The Dec. 25 story of Bess the cat hit feline lovers in wildly different ways.

More than 50 readers said they were touched by the tale. But almost 40 others were quite angry -- angry enough that reporter Kim Murphy was moved to write a note to those who were upset (see below).

Reader Donn Walker of St. Louis was one who sent praise: "I want you to know how enormously touched I was by your story today about Bess. As a longtime cat lover -- with a beautiful feline who looks just like Bess -- your story just grabbed me by the throat, and the heart, and still hasn't let go. I'm so happy you found her before it was too late. I wish you -- but more importantly, Bess -- much health and happiness in the coming year."

On the other hand, reader Leslie McMichael of North Hollywood was expecting something else: "I read with great anticipation the article about Kim Murphy's cat, Bess. Christmas morning, a feel-good story about pets sounds good. What I got was a heart-wrenching story of why some people should not be pet owners. The London Rescue had it right not to give Ms. Murphy a cat. Ms. Murphy told of escapades of her other cats and their predicaments, but she never thought to look in the window seat for Bess or eveywhere and anywhere and never give up? What does it say about how Bess felt, that she could not call out for help or even try to escape, too trusting or not enough trust of her family?"

And so it went, from this sentiment: "I'm sure everyone is writing to you saying how wonderful your piece was, and how they cried unabashedly at the ending. .. count me in as one more" (from Stephanie Daniels in Signal Mountain, TN) to this: "I'm perplexed as to why The Times would publish this terrible story on Christmas Day. Is this your idea of uplifting? At what point do all these cat 'accidents' become a pattern of negligence?" (from Ari Solomon of Los Angeles).

First, the answer to the two biggest questions from unhappy readers:

How could she miss the cat meowing all those weeks? Said Murphy in her note: "This cat NEVER meowed. Not once. We sat on that window seat every single day of her disappearance, and never heard ONE SOUND until the night she was discovered." 

And why did the story run on Christmas Day? This was "a good choice for anyone who believes in unexpected blessings," as editors on the National desk said when they pitched it.

As reporter Murphy put it in her e-mail to upset readers, "I have gotten many wonderful e-mails from people about my story of Bess, and a whole lot from readers who were shocked at what happened to Bess, and my lousy record of pet ownership. Let me start by saying that none of these reactions came as a surprise to me. As a lifelong cat lover (I find I am someone who likes animals better than people in  many ways), there is no way I would have put all that in the story without knowing how many people (such as myself) would react."

"I am sending this out in an attempt to explain what happened, and why I wrote the story as I did. Many of you will dismiss this as a sorry attempt to make excuses. Well, it is."

As evidenced by the comments that have come in on last week's announcement that Michael Hiltzik would again be writing a column for The Times, some readers recall that the paper chose to take away Hiltzik's column in 2006, and wonder why management changed its mind. The essence of the response from editors: Hiltzik has redeemed himself.

Russ Stanton, now editor of The Times, was Business editor when Hiltzik's popular column for the Business section was discontinued. As the editor's note published at the time said, Hiltzik had been found to be violating The Times' ethics guidelines by using pseudonyms to post comments on the Web that dealt with his column and other issues involving the newspaper.

Readers were also told in the 2006 editor's note, "Mike did not commit any ethical violations in his newspaper column, and an internal inquiry found no inaccurate reporting in his postings in his blog or on the Web."

Since his column was pulled in 2006, writes Stanton, Hiltzik "has been an invaluable asset to the paper. He has earned the right to return as a columnist." In those two years, more than 35 news articles written by Hiltzik have been published on the front page. Stanton says editors believe that what readers can learn from Hiltzik the columnist will be as trustworthy as what he's delivered in his news reports.

Business Editor Sallie Hofmeister's memo to Times staff:

Michael Hiltzik, one of the paper's most prolific writers and distinctive voices, will return to being a columnist for the Business section. 

A 27-year Times veteran, Michael has distinguished himself since returning to Business a year ago (after a brief stint in Sports) with smart, analytical stories, many of which have been followed by our competitors.

"Masterful piece of research and writing, " wrote Leah Sullivan of Pasadena.

"What in the world are you people doing?" asked Jim Schupp of Los Feliz.

