Early Edition

Pretending the news is good

By Ed Bishop

One of the obligations of the media is to expose pretense. Have they? So far the country has done a pretty good job of pretending that George W. Bush won the presidential election. It's probably a necessary pretense, we're told. We certainly wouldn't want to have a constitutional crisis, would we? Thank goodness the U.S. Supreme Court gave Bush legitimacy.

Politicians have also done a good job of pretending that calling someone a racist is actually worse than being a racist. For more than a decade, John Ashcroft fought tirelessly to keep the St. Louis area's public schools segregated. But we all know he fought the good fight in the name of "local control." To say otherwise is an affront to American fair play.

In the same vein, the pretense that the Civil War was not fought in order to keep men, women and children in slavery but rather for the noble cause of state sovereignty is also widespread. The Defenders of the Confederacy often quote Abraham Lincoln's remark that he would keep slavery if he could reunite the country. What they don't mention is that the southern states seceded from the United States because Lincoln had been elected president and leaders in those states were absolutely sure he would try to abolish slavery. Folks can pretend all they want, everyone still knows exactly what it means when they see a Confederate-flag decal on the back window of a pickup truck.

The country has also done a fine job of pretending that a free market is the same thing as democracy. Let the market decide, the pretense goes, and you don't need unions or regulations or Social Security or public schools or government of any kind, as long as you have a giant military to protect our corporations' interests in places like, say, Kuwait. Wall Street will take care of everything else.

Oh, and by the way, if you point out that American CEOs make 475 times what the average worker in their plants makes, then you're advocating class warfare, which is a very undemocratic thing to do. The pretense says that regulating the market will bring us great harm, when in fact the deregulation of markets has bought us the greatest concentration of wealth in the history of the world.

All this pretense is bound to catch up with us eventually. Contrary to the idea that market forces are better than governments at creating social structure, democracy remains a system in which an individual person gets to make choices about how he or she is governed. In order to make good choices, you have to have good, solid, accurate facts. Operating on myths can only take you so far. In the long run, without good information, democracy fails.

Much of this needed information is provided by journalists.

Which brings us to maybe the biggest pretense of all.

National television news networks have done an excellent job of pretending they are not owned by a handful of conglomerates that have downsized, narrowed, softened, slanted and homogenized the news. They pretend that General Electric, which owns NBC, isn't mainly interested in selling fighter jets. They pretend that Disney, which owns ABC, is not mainly interested in its vast entertainment holdings. They pretend that Westinghouse, which owns CBS, isn't mainly interested in paying huge dividends to its shareholders rather than bringing you unadulterated news.

I'm sorry but a healthy news operation can't be a subsidiary of some huge conglomerate with a corporate agenda that shapes news to increase profits. Journalism might be a business but it's not the public-relations business.

It's up to individual journalists to keep this truth alive. Every reporter, every news director, every editor, every cameraperson must be aware of the corporate pressures that surround them and then find ways to counterbalance those pressures.

They have to remember that capitalism is not democracy, that the Confederate States of America was formed to preserve slavery, that there are still lots of racists out there and that Al Gore, for good or ill, probably won this last election.

And they should remember that there are economic forces that prosper only when facts are hidden and that some of those forces own the desks at which they're sitting.

These are facts that should not be lightly dismissed if we want to continue to govern ourselves.

Letters

Dittoheads strike back

(Editor's note: The policy of SJR is to publish every letter we receive. This month we are making an exception however. We were swamped by dozens of letters from dittoheads across the country. Here is a represenatative portion, if somewhat redundant, of those letters.

SJR: I read Don Corrigan's comments in the St. Louis Journalism Review regarding Rush Limbaugh and the Fairness Doctrine. From Mr. Corrigan's commentary it was obvious that he and Rush are poles apart politically. Mr. Corrigan mentioned the need for a "truth detector," Rush gets three hours a day to go unchallenged, he screens his calls, he's always against the Democrats, etc.

Let me ask you this: Where's the Fairness Doctrine to counteract the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, ABC, CBS, NBC, Time, Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, the Riverfront Times, SJR, Howard Stern, Geraldo Riviera, Oprah Winfrey, Bill Maher of "Politically Incorrect," Charles Jaco and his two hours a day on KMOX, Doug McElvein, McGraw Millhaven, Barbra Streisand, Alec Baldwin, David Letterman, Jay Leno, PBS, NPR, The New York Times and the Washington Post?

Mr. Corrigan is upset because Rush Limbaugh gets three hours a day? I'd gladly trade three hours a day of Rush Limbaugh if the above-mentioned media and celebrities were conservative. Please don't try to tell me that Tom Brokaw et al are fair and balanced. Mr. Corrigan wants a truth detector for Rush Limbaugh? I'll take a "bias counter" for the "mainstream media."

Rush Limbaugh may champion conservative values, but he is up-front about it. The mainstream media try to conceal their bias but it shows through. I think that is much more damaging to the publics' need for the truth than Rush Limbaugh's cheerleading for Republicans. How many media members were former Democratic staff members? George Stephanopolous, Tim Russert, Jeff Greenfield and probably others I'm not aware of. Stephanopolous is ABC's chief political correspondent. How come a Republican is not ABC's chief political correspondent?

How come when partial-birth abortion is mentioned in a newspaper article or news story it is always prefaced "so-called 'partial-birth' abortion," yet hate crimes are never prefaced "so-called hate crimes?" How come when ABC aired Al Gore's concession speech and returned to Peter Jennings he choked up and was visibly crying? I've read reports that 90 percent of the media voted for Bill Clinton in 1996. What about the Post printing the "worst letters of the year" in the paper on Dec. 30? Amazingly, every letter was from a conservative! The Post almost never prefaces letters with the editor's comment. But this time they did, noting, 'most letters are thoughtful, but here's some that aren't. And of course we're printing these verbatim, spelling and grammatical errors included so you can see how stupid these caveman conservatives are.'

Rush Limbaugh is mean-spirited we're told. How come nothing is said when Craig Killborn runs a picture of George W. Bush on the "Late Show" with the caption "Snipers Wanted?" I guess it's different when it's a Republican we're joking about killing. Or Martin Sheen says, "Republicans have no hearts." Oh wait, he makes that thoughtful "West Wing" on NBC. It's just coincidental that he's a Democrat and the media fawn all over the show. And it's okay for a Democratic operative to say the Republicans have a plan for Social Security . . . they hope the old folks die. What about the invective spewed by Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson? No one bothers to correct their rantings.

On second thought, I agree with Mr. Corrigan, I will take the return of the Fairness Doctrine!

Matthew J. Kellner

Affton, Mo.

SJR: I found the article on Rush Limbaugh and the Fairness Doctrine in the St. Louis Journalism Review to be both interesting and entertaining. You are properly opposed to Limbaugh's "tasteless characterizations of groups with whom he disagrees and his constant peddling of prejudice."

Therefore, it is disturbing that you would turn to the same sort of prejudice and demagoguery when you state that Limbaugh's fare would be "understandable . . . in eastern Tennessee or west Texas." Even more disturbing is that SJR editors would permit your slur to run.

I wonder if you'll be penning a future story to "answer and correct the falsehoods and distortions" stemming from your "expressions of bigotry" toward the people of those states.

Gregory Glass

Washington, DC

SJR: Concerning Don Corrigan: After reading the scratching article he wrote about Rush Limbaugh-I'll take him out for a warm saucer of milk, he needs some purring!

