Tony Dodero -- From the Newsroom

Tony Dodero

I don’t believe there is anyone who can raise hackles and evoke

spitting nails anger among our readers more than Dennis Rodman.

Just the mention of his name in our newspaper is sure to draw the

wrath of a reader or 10 who would prefer that we ignore his antics, even

those where police are involved.

So imagine the tongue lashing we received for making him our No. 11

pick in the Daily Pilot’s ninth annual 103 Most Influential People of

Newport-Mesa special edition.

Please, allow me a minute or two to explain.

First let’s start with the 103 Most Influential edition.

Regular readers of this special feature should hardly be surprised at

the Rodman pick, as just the name of the edition itself is tinged with

whimsy.

Why 103? Why not just 100? How do you measure influence and who are we

to do it?

The answers are who knows and who cares. The whole effort is supposed

to be half serious, half head scratcher.

Why else would past editions have featured Sid Soffer at 103, Igor the

drug-sniffing dog, the controversial Samoa house in Mesa Verde, a guy who

collects cans for the poor as No. 10 one year, the Bridge of Gardens at

South Coast Plaza, and this year’s great white sharks and the Noguchi

sculpture gardens?

The Daily Pilot 103 list is our way of offering our readers a little

bit of entertainment with just a touch of intrigue. And we all know how

much we could use something a little less serious these days. Which is

part of the point.

Newspapers are often accused of taking themselves too seriously.

Despite that, many editors are reluctant to listen to the critics,

instead force-feeding readers the same old stodgy news stories they’ve

always done.

Now I believe when it comes to news coverage, newspapers continue to

be in a class of their own, far outshining other forms of media like

television, radio or the Internet, in the areas of accuracy, thoroughness

and balance.

Still, readership has declined dramatically from even 20 years ago

when probably 75% of the public read a daily newspaper to a number that

now hovers near 50% or even less.

Many of you may have your reasons why readership has declined. But I

can’t help but wonder if it’s because we don’t do enough entertaining as

we bring our readers the news.

My forebears here at the Daily Pilot recognized that deficiency in

newspapers and embarked on creative ways to shake us out of that dull

grayness that can overtake newspapers.

The 103 list is a perfect illustration of that and a way for us to

tell our readers that we don’t take ourselves too seriously all of the

time. That doesn’t mean we don’t recognize our role and responsibility as

this community’s hometown paper. Which brings me back to the whole point

about Dennis Rodman.

Whether we like it or not, the people of Newport Beach, West Newport

in particular, have as one of their neighbors the Bad Boy of basketball.

Rodman is by all accounts a world-class celebrity who makes news just

about everywhere he goes.

It would be irresponsible for this newspaper to both ignore that fact

and ignore him -- especially when he does things like land a helicopter

on the beach outside his home or get into verbal jousting matches with

Mayor Gary Adams at City Hall.

So as we implore each year, take the 103 list for what it is, one part

speculation, one part admiration, one part presumption and one part

entertainment, and do your best to just enjoy it.

***

Speaking of enjoyment and entertainment, I encourage all of you to

attend this weekend’s annual Taste of Newport festival.

The three-day eat fest that features the tasty dishes of area

restaurants was originally scheduled for Sept. 14 to 16 but was postponed

by the Newport Harbor Area Chamber of Commerce out of respect for those

terrorized in the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and the Pentagon.

It would be nice to reward that noble gesture and difficult decision

by getting out and making this Taste of Newport the most successful ever.

Hope to see you there.

* TONY DODERO is the editor. His column appears on Mondays. If you

have story ideas or concerns about news coverage, please send messages

either via e-mail to tony.dodero@latimes.com or by phone at 949-574-4258.