Readers reacted in the extreme to the "Through Prison Glass" series, a highly detailed examination of a hardened criminal, his crimes and his decades-long relationship with an intelligent, accomplished woman. Readers who followed the three-part series wondered what would happen to the couple and why she stayed in love with him. Readers who didn't follow the story had their own questions: Is The Times a place for storytelling? Was this a story worth telling, and did it belong on Page A1?

In all, more than 200 readers praised the storytelling; some 100 others complained about The Times' publishing what many called a "human-interest" story on the front page (on Nov. 30, Dec. 2 and Dec. 4). Both sets of readers had one thing in common: Many called themselves longtime readers and subscribers.

Three editors -- two who oversee choices for the front page, and one who edited the series -- responded to the readers' concerns.

"Well-written character studies of unusual people have been part of the fabric of the L.A. Times for 40 years. We realize that not all of them will appeal to all readers, but this one did strike a chord with many," said Craig Turner, weekend editor. And from Executive Editor John Arthur: “We present these stories as significant parts of the front page because they are beautifully written and tend to involve readers."

More from readers, editors and the reporter follows.

The memo to Times staff from Editor Russ Stanton and Calendar Editor Rich Nordwind:

Betsy Sharkey, who has spent the last 10 years helping to guide our entertainment coverage, will refocus her skills on two of her great loves, writing and movies, in a new assignment: film critic. She'll join lead film critic Kenneth Turan to form a powerful team reviewing movies and commenting on the world of cinema.

Betsy joined The Times in 1998 as the television editor and quickly brought a new energy to the coverage, shepherding a hard-hitting series that looked at the lack of diversity in prime time. Since then, she has been responsible for the revamp and relaunch of Weekend Calendar and then became film editor, working with our critics and reporters to bolster our coverage of the increasingly complex world of movies and the constellation of stars who populate it.

Most recently, Betsy has been entertainment editor, responsible for directing the movie, television and pop music coverage and helping to launch The Envelope's highly successful print edition. She also has helped with the strategic rethinking of the paper's mission as a member of the Reinvent committee.

The Times is giving a new strip a trial run in the spot where "Luann" has been. Here's the note to readers that appears in Calendar starting today:

"Home and Away" joins the Calendar section today for five weeks. This new comic strip is one of four that we are asking readers to sample as a possible replacement for “For Better or for Worse,” which is now in reruns. "Home and Away," by Steve Sicula, will continue until Jan. 18. After that we’ll sample one more comic, then make a selection. Please email your comments to comics(at)latimes.com and include your name and city.

For those keeping score, yes, the game of picking a new strip is going into overtime: The editor who oversees the comics pages, Sherry Stern, says, "We originally planned to offer three comic strips for readers to try out, but we've decided to sample a fourth, which will begin after 'Home and Away' ends its trial run on Jan. 18."

Here's the note to the staff from California Editor David Lauter:

I'm very happy to announce the return to our ranks of a highly creative and esteemed journalist, John Hoeffel, who will move into the role of state editor. In this assignment, John will supervise the work of our San Francisco and San Diego bureaus as well as our reporters on the Central Coast, Steve Chawkins and Kay Saillant. He'll also work with reporter Dan Morain, who is taking on a new assignment that will involve statewide stories.

As many of you know, this is a return engagement for John, who worked as both state editor and local government editor in Metro before moving to the Washington bureau in 2006, where he handled coverage of Congress and domestic policy. He returned to Los Angeles earlier this year as co-director of the presidential campaign coverage. In each of his assignments, John's work has been notable for his strong news judgment, the thoroughness of his thinking and his dedication to excellence and high standards.

John came to The Times in 2004 from the San Jose Mercury News, where he worked five years, holding jobs as government and politics editor, deputy city editor and national and foreign editor. Before that, he worked for newspapers in the Carolinas and in Washington for the Winston-Salem Journal. He is also, I believe, the only person currently on the Metro staff with a degree in chemistry (Cornell, 1983). Now, he will take that wealth of experience and use it to guide our statewide staff, whose terrific journalism has long been one of the distinctive aspects of the The Times. Please join me in congratulating John on this assignment.