Are we really too dumb to punch holes in ballots to vote, and to analyze what we read and hear, are you sure you are for freedom of speech? You did take the freedom of writing your opinion-thank you for letting me express mine.

Betty Servia

St. Louis, Mo.

SJR: I had to laugh at your "equal time" rant. You forgot to throw in newsreaders BrokawJenningsRather. Why was I not surprised that they were so conveniently overlooked?

Face it, you guys are losing the war of ideas, Americans clearly recognize it or they would be tuning in and listening to liberal ideas. The fact that they don't has everything to do with show content, and little to do with show time. Example: The Cuomo radio show in New York a few years back. It's LONG gone. Some Denver station tried a liberal talk show last year, it was painful for me to listen to, evidently others thought so too, it lasted about eight weeks.

Stand back. Red meat is back. Fur is in. The last Great Ice Age only lasted from 1971 until 1978. Global warming is over. The Spotted Owl now lives in K-Mart signs instead of only old growth forests, and armed citizens are defending their own lives instead of depending on the government to come and write a death certificate. The steamroller is gaining speed! Change or be flattened!

Loren Pankratz

Colorado Springs, Colo.

SJR: Corrigan: RE: Your recent rant in the St. Louis Journalism Review.

Be a REAL journalist. Sit down calmly and LISTEN to Rush Limbaugh. Unlike you, you obviously small minded man, Rush aims heartily for the truth when he speaks, hitting it dead on far more than the liberal hate mongers who, like you, all too often clutter up the airwaves and print media.

After reading your diatribe, I have to wonder if you truly ever listen to

the logic (remember that part of discourse and reasoning?) that Rush speaks with. Or, more like many I know, are so angry that he is allowed to speak at all you attack him without ever truly listening to him.

You can go cry now, after this terrible attack on your politically correct sensibilities.

Don Zuckerman

Dallas, Texas

SJR: My! My! We really got into a tissy this time didn't we? That nasty RUSH LIMBAUGH, he is such a pill isn't he? Imagine bringing up those things Bobby Kennedy did! Bobby had every right to work for Joe McCarthy and authorize phone taps on Martin Luther King! And what Bobby said about that nice gay Black man! Why, I say, boys will be boys! That nasty RUSH LIMBAUGH shouldn't be allowed to fill people's minds with the truth, it confuses them!

You go, girl!!!

Lyle A. Anderson

Alexandia, Va.

SJR: As Mr Limbaugh is fond of pointing out, he is the balance. Television "news" and commentary has been captured by the left wing of the body politic. The likes of Dan Rather, Peter Jennings, Bernard Shaw, et al., are free to spin their liberal perspective as news (not commentary) without criticism from the academy or other fellow travelers, and certainly without demands that their views be balanced by opposing views. The bias of these people has become so obvious and so outrageous that it would be funny if it were not so destructive to the political climate. The role of the press in our political system is to be suspicious of those in power, not to become sycophantic toadies who wet themselves while telling the First Lady how they wish they could be half as wonderful as she is!

Thank God for talk radio, a medium in which a true marketplace of ideas is functioning. What is occurring is that people listen to Rush Limbaugh and G. Gordon Liddy and Mario Cuomo and his ilk cannot generate an audience. Typical of big-Government leftists, your solution to this would be to mandate that stations carry unprofitable shows to spout your political views, which are not, apparently, playing in Peoria.

When I see people like you advocate giving Limbaugh a half-hour adjacent to Dan Rather to do his version of the news as "balance," I may believe that you are really concerned about fairness. Until then, I will continue to believe that what is really motivating you is a whiny petulance resulting from the fact that talk radio is a medium where your political views have not found an audience.

Bill White

South Lyon, Mich.

SJR: I read Mr. Corrigan's mean spirited screed about Rush Limbaugh and felt the need to respond to your leftist extreme views. You know many of us compassionate conservatives think that Rush is equal time to the three media stooges Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw and Peter Jennings. If you add in CNN, "the Clinton News Network" and MSNBC with lying weasels like Geraldo, Margaret Carlson, Al Hunt, Bill Press, Paul Begala, Judy Woodruff, Bernie Shaw, all we compassionate conservatives get in the way of news are press releases from the DNC, left wing extreme views, and politically correct tripe about global warming, gun control, and those poor descendants of slaves that just can't get their poop in a pile unless we give them 40 acres and a Lexus.

We compassionate conservatives consider El Rushbo equal time, along with the Fox News Channel. I would suggest to you in the immortal words of Bill Clinton after he bit Juanita Brodderick's lip after raping her to "put some ice on it."

Davies Wakefield

Maribel, Wis.

SJR: I read your journal article about the need for the return of the fairness doctrine. I agree. The paltry show of Rush Limbaugh is only part

of what is needed to counteract the biased liberal national television news (ABC, CBS, NBC, and CNN)! Rush Limbaugh needs to be magnified at least four times, if not more, on national television. This is why most conservatives now watch Fox News Network and have quit the national news completely! You are arguing for the wrong side! Thanks for pointing out the need to conservatives though.

Diane Mercer

Lakeland, Fla.

Off the Record

It appears a couple blockbuster network programs can be credited with a notable increase in TV viewing in 2000.

ABC's "Who Wants to Be A Millionaire" and CBS' "Survivor" proved to be big draws for viewers at a time when network viewing had been on the decline. When Olympic broadcasts and a presidential election were thrown in, the result was a 3 percent gain in television viewing, which translates to an additional 2.2 million homes.

Almost all of the increase among the major networks came from ABC, which was the only network to show an overall gain, up 19 percent.

Cable's share of the increase was 1.3 million homes, which boosted basic cable prime time ratings four percent. Those jumps, however, weren't felt by all the cable networks. In the year 2000, The Cartoon Network, Discovery Network and Lifetime were the only major cable networks whose numbers were up.

-Frank Absher

When it comes to the Internet, dot-coms (or dot-comas) and the like, the established media forces don't seem to know exactly what they're doing, or which way to turn. They leaped upon on-line news transmission like a football player on a fumble, and now, as the market starts to slide, they are unloading as rapidly as if they had grabbed a hot potato instead of a football. But at the same time, other companies are busy trying to grab new footholds on the slippery mountain of the Internet.

On the positive side, Time Warner and America Online are planning a magazine called On, perhaps to celebrate their merger. It's not really a new magazine, just a redesign and a new name for what has been called Time Digital, and it arrives in March, with Jonathan Quittner as its managing editor. On will be less technical then Time Digital, or so Quittner told The New York Times.

"This is not your father's technology magazine," he said. "You are not going to find hard-core articles in this magazine. This is a magazine not about the stuff, but about how people use the stuff." Convincing potential readers that On is not just an AOL house organ will be Quittner's prime job.

On the negative side, many of the leapers now are looking for work. The Times and Fox, among others, have unloaded their stakes in Internet companies and laid off large numbers of staff. Their action and flagging ad sales have been reflected in other publications.

For example, The Industry Standard, the most successful of the weekly magazines that cover the Internet, laid off 7 percent of its work force. Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, owner of the Fox networks, the New York Post and Daily News and a vast array of other media organizations, dropped 225 people-half its staff-and ordered others, mostly in sports, to move to Los Angeles or lose their jobs. Layoffs also were numerous at WebMD, the News' Internet startup.

