Defending ‘Idol’

Iam appalled at the article written by Randy Lewis suggesting that “American Idol” change its scheduled content within less than 24 hours to be sympathetic to the Virginia Tech killings [“A Missed Opportunity to Honor Victims,” April 19]. Has he ever tried to learn a song with only hours of preparation, much less in order to compete in a competition?

The kids on that show are working pretty darn hard to build careers for themselves, and how could the entire staff of a pretty lushly produced show shift gears to accommodate a headline news story for the sake of invoking sympathetic tears? Frankly, had the show been capable of such a feat, there would probably be many more critics suggesting the show took advantage of the situation.

LYNN FERO

Sherman Oaks