TEXAS TWO-STEP: Apparently there are a lot of sensitive newspaper readers in Austin, Texas, according to this Editor And Publisher" story. When the local "American Statesman" ran its annual "Year In Music" section, folks didn't like the art on the cover - a burning amplifier. The image reminded a lot of readers of the World Trade Center. Local talk radio helped inflame the masses (pardon the pun), forcing editor (and former "Charlotte Observer" bigwig) Rich Oppel to issue a written apology. Nevertheless, Oppel still managed to blame talk radio for its "bumper sticker patriotism." Well, isn't it possible that readers felt it was inappropriate to use the WTC attack as a platform for a "compelling layout"? This whole decision to get "edgy" with the music section smacks of a newspaper trying to win an award from the Society for Newspaper Design. I know a couple of months have passed since Sept. 11. But was there no one on the staff willing (or able) to say, "Hang on, folks. This picture doesn't seem right right now"?