The Times, which roared into an Internet arrangement, even announcing plans to sell stock in its online subsidiary, has put those plans on hold while laying off a number of online personnel and selling almost all its stake in TheStreet.com, a site that analyzed financial and economic news.

The Times had almost 1.5 million shares in TheStreet.com, bought for $3.6 million in cash and $12 million in advertising credits two years ago. It sold the holdings for $3.2 million in cash, and noted that about $3.5 million in ad credits had been used.

All this action comes as magazines everywhere seem in trouble. Rosie O'Donnell's McCall's, or whatever it eventually is called, is suffering from focus group anxiety, and recently it was announced that George Magazine, darling of the dot.com generation, would fold after the March issue. Hachette Filipacchi Magazines, its owner, made the decision. The five-year-old magazine had seen advertising pages drop 40 percent in the first 11 months of 2000, despite mild circulation gains.

After the death of John Kennedy Jr. in July 1999, Hachette paid the Kennedy family $10 million for its half of the magazine. Losses totaled $8 million in 1999, and $10 million in 2000.

-Joe Pollack

The Federal Communications Commission has been shot down in court again in its effort to create Equal Employment Opportunity rules for broadcasters.

In its most recent incarnation, the commission's set of rules required broadcasters to keep extensive records of their efforts to recruit minority employees. But a court challenge by 50 state broadcasting associations was upheld Jan. 16. In its ruling, the federal court said the recruiting rules "put official pressure upon broadcasters to recruit minority candidates, thus creating a race-based classification...and is therefore unconstitutional."

The F.C.C.'s original EEO rules were also struck down in a courtroom after being challenged by the St. Louis-based Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, owners of KFUO-AM and FM. The religious group had been cited by the F.C.C. for failing to hire an adequate number of minority workers at the broadcast operation.

While the most recent court decision is being hailed by broadcasters, a spokesman for the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council said, "I've never seen a court get so much wrong in such a short space." Tom Lapacka, the executive director of communications for the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, said, "We are gratified that the freedoms of broadcasters in this country have been upheld."

On Jan. 31, the F.C.C. officially suspended the new E.E.O. program.

-Frank Absher

The dumbing down of the English language continues at a slow, steady, depressing pace, and one of the more egregious examples is the concept of using any word as a verb just for the sheer hell of it. Maybe some consider it cool, or trendy, or literary, or perhaps they just don't know the difference. There are many examples out there, and as if it were a contagious-and fatal-disease, the reader should not be exposed to the bad habit.

However, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, a consistent bad actor-and bad writer, too-reached out for two new ones recently: In a story about a whale ramming and almost sinking a small fishing vessel, the mammal was given credit for "holing the boat," and in a cutline for the Sappington Farmer's Market, its owner "prides her store on its fresh produce."

-Joe Pollack

There are questions in Boston about how much power the mayor has, especially when it comes to media personnel matters.

Mayor Thomas Menino was raked over the coals during a live interview on WILD radio by reporter Rose Arruda. The next day Arruda was fired from her $250 a week position, and the station manager says it was because of the interview.

It's not like this was a one-time appearance for the city official. Menino is interviewed live on the station on a fairly regular basis, and Arruda did some of those interviews. But when she started asking direct questions about protests by the city's firemen and allegations of voting irregularities, Menino went ballistic.

Station manager Bernadine Nash was quoted in the Boston Globe as saying it took only 15 minutes for Arruda to destroy the credibility that the station had taken years to build. The Globe also noted that Arruda had been with the station only 18 months, starting as a junior college intern. In addition, the paper says, she would sometimes participate in demonstrations she was sent to cover.

Program director Steve Gousby said of the on-air incident: "She made it personal instead of just reporting the news and asking the proper questions. You could hear it in the tone of her voice."

-Frank Absher

Maybe there's something in the water up there.

An alternative paper in Milwaukee thinks the glass house people should learn not to even pick up stones, much less throw them.

Columnist Doug Hisson of the Shepherd-Express recently wrote a column about the publisher of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He pointed out the dalliance of Keith Spore, who had an affair with a co-worker that led to Spore's wife filing for divorce. Spore later married the employee, but the column noted that another male employee was also involved with the woman, and he was afraid he might lose his job over the whole thing. Spore, meanwhile, has been promoted two times since the affair became known.

As for those glass houses, Hissom writes in his column that the Journal was vigorous in its criticism of Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist, who also strayed from the straight-and-narrow in a fling with one of his former staff members. The editorial board went to great lengths to chastise Mayor Norquist, even saying that, had he been working in the private sector, Norquist would definitely have faced disciplinary action and may have even been fired.

Are newspaper higher-ups judged by a different set of standards than others in the "private sector?"

-Frank Absher

Radio History

Local shows flourished-briefly

By Frank Absher

In 1946, soldiers who served on both war fronts were being assimilated back into society, and they were spending money freely, priming the nation's economic pumps. Radio was in the final years of its golden age, and here in St. Louis, many well established broadcasters were enjoying an economic boom of sorts.

KWK, owned by the heirs of long-time owner Thomas Patrick Convey, had its studios on the ninth floor of the Chase Hotel on North Kingshighway. In 1937 the station became part of the Mutual Radio Network, which was formed when Chicago's WGN decided to loosely affiliate with several other stations to provide an attractive national sales package to advertisers.

While Mutual never gained the status of the other radio networks, it nonetheless provided some programming to affiliates, and one of those shows originated from St. Louis. The rest of the broadcast day for those stations was filled by local programs.

A study of production reports written by Thad Shore of KWK provides some insight into the problems encountered in those days as stations produced daily, live shows. On March 26, 1946, Shore expressed his dissatisfaction with the 7 a.m. "Rich Hayes" Show: "Am recommending to continuity department that (a) more interesting 'build-up' be incorporated in opening over theme." That day in the local 'Shady Valley' show: "Joe Randall was a bit under the weather and did not come up to his usual standards."

Thad Shore was obviously a senior staffer in that he was given production responsibility for many of the station's programs, sometimes spanning a 12-hour period in one day. On March 26, he was generous with his comments: "The commercial delivery on this show is improving as Billy Knight avoids straining his voice and cracking in shouting the commercials."

Nowadays, disc jockeys take their amenities for granted, but in the year following the war, things were different. On April 3, Shore began work at 7:30 a.m. and finished at 10 p.m. His notes from two of the shows indicate it might not have been a pleasant day: "The general spirit and life we usually have was lacking. This I attribute to the closeness and heat of the studio...the entire company is to be commended for their efforts and cooperation in spite of the adverse temperature and humidity of the studio."

And talent often had to be handled: "A passable show but Jackie (Hill) was not in as good form as usual. He arrived precisely at rehearsal time, 10 minutes before the show, and apparently had not settled himself after hurrying to make it."

As for the assumption that things in a large market like St. Louis were somehow better than in smaller stations: "The engineer informs me that the microphone which went bad (during the show) had apparently been bumped or knocked over the night before. Preliminary tests had indicated that the microphone was working but it did not prove to be of broadcast quality when we went on the air. We were able to shift to a working microphone in time to preserve the commercial quality of the show."

And there were days when a staffer wasn't happy with his assignment. In some cases the staff member was correct: "Announcer Bruce Hayward desired to substitute third person pronouns in copy that he thought appeared to lend personal endorsement in the first person."

Again on April 22, the weather caused problems: "With outside temperature in the 80s the cast found it a bit hard to keep on their toes in the heat of Studio A."

