Readers respond to Aztecs on A1

Last week this column dealt with the decision to publish a large photo from an Aztecs men's basketball game on the front page Feb. 17. The picture was from a victory against Boise State that gave SDSU a 26-0 record.

A reader wrote a letter to the editor saying the photo belonged on the sports page. There is too much other news going on in the world, and he implied it was a case of bias that a photo of President Donald Trump and the first lady was not used from the Daytona 500 on Feb. 16.

Alma Cesena, the U-T'S director of photography, and Managing Editor Lora Cicalo said the Aztecs photo was newsworthy and local and had a rightful place on A1 of The San Diego Union-tribune. I asked readers for their thoughts. Several mentioned San Diego does not have a pro football or basketball team, and the Padres have underperformed in recent years. The nationally ranked Aztecs deserve the coverage, the readers said.

Some said they are tired of news surrounding Trump and are glad for the relief of seeing the Aztecs.

Ernestine Smith of Little Italy: “Of course we want an important photo like the one you posted on the front page! I'm a senior citizen, and I follow the Aztecs. That was really big news when they were 26-0. The front page was where they belonged.”

But Jeri Hess of El Cajon said: “I never see anything positive about our President and the beautiful First Lady. I agree that SDSU deserves the spotlight, but it would be great if the spotlight was shared with our amazing First Family.”

Allen Stanko of Alpine, an SDSU alumnus: who added “Go Aztecs”: “There is a separate section of the newspaper for sports. That is where the sports news should be placed.”

Dan Kotnik from Sorrento Valley: “San Diego State is the largest university in our community and the Aztecs basketball team is having a historic season. Sports has the power to bring together not only families and friends, but also the community and people from many different walks of life. The Aztecs are doing this and have an opportunity to do this in an even more impactful way if they are successful in the NCAA tournament. This is far more powerful and newsworthy than many front page stories that have minimal impact on our community.”