HOW BIAS CAN HAPPEN: Michael Getler, the ombudsman of "The Washington Post," points out that many readers complained about the photo treatment used in a recent story on the Cornel West-Larry Summers blow-up at Harvard. Readers weren't happy that the Summers photo showed a calm, erudite-looking scholar, while West's was more unflattering, showing the professor "apparently yelling into a microphone," as Getler writes. Having seen that particular story when it was in print, I can kind of see the readers' point. But how did it happen? Apparently, there were no other photos of West in the Post's archive, and AP said they didn't have any, either. Quick explanation: In the rush to publish, shit happens sometimes. Deadlines must be met. But readers often aren't very understanding. (Though it's difficult for me to believe that there's a Post conspiracy to hold Dr. West up to ridicule.)