In the following days, it appears nerves were a bit on edge. Shore wrote that the "Coon Creek" hillbilly music show suffered from "a pointless script that was not funny...Too much copy was spent on setting the locale of the situation and not enough on comedy development. This, I believe, stems from the tendency to burlesque situation and character rather than use the situation as the basis for pointed comedy, satire, wit, or frustration comedy."

By May 1946, Shore knew there was a problem with the "Shady Valley" show that was fed live on the Mutual Network each morning at 8:15. "We find ourselves using more and more of the material as written. However, while we retain the comedy material we often continue to revise or substitute for the musical introductions. Often we do not use the written material simply because an ad lib sequence has developed of which we take the best advantage. Of course, in this case it's a matter of time that eliminates the material. We also eliminate gags that reflect adversely on the character of the performers. On the whole we find it an advantage to have the script to follow but take many liberties with it to keep the show alive."

Things did not get better. On May 14: "Script, which can make this ('Rich Hayes Plays') more than just a pop organ recital is lagging again after a short trend toward improvement." His next show that day, 'Shady Valley,' was a bit rough.

"Jackie Hill was absent because of illness. His mother called. Texie Hollie missed this broadcast. He called in at 8:05 (The show began at 8:15 a.m.) and reported that his car had broken down on the way from Alton."

And as the day wore on, Shore's frustration grew. "(Script) Revisions (from continuity) were not satisfactory so I rewrote the opening and following introductions. These were not gems of creation but improved on the continuity provided. In both this show and in 'Rich Hayes Plays,' the writer, Dave Chopin, seems to fail to see the creative possibilities inherent therein."

July was also a rough month at KWK. On July 20: "Regarding the reported noise in the speech portions of 'Easy Listening' noted in Mr. Traxler's report, microphone changes have been made to correct this condition somewhat. The noise is, of course, from the street since this program originates in the announcers' booth because of tight studio scheduling." On July 25: "For the second morning, during the program, moving of furniture or floor trucks above the studio was audible."

Within a couple years, KWK began going a different direction in its programming. A young man named Gil Newsome became one of the market's most popular radio personalities, and he did it by sitting in a studio and playing records for St. Louis' younger generation.

Faculty adviser Avis Meyer is honored

By Matthew Hathaway

One academic tried to sum up the difference between a recent St. Louis University roast and the de riguer parties that usually mark professors' professional milestones. He told Avis Meyer, the guest of honor, "This is the first time I've been to one of these things where everyone in the room automatically assumes university administrators are incompetent assholes." The response was classic Meyer: "That might be our natural inclination, but we try to give them the benefit of the doubt. It just usually turns out that we were right in our assumption."

Most of the 130 alumni of SLU's independent and often controversial student newspaper who were in attendance would probably agree. They gathered to roast Meyer, a tenured communication professor and part-time St. Louis Post-Dispatch copy editor, on his 25th year advising the University News.

Under Meyer's stewardship, the SLU paper has racked up numerous state and national awards and is frequently named one of the nation's top 10 student weeklies by the Associated Collegiate Press. But the publication's newsy edge also has garnered its share of controversy, most recently two years ago when the university administration unsuccessfully tried to rein in the publication and cut out its popular adviser.

During the dinner, Editor Diana Umali announced that the newspaper would endow a new scholarship to honor Meyer. The grant would be awarded to sophomores, juniors and seniors studying communication who excel in the newspaper's brand of aggressive student journalism.

Meyer said the paper's critics shouldn't assume the anniversary fanfare means his retirement is approaching. "It's been 25 years, and I still love it," Meyer said. "People ask me what the best part of my job is, and I tell them to just look at the people I get to hang out and grow old with. And the best part about it is I get to come back every year

Matt Hathaway was editor of the University News from 1996 -1998. He now works at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

AM/FM

Corcoran receives AIR award

By Larry Hoffman

It's another swirl of favorable publicity for KLOU-FM morning talent J.C. Corcoran. He was voted Lifetime Achievement Award winner for the March of Dimes Achievement in Radio (AIR) Awards. The award celebration will be held Wednesday, Feb. 28, at the Pageant Theatre.

Nominations for other awards in various categories had yet to be announced as this issue of SJR approached deadline.

Corcoran joins several other St. Louis broadcasters who have been similarly honored during the six-year history of the AIR awards in St. Louis among them Ron Elz, Jim White, Guy Phillips and one-time Corcoran morning show co-host John Ulett.

Ironically, while preparing material for consideration by this year's judges, Corcoran told SJR he submitted a three-page presentation in order to nominate colleague and long-time St. Louis radio veteran Mark Klose for the Lifetime Achievement Award. Another irony is the person selected to introduce Corcoran at the award ceremony-Emmis veteran and Corcoran's first St. Louis boss, John Beck. Just another example of Beck's reputation as a class act.

March of Dimes representative Jen Leahy told SJR that this year's AIR Awards would be judged by radio professionals in Baltimore. In addition to the Lifetime Achievement Award, 26 more awards will be presented in the categories of public affairs, news, station and talent. Proceeds benefit the March of Dimes and its mission to save babies by preventing birth defects and infant mortality.

• • •

Sources close to Clear Channel Communications tipped SJR that the board of directors of the annual St. Louis St. Patrick's Day Parade has awarded it exclusive sponsorship for the event, ending a franchise-style stronghold held by CBS and KMOX Radio for several years. Three of the company's stations, KSD-FM (The Bull), KSLZ-FM (Z107.7), and KLOU-FM will create parade floats, and personalities from the station will participate, among them, Craig Cornett, Boomer, and Smash. KTVI (Channel 2) anchor Dick Ford will continue in his longstanding role as TV commentator from the reviewing stand.

The same sources credit KLOU-FM morning talent Karen Kelly for spearheading the successful effort to gain sponsorship for this year's parade.

• • •

Z-107.7 Program Director Jeff Kapugi couldn't be more thrilled with the just-released Fall 2000 ratings book. The station was fourth in the 12+ category, first with all persons 18-34 (the station's mean target audience is 28), and first with women 18-34. Kapugi doesn't mind sounding repetitous when he reminds detractors that "they said Top 40 didn't work in St. Louis."

In other news from the "Z," Kapugi announced that he's signed WNOU-FM/Indianapolis mid-day jock Jana Sutter to replace Kandy Klutch, who leaves the station Feb. 9 for points unknown. Klutch was also APD for the station, and, in the transition, PM drive talent and charter "Z" jock Boomer will assume APD duties.

When contacted by SJR, Klutch said she was leaving for personal reasons and that she hoped to eventually land a job in her college major, print journalism. Since college at the University of Florida, Klutch has worked in numerous cities including Tampa, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Hartford, Milwaukee, New Orleans, Raleigh and an early-'90s stint on KHTK-FM, formerly known as Hot 97, in St. Louis. Klutch has a great voice, is a natural for the CHR format and handled her duties well.

• • •

Briefly in other Clear Channel-related news, Market Manager Rick Weinkauf's last day with the company was Feb. 2. His replacement is Lee Clear who predates Clear Channel in St. Louis, having been brought here by Jacor to manage both KATZ stations and KMJM-FM.

• • •

Other radio potpourri circulating at deadline has KXEN-AM flipping from Hispanic to Christian, joining an already overpopulated format on AM radio locally, and Wendy Wiese going off the KTRS payroll at the end of the month.

