South African Olympic athlete and double amputee Oscar Pistorius with Reeva Steenkamp, the girl friend whom he is accused of murdering by firing shots through a locked bathroom door.

KPFA Radio gave the Pistorius murder trial top-of-the-news billing and four minutes coverage on its February 21st newscast, followed by a pitch to contribute to the station that brings you news and more "that you just cannot find anywhere else . . . because we're independent, we're not dependent on commercial broadcasters, underwriters, and rich people."

I love KPFA, but couldn't its News Department do better than to report the most sensational sex and murder story since the OJ Simpson trial, when everyone else is, and when, just for example, the U.S. is engaged in more military operations all over the planet than anyone can keep track of, and so many Bay Area residents are at odds with our local police departments?

This is a simple request, via Indybay, that this be the last four minutes KPFA give to this trial, which will no doubt be at the top of the local, national, and international news headlines for many days to come.