Was photo necessary?

Was it necessary for the Rocky Mountain News to run the picture of Michelle Berra on Feb. 28?

We, the public, really don't need to know what she looks like. I'm sure she is going through her own private hell about the accident and our seeing her picture does not help her in any way. Frankly, it is none of our business. What was the Rocky thinking?

Kathryn Gray, Denver

Editor's note: Berra is the 17-year-old who was behind the wheel when her car slammed into another car on Jan. 15, pinning two fellow Berthoud High School students and costing them their legs.

Littwin commended

Mike Littwin's Feb. 3 column, "A long affair spent over coffee," regarding the death of syndicated columnist Molly Ivins deserves special commendation.

He writes beautifully - with warmth, simplicity, humor and compassion. Those of us who admired and agreed with Ivins can certainly identify with the comments made by Littwin in his column.

Lucky for the Rocky Mountain News to have such a good writer on staff! I wish Ivins could have read this great commentary!

Cynthia MacDowell, Denver

An excellent photo

The photo by Ken Papaleo of a deer and an eagle at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, featured on the front page of the Feb. 24 Rocky Mountain News, is one of the most outstanding examples of photography I've ever seen. I suggest the Rocky run it again with a story on how Papaleo accomplished the shot. Not only would it be of general interest, but it would be an example of excellent photography for those studying this art form.

Earle R. Wilson, Wellington

Bigger & bolder, please

Could the Rocky print the names of the letter writers in boldface and a little larger? Would it cost too much?

The writers are at least as important as the topics of the letters.

Reading this mini-paper while holding a magnifying glass has made it harder to hold.

Elinor Miller Greenberg, Centennial

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