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Letters: China Earthquake Coverage

MICHELE NORRIS, Host:

We now turn to your comments about yesterday's program, and a large majority of our mail came in response to our reports by Robert Siegel and Melissa Block from the scene of the earthquake in China.

NOAH ADAMS, Host:

We were inundated with e-mail about Melissa Block's first-hand stories. This came from Abbey Woodbrich(ph) of Unalaska, Alaska.

NORRIS: It was the most compassionate and beautifully worded report I think I have ever heard, and I have listened daily to NPR since its inception. She continues, live radio reporting hardly ever paints as vivid a picture as what we just heard from her. Her report stopped me in my tracks, and I had to stop working for a while as I thought of the children's pain and the anguish of all the parents.

ADAMS: And Kate Shehan(ph) of Culver City, California, sent this. Hearing Melissa's poignant reaction immediately after witnessing children's bodies being removed from the rubble of the middle school and then hearing her well- constructed and eloquent report a few hours later made her talent as a journalist quite clear.

NORRIS: Brian Tristan Williams(ph) wrote to us from Johannesburg, South Africa. He also complimented our coverage but said he found one detail on the report on a collapsed middle school a little sensational. While I empathize with the emotions expressed, it may be going a bit far to refer to these students as babies.

ADAMS: Finally, Anne Kirkpatrick(ph) of Greencastle, Indiana, sent her wishes to out co-hosts in China. Thank you, Robert and Melissa and be careful, okay?

NORRIS: And we second that. For photos and more eyewitness accounts from Sichuan Province in China, you can go to our blog, npr.org/chinadiary.

ADAMS: And as always, we want to know what you think of the stories you hear on our program. For that, you can go to npr.org/contact.

NORRIS: And please, don't forget to let us know where you're from and how to pronounce your name. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.