Brian, it seems as if the UCLA beat reporters are obsessed with injury news, even though KD has asked reporters to refrain from asking about injuries. The beat reporters for sc don't seem to have the same obsession--they rarely ask Pete Carroll about injuries to his face.

Why the difference in coverage? Does the westside place more value on a life than the eastside does?

At times I'm unsure as to whether the media is more interested in someone's injury status or which (healthy) player had the best day on the field...

I don't know if I'm obsessed with injuries (ok, maybe I am), but to me, that is a huge part of football. Injuries change how teams plays, and in training camp getting reps is important. The reason I always ask about injuries is because the day a question is not asked about is the day something changes.
Here's what I mean. We've been talking about Tevaga for days and his injury. Since he did not practice much today, I asked again about it and was told he had a frayed labrum. To me, that is significant for an offensive lineman because of the strength and leverage needed for the position. After days of asking, this is the first time the labrum came up.
As for USC, I don't know how they do things over there. I cover a beat the way I know how, and that's all I can tell you about it.