Tracy Wilkinson of the LAT

On Sunday, the LAT's Tracy Wilkinson provided an excellent report on the pope's activities Saturday in New York. Sadly, her report appeared on page A13 and the related pictures were in black and white. Apparently, LAT editors thought the report was less newsworthy than these subjects, all of which made the front page: Ray Charles's children squabble over his estate, Mexico feels the U.S. economic slump, medical errors at military hospitals, school funding and the effects of "global warming" in the Himilayas. A front page color picture showed flowers in the Antelope Valley.

Today, Wilkinson's report on the pope's activities yesterday got front page treatment with a color picture, below the fold. The pope's picture is smaller than Lamar Odom's, which appeared above the fold. Wilkinson's report included the following elegant words:

Benedict prayed Sunday at the site of the Sept. 11 attacks. He sprinkled holy water in each direction of the compass, blessing as hallowed ground the scarred land where nearly 3,000 people lost their lives.

Benedict walked down a concrete ramp to ground zero, subdued in chilled fog, still and quiet, save for a cellist from the New York Philharmonic who played mournful movements from Bach.