• • •

Publisher Jeff Fister of locally based Virginia Publishing Company told SJR that J.C. Corcoran's book continues to show strong sales and has become the fastest-selling book the company has ever produced. So far, "Real Life Stories of J.C. and the Breakfast Club...or Twenty Minutes in the Dark with Madonna" has sold more than 6,000 copies. Only two other Virginia books have sold as well or better. They are "The Streets of St. Louis" by former postal carrier William Magnan and his wife Marcella, and "Beyond Toasted Ravioli," by Joe Pollack and his wife, Ann Lemons. The books have sold nearly 10,000 and 9,000 copies respectively. Fister noted that it's unusual for a book like Corcoran's, despite its later-than-expected release, to remain strong this long after the targeted Christmas season.

• • •

Aficionado's of technical memorabilia from radio's early days will appreciate the highly visible use of RCA R44-A microphones and other types in the hilarious recent Coen brothers' movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" The microphones, part of a collection of vintage radio studio equipment, lent further authenticity to the otherwise excellent period portrayal circa 1937.

• • •

Former local listeners of national ABC Talknet money program "Bob Brinker's Moneytalk" continue to be frustrated by its lack of clearance on a St. Louis outlet. Currently, the excellent personal finance program, which had its national debut in 1986, can only be heard-and barely-on a Jefferson County station at 1400 AM or on Springfield, Ill. station WMAY-AM (950 AM). During the winter months, it can also be heard on WLS-AM (890 AM) from Chicago. For those who cannot tolerate static and spotty signals, the show's website at www.bobbrinker.com now carries detailed program summaries following each Saturday and Sunday show.

• • •

Be on the lookout for massive promotions connected with this year's 20th anniversary of MTV which had its debut on Aug. 1, 1981. Hard to imagine the cable channel was once all videos, all the time, considering what it has evolved into two decades later.

• • •

You heard it here first that the best use for the 550 AM signal, once KTRS changes hands this year-a strong current rumor-would be for CBS/Infinity to once and for all buy a permanent outlet for spillover sports play by play and finally OWN all sports in St. Louis.

• • •

Programming excellence is nothing new on KWMU-FM (90.7 FM) and occasionally it's helpful to direct listeners to certain shows which are unique, outstanding and do not carry a high profile. One such program is "The Splendid Table" with host Lynne Rossetto Kasper, heard on Saturdays at 3 p.m. It's a food fix on radio for Food Network junkies and is always fascinating.

• • •

The recent passing of former Prom Magazine publisher Julian Miller II jogged a memory from the days when I was called upon by colleague Mike Uslan to assist in writing rock and roll compendium "Dick Clark's First 25 Years of Rock and Roll," for which I researched and wrote 25 chapters. Because there was an unexplained embargo on archived photos of rock stars from Dick Clark, I had the idea to call Julian Miller II because I knew he must have had countless photographs of every performer who appeared through the years at Prom Magazine press conferences. Miller was unapproachable at first, but eventually released several key photos of acts such as the Rolling Stones, and when the book was finally published, numerous pictures of Miller himself turned up in its pages. After word was received that the book was finally entering its first press run, I ran into Miller one night in front of the Muny Opera. I told him the book was about to be released, and his comment was: "Let me know when it comes out so I can buy one and double your sales."

Meanwhile, does anyone know what Miller's estate will do with the archives of Prom Magazine? Miller was never forthcoming about the location of the magazine's morgue, other than to say it was "impounded in a warehouse" and referring to some legal entanglements. Giving a local journalist access to the annals of Prom Magazine would make for a fascinating retrospective on how popular culture influenced baby boomers growing up in the St. Louis region from the late '40s through the early '70s when Miller stopped publishing Prom.

• • •

This month's AM/FM column marks the beginning of my 14th year as a radio columnist for the St. Louis Journalism Review and also my final regular contribution. Time constraints related to having been recently elected to the presidency of the American Association of Dental Consultants have forced me to sign off after so many years at this labor of love. While I may return for occasional special articles and reports, I can no longer meet a monthly deadline and do the necessary news gathering and reporting.

I would like to thank the creator of SJR, Charles Klotzer, and my editor, Ed Bishop, for their assistance and encouragement, and especially my family who has had to tolerate phone calls, interviews and deadline-related behavior.

In addition, Frank Absher's support and research throughout my tenure as a radio columnist have been invaluable. I'd also like to thank all of my reliable sources who helped raise the level of this effort well beyond what I could have accomplished alone.

I'll be transferring AM/FM into the capable hands of local journalist Lynn Venhaus. Lynn is well known and highly regarded for her contributions to the former Internet site radiodigest.com. I wish the best to her and all of my loyal readers. n

Larry Hoffman has been a freelance contributor to Billboard and wrote 25 chapters of Dick Clark's "First 25 Years of Rock and Roll."

More chatter, less platter

By Frank Absher

Can anyone really believe what's contained in the latest Arbitron? Or, put another way, how useful is the information?

Arbitron is used by advertising buyers to determine the demographic make-up and size of the audience of local radio stations. It's based on diaries kept by listeners during a specific time period.

But the St. Louis radio market underwent a huge ownership and format change within the past six months, and the audience is still settling in on which stations they like. In short, it takes awhile for a change like this to take hold, given the fact that listeners take awhile to get used to it.

That said, the Fall 2000 book for St. Louis shows an across-the-board jump in talk radio listeners. In total listeners, KMOX is up 30 percent from last year, KTRS is up 5 percent in spite of the loss of a couple strong personalities, and KWMU jumped 20 percent. This is probably the largest formatic spike in recent memory.

Music listeners are obviously checking out all their new options, but some ended up switching to the market's established stations. WIL still holds down the number two overall listening position with 6.7, followed by KEZK with 6.6, KSLZ 5.0 and KLOU 4.6. KSHE has increased its audience by 52 percent more than a year ago after changing the format of competitor KXOK-FM.

Among the newcomers, WSSM (smooth jazz) has a 3.1 share, WMLL (1980s music) has a 2.6, WFUN (hip hop, R&B) 2.4, KSD-FM (country) 2.1, and KFTK (FM talk) .9.

Corporate listener shares in the market break out to 24.3 for CBS/Infinity, 21.3 for Clear Channel, Bonneville 16.2, and Emmis has 15.1.

KMOX regained the lead in the 25-54 demographic with a share of 8.4, followed by 7.0 for WIL and 6.9 for KSHE. Among 18-34-year-old listeners, KSLZ is tops with a share of 8.9, up more than 50 percent from last year. WIL is second, followed by KPNT. People 18-49 are most likely to tune to WIL, which showed a 7.4 share, a 10 percent increase from the previous Fall book. KSHE is second and KMOX and KEZK are tied for third.

Media/Politics

Number of black voters did not increase

By Terry Jones

Was African-American turnout up in the November 2000 elections in Missouri?

Yes, if you accept a Dec. 19, St. Louis Post-Dispatch front-page story. With "Tight Races Spurred More Blacks in Missouri to Vote" as the headline, the article states that there was "a dramatic increase in voter participation by black Missourians from four years ago." Citing David Bositis, a researcher for the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, the story claims that "Missouri recorded the largest percentage increase of black voters of any state."

It did not take long for this assertion to become part of the conventional wisdom. Three days later, the Post's lead editorial comparing John Ashcroft's and John Danforth's qualifications for U.S. Attorney General noted that "the number of African Americans voting on Nov. 7 in Missouri doubled over the previous presidential election," perhaps partially in response to Ashcroft's opposition to educational desegregation while serving as Missouri's attorney general and governor as well as his objections as a U.S. Senator to Ronnie White's nomination as a federal district judge.

