From the damned-if-you-do and damned-if-you-don't department comes the reaction to news coverage of the NBA All-Star weekend.

Some people thought the news coverage about rude, profane, aggressive, non-tipping hip-hop-cum-gangsta black tourists was racist and counter-productive to a city trying to groom its international image and attract a pro sports franchise.

Some people thought the thorough coverage and added sports pages meant the newspaper was little more than a panegyrist for the casinos and politicians, specifically Mayor Oscar Goodman and his unabashed, over-the-top drive to attract a pro team to his town.

One letter writer, who singled out the local television stations, barks, "Thank you for trying to push away any hope this city has of landing a professional sports team. Thank you for highlighting the media biases and racial stereotypes that are overwhelmingly predominant in your 'so-called' community enhancing news coverage. Never mind that this was the most important and economically impactful weekend that Southern Nevada might ever see."

A more typical response was from a casino dealer, who writes, "I am used to dealing with people getting upset when they lose, I have rarely felt intimidated of our clientele. I actually had one 'gentleman' threaten my life if he got one more bad hand. Not the type of player you dream of servicing."

Then there was the gentleman from Henderson who wrote to the newspaper, but obviously did not read it beforehand: "Thank you, Mayor Goodman. Thank you for bringing us the NBA All-Star Game. Thanks for attracting the mass of degenerates who packed our city and shot up the Strip with violence that never made the newspapers. Thank you for scaring our regular hotel guests away. Thanks for the restaurant customers who walked out on their tabs and never looked back. Thanks for the pot smoke-filled hotel rooms that we've had to endure the last five days. Thanks for turning the Strip, the lifeblood of Las Vegas, into a river of shady bottom dwellers who sized up every tourist that passed. Thank you for turning the safest boulevard in the world into a gang-infested shooting gallery for five days."

Still another writer comments, "I have worked in the casino industry since the '70s and this is without question the most undesirable group of people we have ever had in this city.

"Oscar Goodman said that there were a 'few bad apples!'

"I think most of what everyone was referring to was the very large percentage of rude, verbally abusive, non-caring, crude, self-serving, manner-less, trash-mouth apples."

These polar opposite points of view to varying degrees were addressed in news coverage in the newspaper throughout the week and in follow-ups assessing the economic and criminal impact on the city.

Despite what some might think or wish, it is not the role of the newspaper to be a cheerleader or a doomsayer in its news coverage. (Now, the editorial page is another matter.)

Though the lifeblood of Las Vegas is tourism, the newspaper's lifeblood is our readers -- the residents of Clark County who drive the streets, deal cards, entertain, bag groceries, build houses, sell clothing, pay taxes, vote and keep up with the news.

So it is in our self-interest to provide you unvarnished, unspun, unadulterated, neutral, objective, unembellished, unbiased news coverage you can trust. Even if the politically correct crowd goes into high dudgeon and the tourism touts cringe.

According to law enforcement, arrests were no more than a typical New Year's Eve. The cash register receipts have not all been tallied, so it is not yet possible to determine whether the monetary gains outweighed the troublemakers or whether some regular customers will be think twice before returning.

Mayor Goodman was quoted in the paper as saying, "I wish we could teach everyone good manners and civility, but that would be wishful thinking."

On the other hand, then-Sheriff Bill Young once advised casinos on the Strip that it might not be in their best interests to stage concerts by rap and hip-hop performers who attract crowds prone to violence, apparently not unlike the NBA All-Star event.

Meanwhile, this newspaper will keep reporting all aspects to the matter.

Thomas Mitchell is editor of the Review-Journal and writes about the role of the newspaper and free speech. He may be contacted at 383-0261 or via e-mail at tmitchell@reviewjournal.com.