Thomas Wall of Rancho Palos Verdes wrote, "I did not think I would ever write to complain about the contents of an article by S. Irene Virbila concerning how to make a turkey pot pie, but my ethics require me to do so. I am referring to her otherwise excellent article [Nov. 26].  Her writing has compelled me to try the recipe. My concern, however, is very serious. She writes, 'This year, Ralphs had turkeys on sale for 37 cents a pound...'."

"She could have easily written, 'This year, turkeys were on sale at some stores for as low as 37 cents a pound.' I am concerned that the reason Ms. Virbila identified a particular store was that the store was a major advertiser with The Times. It is no secret that The Times, like other newspapers, are having severe economic problems, but to identify their major advertisers in major stories is something that even a small local paper would, I hope, have the ethics not to do."

Food Editor Russ Parsons assures us that the inclusion of that reference  had nothing to do with pleasing an advertiser. But it never occurred to the editor or reporter that including such  information might come across to readers as a sign of complicity between the newsroom and the advertising department. 

Susan March  of Los Angeles was one reader who responded to the news first announced on Monday: "Given that Sam Zell/Tribune has declared bankruptcy, will I continue to see the L.A. Times on the doorstep each morning?  What is the status of the L.A. Times?" And there was this from Stewart Resmer in Santa Monica: "I cannot imagine my mornings without the newspaper. I don't know what you all will come up with to stay such a leading part of our lives, but let me say, the morning coffee crowd is in your corner."

Others, like Hank Pierson, wrote, "Sooner you fail, the better! You are totally left wing."

Dozens of readers responded with confusion, concern and condemnation to the news that Tribune Co. filed Monday for bankruptcy protection from creditors. Readers received some answers from a note from Publisher Eddy Hartenstein published online on Monday and in the paper Tuesday. Some readers sent financial suggestions; others named specific coverage they didn't like as either the cause or effect of the economic problems.      

Hartenstein's note let readers know that the day-to-day operations won't change as a result of the voluntary bankruptcy filing, so yes, readers will continue to receive the paper and see it on the newsracks around town. Editor Russ Stanton met with senior editors over the course of the day that the filing was announced. He encouraged editors to assure reporters that life in the newsroom (and elsewhere in the building) wouldn't be directly affected. Stanton and Hartenstein emphasized to readers and staffers that The Times continues making money (today's news story says, "Before the bankruptcy filing, the Los Angeles Times projected it would make $100 million this year, down from about $240 million two years ago.").

There's no way to know precisely how many readers have commented to The Times up to this point (transcripts of phone calls to the circulation department take a day or two to make it to the readers' representative office). But as of Tuesday the letters-to-the-editor department and readers' representative office each had received about two dozen e-mails and calls, and some 20 calls had come in to the circulation department as of Monday. Below are some samples.

Foreign Editor Bruce Wallace announces three new bureau assignments:  Reporter Mark Magnier transferring to New Delhi; Peter Spiegel replacing Magnier in Beijing; and Tracy Wilkinson being named bureau chief in Mexico City. Wallace's memo to Times staff follows.

California Editor David Lauter announces that Hector Tobar will begin writing a weekly column beginning in tomorrow's California section:

Those of you who read the tag line at the end of Friday's terrific Column One already know this news. But for the rest of you: I'm delighted to announce that Hector Tobar will begin writing a weekly California section column, the first of which will begin Tuesday.

Launching this column fulfills a major goal that we've had -- to add to our existing mix a columnist whose frame of reference includes the experience and culture of Southern California's Latino population. Hector's skill as a writer and his breadth of experience as a reporter make him the ideal person for this role.

Sports Editor Randy Harvey's announcement to Times staff:

When Steve Clow came to Sports about this time a year ago as a deputy, we thought we had loaned him to Metro for a couple of years. Turns out, as you might have seen in this morning’s announcement from David Lauter, Metro was just loaning him to us.

In the wake of that announcement, we have a couple of our own to make.

Mike Hiserman, who had been senior assistant sports editor, will become a deputy editor. Debbie Goffa, who had been an assistant sports editor, will become senior assistant.

Mike has been the assignment editor for several of our most important beats, including USC, UCLA, national colleges, the NFL and high schools, which keeps him too busy in the fall and winter. So to lighten his work load a bit, we are also giving him the Dodgers, Angels and Major League Baseball. (We will give him a break on the NFL and high schools.)