It's an appealing narrative about democracy in action. Ashcroft disses African Americans. They react by going to the polls in unprecedented numbers, defeating his bid for re-election.

There's only one problem with this tale. It's fiction, not fact. The most reliable evidence demonstrates convincingly that black turnout in November 2000 was about the same as in November 1996. There was no wave, not even a ripple.

About three-fifths of Missouri's African Americans live in the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County. Given the region's acute residential segregation, most live in majority black or all black neighborhoods. If black turnout actually increased, then the wards and townships from those areas should have reported many more votes.

That did not happen. The number of ballots cast in the black wards in the city was essentially the same in 2000 (42,378) as it was in 1996 (42,023)and was down from 1992 (49,854). The black wards contributed 39.7 percent of the city's Democratic vote in the U.S. Senate race in 2000, down from 41.1 percent in the last U.S. Senate race held in a presidential year, the 1992 contest between Christopher Bond and Geri Rothman-Serot.

The county picture is similar. For the four townships with a majority African-American population, the overall vote slipped slightly from 47,374 in 1996 to 46,932 in 2000. Their turnout percentage did rise slightly (68.6 percent in 2000, 65.7 percent in 1996) but that is less than the overall turnout increase in St. Louis County, meaning that the black townships' share of the county's vote was less in 2000 than it was in 1996.

The Post analysis did not examine the election returns. Instead it relied

exclusively on Bositis's interpretation of the Voter News Service exit poll which reportedly had African-Americans' share of the overall vote going from 5 percent in 1996 to 12 percent in 2000.

These two estimates have a wide margin of error. The entire poll interviewed 1,442 voters at 40 precincts. Since African Americans constitute about 10 percent of the adult population in Missouri, this means that approximately 140 blacks participated. The sampling error at the conventional 95 percent confidence level for 140 cases is about plus-or-minus 8 percent.

But the sampling error here is actually higher. A clustered exit poll conducted at only 40 sites is not as statistically powerful as a more scattered sample, such as one generated by a telephone survey. Birds of a feather are not the only creatures who flock together. So do humans, so there is less variation in a cluster sample and thus a broader error range. One would need more detailed information to calculate the precise adjustment, but it is safe to project that the sampling error is at least half again as large, meaning plus-or-minus 12 percent.

In short, estimating African-American turnout statewide by interviewing about 140 blacks at just a few locations, the equivalent to querying about 100 in a telephone survey, makes for very shaky ground on which to base sweeping statements.

Nor is Bositis an entirely neutral source. His employer, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, notes on its web site that its mission, in part, is "to improve the socioeconomic status of black Americans and other minorities (and to) expand their effective participation in the political and public policy arenas." It claims that "through its research...the Joint Center has demonstrated for over a quarter of century that blacks are a major force in the political arena."

Bositis was simply taking one piece of error-prone information that, in this instance, advanced the center's agenda and spinning it in that direction. The Post, ignoring better data closer to home, bit-big time.

Sports/Media

Post-Dispatch over the top on Vermeil

By Joe Pollack

Its life span wasn't much longer than that of a Christmas tree, but l'affaire Dick Vermeil certainly blazed brightly in the local newspapers and on radio and television, a perfect example of a tempest in a teapot.

I admit to owning advanced degrees in cynicism, but once the head coach has packed up and left, who cares where he goes and what he does?

Obviously, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch cared. How Vermeil planned to spend 2001 was of far more importance than how George W. Bush did, at least in terms of breast-beating, earlobe-tugging and brow-furling, not to mention size of type and length of stories. The newspaper, in an editorial (unsigned but rather clearly written by Kevin Horrigan) saw the Rams as grievously wronged by the Chiefs, just as they were by the Saints in the NFL playoffs, and compensation in the form of draft choices is deserved. Horrigan's Kansas City experience also brought Arthur Bryant's barbecue into the ransom mix.

In my opinion, the Rams stole a draft choice from the Chiefs. They also saved $2 million in cash on Vermeil, a half-million in payback from him (probably from the Chiefs) and $1.5 million they didn't have to pay to someone they obviously didn't want anyway. I'm certain that when Vermeil told the team management, after the Super Bowl victory, that he wanted to leave, they held the door so that it would not pop him in the butt on the way out and promptly poured a celebratory drink. My guess is that Vermeil made the statement expecting the front office to go into shock and offer him uncountable amounts of money to change his mind, but as in his choice of quarterbacks and some assistant coaches, he guessed wrong. Sorry, but the front office undoubtedly grinned like a group of Cheshire cats. My guess is that Vermeil would not have had a 2000 season nearly as good as the one Mike Martz achieved, and there would have been furor and turmoil all over everywhere.

Don't forget that Vermeil is the coach who wanted to make Tony Banks a starter, and also wanted Lawrence Phillips not only as a running back, but also as a roommate. Those who are memory challenged are hereby reminded that Banks lost his job at Baltimore to Trent Dilfer. Trent Dilfer, of all people!

Football coaches of my experience were notoriously tight with the dollar. They pinched so hard they would have made Abraham Lincoln wince, and though they probably would have caressed Sacajawea, she would have remained in a pocket. In truth, it's hard to blame them, especially the assistants, for their attitude toward money. Until the last few years, assistant coaches were woefully underpaid, not protected by a pension plan and subject to dismissal at the smallest whim of the head coach or the slightly larger whim of a star player.

Bobby Knight, whom I do not much admire, did say something reasonable recently when he noted he would not want to coach in the NBA because he'd never seen a player worth more money than a coach. I'm surprised he stayed in the college ranks as long as he did.

• • •

High marks to Jim Thomas of the Post who broke away from the mass journalism that surrounds the Super Bowl by going from Tampa to nearby Sarasota to talk with Bud Carson, who came and went and came and went as a Rams assistant, building and running what defense they had. It's a shame the man has emphysema, limiting his life so much, but it was smart of Thomas to get to him and persuade him to talk frankly and with good sense about the team's defense and about Martz. Carson confirmed my judgment last month, or the month before, when I noted that a Rams problem could be solved when Martz matured enough to give up the play-calling and the team's offense so as to take care of the overall operation, leaving details to top assistants.

In the days when NFL head coaches had only three or four assistants, they had to do a lot more, but now that there is more money than sense on most teams, it's easier to become a specialist.

• • •

Bad news on the Monday night television front when ABC announced that the entire announcing staff would return next year, meaning that Dennis Miller and Eric Dickerson would keep their jobs.

Of the two, Dickerson may improve. Miller is hopeless because he thinks he knows football and he's positive he's a great comedian. He tries to show himself as smarter than Al Michaels and Dan Fouts, and he can use and pronounce longer words, but that's not enough. His humor is so arcane as to be impossible to recognize, and his knowledge of football is so slight as to be an embarrassment. His statements about the sport, or the game, are often so dumb as to prevent Michaels or Fouts from answering, because a reply would merely underline the stupidity of Miller's words.

The Rams-Saints game was a perfect example, with Miller talking nonsense about Kurt Warner, pontificating as a diagnostician on injuries he obviously did not understand and forcing Michaels to correct him in a discussion of whether a pass was forward or not. Generally, he simply babbled about the game like a man showing off knowledge he thought he had-but didn't.

Dickerson lacks the journalistic skills and interview techniques to do the job properly.

