The scoop on Lee, Evan and Michael correspondents

Call it a reality trifecta.

A perfect storm of local Losers, Idols and Dancers.

Next week, we could have the "Biggest Loser" from Bartlett, a Mount Prospect "American Idol" and a "Dancing With The Stars" champ from Naperville.

So, with the prospect of all these local celebrities converging on their respective reality show titles, we Daily Herald types started plotting our strategy for coverage. I'd be happy to share it with you, but you never know who's lurking out there, looking for story ideas.

Instead, here's the lowdown on the staffers who have been following the locals on reality TV shows for the past few months.

Copy editor Kathleen Danes is a self-confessed "reality TV junkie for as long as I can remember." She's our primary correspondent in capturing the progress of Mount Prospect's Lee DeWyze on "Idol." Kathleen's interest goes as far back as her college days, when she did recaps of "Survivor" for her college paper.

But "Idol" is her favorite.

"The idea that the show could pluck a kid from obscurity and give him a recording contract, essentially change his life, based on pure singing talent, appealed to me," she says.

Jamie Sotonoff, a longtime reporter for the DH, probably has written more locals-on-reality-TV stories than anyone else at the paper. She'll be watching with laptop humming on Tuesday to see if Bartlett's Michael Ventrella wins "The Biggest Loser."

Because her reality show handicapping goes as far back as "Temptation Island," she's also seen more than her share of shows that have nothing whatsoever to do with talent, or even a life challenge such as losing a ton of weight.

"I once went to a casting call for 'The Bachelor' in Chicago and interviewed dozens of pretty 20-something suburban girls on why they'd want to be on this show, knowing what it involves," she said. "Their answers were all, basically, 'It'd be fun to be on TV!' Generation Me in a nutshell."

Jamie admits she's grown a bit jaded with the whole reality TV thing.

"Most of these people are inherently uninteresting," she said. "I mean, even our very own Lee DeWyze - while charming in his humble way - doesn't exactly have an electric personality."

But he does have a great voice, and you can't argue that people in the 'burbs don't love him: Look at the reception given to DeWyze when he returned to Mount Prospect last week, the 40,000 people who watched him perform a few songs at Arlington Park. A guy who worked in a paint store and struggled in high school is now on the verge of stardom.

Ventrella, like many of the people on "Loser," has a compelling story. He started the show at 538 pounds, and has shed 229 of them - after fruitless efforts on his own that included pills, nutritionists and even a battle with bulimia.

And, who wouldn't like Evan Lysacek? Naturally shy, the Olympic star comes across as a down-to-earth human being, not the least caught up in his newfound celebrity status. Although my membership in the Guy Club is in grave peril, I'll admit I'm pleased to be the "DWTS" correspondent; I got in the viewing habit a couple years ago when my wife seized control of the remote.

Heck, I've edited some of the stories we were writing about Lysacek when he was 14 years old. So, yeah, I'm rooting for him; I'll admit it. My dispatches are all about Evan, and I might make the occasional snarky remark about the other contestants.

It's an added bonus that our three finalists - Evan, Michael and Lee - are genuinely nice people who are actually accomplishing something.

In our top-secret advance planning, one editor came up with a layout design that will be brilliant. However, it hinges on Ventrella winning "Loser" and Lysacek finishing second to that annoying and professionally trained dancer/Pussycat Doll. (Oops, there I go again.)

I think Evan can win (He's an Olympic champion, is he not?) Ventrella is the only contestant to have lost more than 200 pounds on the show. And, "Will DeWyze be unable to unseat season-long front-runner Crystal Bowersox Wednesday?" Kathleen said. "I can't say for sure. But I'll still be able to say I've enjoyed the journey."

jdavis@dailyherald.com