Debbie also gives up a couple of beats, but she gets no break as the primary administrator and editor of our blogs. The Fabulous Forum alone is a 24-7 undertaking. (Maybe just 18-7.) She also will continue as assignment editor for the Olympics, sports media and business.

We congratulate Steve and thank him for his efforts in Sports, while remaining perplexed over how he could give up the Manny Ramirez watch.

California Editor David Lauter makes the announcement in a memo to Times staff:

Steve Clow, a gifted and careful editor, has moved back to Metro and will have broad responsibilities for helping me with oversight of this large and complicated department. He's among the people I will turn to for running the place when I'm away and for advice and counsel on a wide variety of Metro stories, projects and personnel issues. He'll be someone I turn to regularly for editing of major stories as they develop. And, not least, he will handle a group of reporters -- he's already taken on several.

Steve has worked in National, Metro, Features and, most recently, Sports. He has moved back and forth among the departments several times for good reason: His is one of the first names that always comes up when department heads search for excellent, experienced editing. In each of his assignments, he has improved the work of his reporters, shepherded many a story onto Page 1 and developed a well-deserved reputation as among the most congenial of colleagues.

Please join me in welcoming Steve back aboard.

Managing Editor Davan Maharaj and California Editor David Lauter make the announcement in this memo to Times staff:

Over the last few years, Tom Curwen has become one of The Times’ most admired writers -– quite a feat considering that he was a full-time editor in Features all the while. Tom reported and wrote memorable narratives such his “Grizzly Bear” series, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, largely on his own time.

We're pleased to announce that Tom will now be writing for the paper much more frequently, and on company time. Tom is taking on a new assignment as a writer-editor in Metro. He will find and tell compelling narratives of his own. In addition, he will work with a group of Metro’s writers, helping conceive and shape long-form narratives, coordinating their work and editing some of it. To borrow a sports term, he will be a player-coach.

Hybrid assignments like this one can be tough to pull off, but we’re confident Tom will be able to strike the right balance. Having Tom more fully engaged in our most ambitious stories, as a writer on some and an editor on others, can only benefit the paper and its readers.

Tom's first newsroom assignment was as deputy editor of the Book Review, starting in 1997. He was the editor of the Outdoors section from 2004 to 2005. His writing has been honored by Los Angeles Press Club, the American Assn. of Sunday and Features Editors and the California Newspaper Publishers Assn. In 2002 he was a recipient of a Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism. He attended the UC Berkeley, and has a master’s degree in creative writing from the USC, where he was honored by the Academy of American Poets.

Please join us in congratulating Tom on his new assignment.

Editor Russ Stanton announces the combined newsgathering operation in this memo to Times staff:

Colleagues:

As part of the ongoing restructuring of our newsgathering operation, today we are combining the Health and Science reporting groups, which will be led by Tami Dennis, health & science editor, and Rosie Mestel, deputy health & science editor.

The goal is to build better, more unified reporting teams around topics rather than sections. Doing this, we hope to leverage the skills of our talented staff and improve communication between people covering similar subjects by breaking down the walls between various departments, including news and features.

The combined talents of Health section reporters Shari Roan, Melissa Healy  and Jeannine Stein and Science team writers Tom Maugh, Karen Kaplan and Mary Engel will allow us to produce an even more robust Health and Science report, both in print and online, for A1 and the home page, and for news sections as well as features. As part of this move, the Science group will be joining the Health team on the second floor. Tami will continue to report to Assistant Managing Editor Alice Short. (Science writer John Johnson, whose beat includes NASA, JPL and other space-related topics, will continue to report to Ashley Dunn, who was recently named deputy editor in National.)

The performance of latimes.com, and recent developments there, are covered in this memo to staff from Executive Editor for Interactive Meredith Artley.

Colleagues: The first half of November was very newsy, with the elections and the fires. The second half was much less so and we had the Thanksgiving holiday. That adds up to readership being roughly flat compared to the previous month – we had about 24 million unique users and 138 million page views for November. That unique user figure represents a more than 125% growth year over year. Page views are up almost 70% from this time last year.