Good coaching would help both of them, but unfortunately, Marty Glickman-far and away the best in the business-died recently and cannot help them, at least not in this world.

• • •

With the women's Final Four basketball competition coming here, note how the Post is hyping women's basketball as if it were a major sport, trying to raise interest in a weekend tournament for which no tickets are available. But more sinful in terms of news judgment was the sending of sports writers out of town to cover women's college games when Washington University, one of the best teams in the nation, was playing right around the corner. Seems as though the paper's thinking is a lot like that of too many people around here-if it happens in town, it can't be very good.

As the Bears got within range of a national record for consecutive victories, the Post should have been at every game, and the results should have received more play. When they lost to Fontbonne, someone would have been on hand to record the upset. It's a mystery to me why the Post doesn't give Washington U. sports proper coverage. Half a century ago, the St. Louis Globe-Democrat did, and so did the Post, driven by competitive fire. Of course, going to Forsyth and Big Bend costs less than much other coverage, and might attract some local readers, but that doesn't seem to affect the Post sports department these days.

• • •

And then there was the Super Bowl, the usual excess for players, coaches and writers. I predicted a Baltimore victory because I thought the Ravens had a better defense, and they did, a dominant one that led the way to a 34-7 rout, a score far more lopsided, and far higher, than I thought it would be. But special teams and defense provided much of the points as the Ravens' offense scored just enough to win, as it did all season.

I thought the commercials were mostly ordinary, with a couple of Budweiser spots and one for Volkswagen showing some extra style and charm.

One interesting thing: Every time a player started to go into a dance, or any sort of self-aggrandizing performance, the cameras cut away. I wonder if this is a new tactic from the NFL, thinking that neither the player nor the home folks would have illicit memories to share, and it might cut down on the juvenile attitude that seems to have infected most professional athletes. Interesting to see if it works.

And one more interesting thing: Have you ever seen a love-hate relationship of more intensity than the one that exists between Ray Lewis and the media?

Lost watchdogs

Local media abandon consumers

By Don Corrigan

The watchdog has lost its teeth! Whether it's because of corporate directives, advertising pressures or a new-fangled philosophy of civic cheerleading-the news media watchdog in St. Louis has lost its teeth.

This is nowhere more evident than in the area of consumer reporting. Once one of the most coveted and lively beats, consumer reporting has fallen by the journalistic wayside. No one is in a better position to attest to its decline than Michelle L. Corey, president of the Better Business Bureau (BBB) of Eastern Missouri and Southern Illinois.

"We stand to benefit when there is a media interest in consumer reporting," said BBB's Corey. "We rely heavily on the news media to get our message out. But we have seen a systematic change-a general reduction in the amount of consumer reporting that is done in St. Louis."

The BBB headquarters in Sunnen Office Park, near the boundary of Maplewood and Webster Groves, is constantly pumping out press releases about deadbeat contractors, local service industry rip-offs, giant retailer advertising gimmicks and classified advertising scams. But if the news media do not pick up on these BBB leads, the general public is unlikely to learn of frauds and cheats ready to take unsuspecting consumers for a ride.

"The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is a good example of where we've seen this decline in interest in consumer reporting," said Corey. "In the 1970s and 1980s, the Post had Eric Mink doing the 'Dollars & Cents' section and Sue Thomson was doing reporting for it. They had articles to help consumers protect themselves all the time.

"The Post also did a lot more consumer investigative work," added Corey. "There were Post reporters in our office all the time-at least on a weekly basis. Now, we have to call them on the phone and try to get them interested in a problem we're getting lots of complaints about. Most of the time, we can't persuade the Post to take up the story."

Corey said she is at a loss to explain why the major newspaper in town seems to have abandoned the Pulitzer mission to oppose public plunderers and predatory plutocracy. She said it's certainly not because there are fewer scams perpetrated against the public or less need for consumer awareness.

"We really don't know why the Post seems less interested," said Corey. "We don't have the contacts there that we used to have. When Cole Campbell became editor, we met with him and tried to convince him that readers have an interest in the kind of news we generate. He showed little enthusiasm. We do hope to meet with the new editor, Ellen Soeteber, to talk about consumer issues."

Post Managing Editor Arnold Robbins said he has seen some level of drop-off in consumer reporting over the years but that the Post had no unspoken aversion to consumer reporting.

"If there is a good story we pursue a good story" said Robbins. "Where there are clear stories we would aggressively pursue them. We wouldn't shy away from them."

Robbins said many other newspapers also dropped their Dollars & Cents type sections due to changes in the economic marketplace like regional businesses being overshadowed by larger, Internet connected ones.

"It's hard to do those stories and do them fairly,"said Robbins. "If you miss one place, your report is not fair. (And) as we know, in a global economy there are so many places."

Reporting's golden age

When it comes to consumer reporting on television, Corey refers to the 1980s as the "Golden Age" for that kind of TV news reporting. It could often involve rough, in-your-face, at-your-door interviews by reporters confronting the exploiters, the scammers and the frauds.

"Every network affiliate in town had its consumer reporter and Ellen Jaffe at Channel 2 was a household name," said Corey. "Lots of people can remember how she chased down the bad guys and would put them on the spot with the camera rolling.

"She and the other TV reporters relied very heavily on the BBB," added Corey. "If they got two complaints at the TV station on a remodeler or a used auto seller or a home builder, they would come here and we would have 25 complaints on file on the same outfit. It would really help them to build a story."

Corey said those complaints still pour into the BBB, but there are no TV reporters ready to follow up on them and bring them to the public on television news. Corey can point to some examples of advertiser retaliation after consumer stories have aired, actions which may have intimidated TV stations from continuing to pursue the consumer beat.

Another factor that may have had an impact on the decline of consumer reporting is the permanent loss of regulatory powers by federal agencies overseeing commerce during the Reagan era. Legislation in the 1980s cut staffs and weakened the enforcement powers of such agencies at the Federal Trade Commission.

With less monitoring of business practices and advertising by federal agencies, story leads on consumer issues dried up at the national level with a trickle-down effect to the local level. Fewer investigations by federal officials equaled fewer stories to put on the news nationally and locally.

Nevertheless, the BBB's Corey does not buy into any suggestion that the decline in consumer reporting on television news in St. Louis is part of some general national trend that began at the end of the 1980s Reagan Era.

"We go to national conventions regularly where we get to see some of the things that are going on in other cities," said Corey. "We find that in cities like Chicago, Nashville and Cleveland, there are today some competent consumer reporters on television news producing good investigative stories. It's just not happening here in St. Louis."

But Channel 2 News Director Brad Remmington took immediate issue with Corey's comments, citing his channel's "Contact 2," a consumer-reporting-based segment which airs on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

"Then you obviously aren't watching us," he said. "We have Contact 2, which is nothing but consumer reporting. We do substantial consumer reporting three times a week. I'm amazed that anyone would say that based on what we do here."

Remmington said Channel 2 also does smaller, consumer-oriented reports on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Contact 2 reporter Jill Farmer agreed that the consumer reporting coverage in St. Louis has dropped off.

"A lot of times at an attorney general's press conference when he's doing consumer issues it's (just) me and maybe a couple of photographers from the other stations."

Marty Van Housen, news director at Channel 4, said he has also seen a drop-off.

"My general reaction is that it probably got more attention previously than it gets now," he said.

