When the Statesman's Erika Bolstad broke a rock-solid story about bonuses awarded by outgoing and embattled Sen. Larry Craig, the detractors were quick to chime in. Their message, loosely translated: "Hey Statesman, let the Craig story die already." When Cynthia Sewell found some startling news about the city's controversial streetcar public relations contract, and we followed up with an editorial criticizing the mishandled deal, we heard a similar refrain. "Enough about the streetcar contract; move on to real news." So I'm left feeling a bit snarky. Readers say they want watchdog reporting. They want to know where their tax dollars are going. Do readers only really care when spending hits a certain undefined threshold? Is there some floor level we don't know about, kind of like the unposted "real" speed limit on a remote stretch of I-84?/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.

Question (from Kevin Richert): Do readers want watchdog reporting — or do they just say they want it?