For those who were under a rock or in a mobile-free zone, the stories on the front pages of the Herald and The Sun-Herald the weekend before last outlined a rift between Jill Hickson and Neville Wran over her belief he has a form of dementia.

Wran came out fighting: ''I am firing on all four cylinders.''

At the risk of irritating my new bosses (you) after only 10 days on the job, I beg to differ with your assessments.

Street-corner gossip is malicious; it drifts away from the truth rather than towards it. This story was already out there, in all sorts of contorted forms, in social, political and legal circles. But in two days the Heralds were able to untangle the twists and turns it had taken and give both sides the chance to have their say. Both sides took that opportunity to scotch the gossip.

On to the criticism of the papers ''intruding on a private citizen's possible mental illness''. First, Neville Wran is not Uncle Bob down the street. At last count, he sits on the boards of nine companies and has the privilege of a taxpayer-funded office and driver. Of course this does not make him fair game, but he remains a public figure. Second, he is one of our best-known former premiers, a man whose intelligence and acuity fired up generations of Labor supporters, whose wiliness and political nous inspired many of today's politicians. Third, dementia in its many forms is a topic that - like suicide - has lost its ''elephant in the room'' status.

How to deal with the misery of its onset occupies the hearts and minds of millions in Western society, and I think many Herald readers would identify with the spectre of this insidious disease. Are they really seeing in their loved one what they think they are seeing? In this case, geriatricians at two of Sydney's most respected hospitals, St Vincent's and Prince of Wales, drew different conclusions about whether Wran has dementia. The Heralds have published dozens of stories about dementia over the years; there are movies about it, and books.

Running a story like this is not something the mastheads do willy-nilly. They choose carefully the stories that define the ebb and flow of life in Sydney. Was there a purpose to be served? I believe so. Yes, many were incensed Wran's private life was brought to front and centre. But, if it could happen to him, it could happen to all of us. In July, a visiting brain expert, Baroness Susan Greenfield, a neuroscientist at Oxford University, said the world needed more famous people to speak out about their dementia. Hazel Hawke did, as did Sir Terence Pratchett, a best-selling British novelist. But, despite the co-operation of the people involved, many believe the Heralds should not have carried this story.

Some said the problem was its use on page one, and the relegation to page seven of the deaths of the ABC news team enraged many, who said the positions should have been reversed.

Story selection and placement are obvious in most cases but open to argument in others. The Herald decided the photograph of Wran and his daughter was the most appealing picture on the day and a natural candidate for page one, and that the story was valid, with news value and human interest.

However, I agree the deaths of the ABC news team in a helicopter crash being run on page seven - with no page one presence - deserved more prominence despite running all day online, on television, radio and in the late edition of the Herald the day before. A pointer from the cover to, say, a page three spot would have been an improvement.

On another matter, there was some consternation about how the Herald had obtained phone records of under-the-spotlight Labor MP Craig Thomson. ''Were they obtained from an extinct tabloid?'' one sceptic asked. No, sir. They were subpoenaed by the Herald when it was sued by Thomson and subsequently tendered in court, at which point they became public.

readersed@smh.com.au