Statistical highlights of November include setting a new record for the number of local visitors – 15% of site traffic according to internal reports, and nearly double the number of local visitors we had this time last year. One goal going into 2009 is to keep growing that number. We also set a new record for average daily page views.

But enough stats -- let’s talk about the content. As you have likely heard, a new look to the Mexico Under Siege project launched Monday at latimes.com/drugwar. It’s one of the strongest, most unique multimedia packages ever published on our site. Check out the in-depth map of the death toll, the unique video Q & A with editor Geoff Mohan and reporters, the wonderful multimedia presentation, and see how the articles in the series can be sorted and searched. This site and series will continue to grow and change as more stories are added, more video is recorded, and more readers come and interact.

Coming up, watch for design improvements to the Business, Sports, National and World sections. The talented database gang is at work on a crime database and improvements to the schools database. Another talented team is working on “Best of the Web” pages to pilot in certain targeted topics – the idea is to do more aggregating of great content not just on our site but the Web at large. Watch for more of this in 2009. And small design changes are coming to the homepage and the rest of the site so we can do a better job of highlighting our columnists.

Tony Pierce is working with folks to make some of our more popular blogs even more comprehensive and dynamic by combining them with other blogs. For example, Web Scout has moved into the Technology blog, and the Bottleneck and Homeroom blogs will soon move into L.A. Now. We previously merged the two music blogs to create Pop & Hiss, now appearing in the top ten list below. Also, a new design for L.A. Now is in the works. The Homicide Report, which took a brief hiatus, will be picking back up soon.

Here's the memo to the staff from California Editor David Lauter:

I'm happy to announce that Evan Halper, who has compiled an exceptional record of covering the dysfunction of California's state government, will be our next Sacramento Bureau Chief.

Evan replaces Virginia Ellis, who is retiring after leading the bureau since 2001. That, coincidentally, was the same year Evan came to work for the Times, joining us from the Philadelphia Inquirer (he previously worked for Newsweek and ABC News).

Here's the memo to the staff from National Editor Roger Smith:

I am pleased to announce that Robin Abcarian, one of The Times’ most accomplished and talented writers, will be joining the National desk as a Los Angeles-based correspondent, effective immediately.

Robin spent the last year and a half on the campaign trail, delivering news, features, profiles and analysis with her trademark flair.  The campaign began for her on Joe Biden’s tiny plane, where she sat knee-to-knee with him as he flew around Iowa, and ended with a week in Ohio keeping an eye on the Obama and McCain ground games. She also covered the 2004 presidential race, and in the years between campaigns wrote memorable features for Calendar, including looks at the Sundance Film Festival, assorted awards shows, the rise of Perez Hilton and paparazzi culture. She won two well-deserved writing awards in 2007: the University of Missouri lifestyle award for a story about teenage girls who wear clothes that are way too tight, and recognition from the National Council on Public Polls for a series of stories about how young people consume entertainment and technology. 

Robin joined The Times in 1990 as a general assignment writer in the View section and became the section’s columnist when Jack Smith retired. She left in 1997 for a brief stint as a radio talk show host, returned as an assistant editor in the Southern California Living Section and eventually edited the section before it was folded into Calendar in 2002.

She began her professional career across the street from The Times, high above the Redwood saloon in the offices of UPI, where she was an unpaid intern for three months in 1981.  She graduated from UC Berkeley with a double major in French and English, and has a master’s degree in journalism from Boston University.  She lives with her husband and 16-year-old daughter in Mar Vista.

Here's the memo from Assistant Managing Editor Alice Short:

I am pleased to announce a reorganization in the Food section, a change that will involve the talents of Russ Parsons, Betty Hallock and Rene Lynch.

Russ, who graciously stepped in to run the section a few weeks ago, has agreed to stay on and reprise his role as food editor of the L.A. Times, a position he held from 1999 to 2002. Russ will coordinate overall coverage and write his "California Cook" and "Farmers Market" features and blog. He will do so with the help of deputy food editor Betty Hallock, who will supervise production and continue to write and blog.

Rene Lynch, our new assistant food editor/interactive is joining the food team to supervise, revise and ramp up our web page, edit and write for the blog. She will also write for the section.

Russ Parsons will report to me.