A reader today took issue with our posting as a "Latest Update" this morning a short story on the results of last night's "Dancing With the Stars" television show competition:

I find it odd that this newspaper includes this article but writes nothing
on the top headlines about autism.

This was my response:

To which "top headlines about autism" do you refer?

On any given day, there are numerous stories about scientific studies or political controversies about disease research.

The current AP wire includes autism stories about:

• Autism insurance in Arkansas, 
• the use of iPads by autism students, and
• a lawsuit against a drug company regarding an anti-psychotic drug sometimes used to treat autism patients.

A search of The New York Times produces the following recent stories on autism:

• The Rising Number of Autism Diagnoses 
• The Autism Wars
• Scientists Link Rare Gene Mutations to Heightened Risk of Autism

And our own online Health section currently features recent stories on:

• Advocates for insurance coverage of autism plead their case; and 
• Autism may be linked to obese mothers

All news, but not necessarily a "top headline," the definition of which, I concede, is open to interpretation.

The overnight development regarding a very popular TV show will interest a lot of people and also be of no interest to many. But it's like a sports score in that regard. News at the moment and not at all in a few hours. We try to cater to many tastes and our metrics demonstrate there is reader interest in Dancing with the Stars.

Thank you for posting your comment and giving me a chance to respond.