When it comes to broadcast radio, Corey is less surprised at the decline in consumer reporting on this medium. She said the line between news and advertising has become too blurred for radio journalists to be effective.

"So many broadcast journalists on the air these days are advertising products and telling the news and it's all a part of their job," said Corey. "How can a radio journalist possibly investigate a business that they've been promoting on the air four or five days earlier?"

Classified ad caper

One recent example of a consumer story that Corey cast out to the local news media-with few bites-concerns "work-at-home-schemers." Corey said the experience illustrates her frustration with the local news media's unwillingness to cover consumer issues.

"In mid-1999 we began trying to get the news media interested in a story about 'work-at-home-schemers.' We felt it was a major story because there were so many local victims here in St. Louis," said Corey. "We have hundreds of complaints on file.

"The classified ads for the work-at-home schemes claim high earnings, short hours, with no experience required," explained Corey. "But the consumer gets bilked by having to pay a registration fee or a deposit. It's really sad because the people who are victimized are often out-of-work and can least afford to lose money."

Typical of such chicanery are the envelope-stuffing offers, product assembly projects, or the scams that involve a sort of classified ad pyramid scheme.

"These folks answer the classified ad and pay the fee, only to be instructed to invest in a similar 'work-at-home' classified ad to try to victimize someone else," said Corey. "Many of the victims of these scams never complain because they feel so foolish about being taken.

"We thought this story would be an important service to readers and TV news audiences," said Corey. "There wasn't much interest. The BBB did its own investigation and 'shopped' 100 work-at-home advertisements, and found absolutely no evidence of people making the earnings promised."

Not only did the story of "work-at-home-schemers" fail to receive any coverage, but some print media outlets contacted by the BBB continued to run the suspect classified ads.

"Newspapers, including the Post, tell us that classified ads are the hardest to police and there just isn't the staff to do it," said Corey. "But the 'work-at-home-schemer' ads are easy to identify and pick out. And we've found that there are literally no such classified ad offers that aren't problematic and potentially victimizing people."

For newspapers and television stations that are unsure of basic advertising ethics, Corey recommends the BBB's "Code of Advertising: Guidelines for Truth in Advertising." The booklet covers everything from bait-and-switch tactics to problems with superlative claims and puffery.

The BBB's code book might have other uses beyond assisting the ethically challenged. It might also provide a few basic story ideas to revive that flagging consumer beat.

Some information from this story was provided by Alex Posorske.

Is it news or consumer leverage?

By Alex Posorske

Although some critics say that consumer reporting has disappeared from the local media radar screen, it is still out there from time to time, in various forms.

One recent example is a KMOV (Channel 4) story on a Berkeley man, Rob Lee, who had been sold what he considered a lemon of a truck from a West County dealership, Bo Beuckman Ford. Lee felt Beuckman had made no serious effort to rectify the situation.

The Channel 4 story not only ran, but made a splash, when Beuckman tried to get the story off the air by offering Lee a completely new truck with no strings attached.

The saga began last spring when Lee brought his new 2000 model F-350 truck back to Beuckman, complaining about a grinding noise in the transmission, unusual early tire wear, smoke coming from the exhaust and a faulty alignment.

Beuckman took the truck into his shop and did a series of repairs at no charge to Lee. But when he got the truck back, Lee still was not satisfied. He said the transmission noises remained and a rattling sound was still present in a rear door. Beuckman, saying they had done enough, referred the matter to an arbitration board.

The board said Beuckman should give Lee a 2001 model F-350 diesel. But that model had several different features from the 2000. Therefore, the board ruled, Lee would have to pay a small amount of money ($900-$1500, depending on who you ask) to make up the difference.

That was when Lee got angry and the media angle began.

In his mind, Lee saw the offer as offensive. He wanted the trade to be made without any charge. He felt Beuckman owed him the insurance and interest costs he had been paying even though the truck had been on Beuckman's lot since April 6. So he wrote letters-lots of them.

The letters went out to every major media outlet in the metropolitan area. They also went to Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon, State Representative Tim Green and others. Channel 4 (and the Riverfront Times, after Channel 4's story aired) were the only ones to bite.

John Mills, the Channel 4 reporter who handled the story, said that Lee had called him and told him all the details. They didn't raise too much interest until Lee sent in a home video of smoke pouring out of his truck's exhaust.

With that visual cue in hand, Channel 4 sent Mills out on Nov. 28 to do a story for the 10 p.m. news that night. The story was finished at about 7 p.m. and the crew headed back to the station.

On the way, Mills said he received a phone call from Lee. Lee told him that Larry Perez, Beuckman's general manager, had offered him the 2001 truck, with no extra charge, as well as the insurance and interest money if Lee could get the story killed.

The question at that point was, what should a reporter do?

Does the reporter accept the offer and ride off into that proverbial sunset, confident that he or she has helped at least one average citizen fight the industry powers-that-be? Or is he or she obligated to air the story since it is obviously news and other local residents need to know the information?

To Mills, there was no real choice.

"I responded something to the effect of, 'I'm sorry, I don't think we can do that.' That would be the equivalent of allowing the (business) to extort money" he said. "I don't think we can kill the story just because someone is offering money to kill it."

Back at the station Mills asked Channel 4 News Director Marty Van Housen his opinion.

"He said something like, 'I know what we're going to do but you tell me what you think we should do,'" Mills said. Mills told Van Housen his thoughts and the story ran.

After the story ran, Perez took his offer off the table. Mills said he was not particularly pleased by that development, but still feels running the story was the correct thing to do and faults Beuckman for the decision.

"I said that story should run and I still think that was the right call," Mills said. "I know Rob Lee is still in some kind of situation. It's really too bad that Bo Beuckman Ford backed off on this deal they were offering. For whatever reason they decided they're not going to do anything at all."

Although Lee may have gotten what he wanted if the story had been killed, other consumers would have lost, Mills said. It was important, in his mind, to show the problems Lee had at Beuckman as well as to let others know about the arbitration process.

"In this world of television, it seems you don't see a whole lot of stories about car dealers," Mills said. "I'm pleased that Marty had the guts to run the story."

Van Housen said he did not remember the incident very clearly but said it would be something he would have to discuss with his reporter if a similar situation came up. He said he would consider withdrawing the story if the subject of the piece really wanted it withdrawn.

Lee said he did not clearly ask Mills to kill the story, but merely told him about the offer.

As for Beuckman's side of the story, Perez said he would not answer any questions since aspects of the case are still being worked out in St. Louis County Circuit Court. He said all questions should be directed toward Joe Jacobson, a lawyer representing Beuckman Ford.

Jacobson said the request to have the story killed and then give Lee what he wanted came from Ford higher-ups. The subsequent decision to rescind the offer also came from higher levels in the Ford hierarchy.

Jacobson said he saw nothing wrong with withdrawing the offer to a man whose claims he saw as very exaggerated.

"If I were the Ford Motor Company and someone shit all over me in public I don't think I'd go in charging to make them happy," he said.

Jacobson said he also viewed the Channel 4 broadcast as deceptive, especially in the way it focused on the smoke from the exhaust, something he said was natural for a diesel truck started in the November cold, especially one with the spring diesel mixture still in the gas tank.

Three days after the story ran on Channel 4, Jacobson said Beuckman offered to buy back Lee's truck and reimburse him for all of his expenses, although no trade-in was offered.

Lee said no such offer was formally presented to him at the time, although he said his attorney received a similar offer in the beginning of January.

Jacobson said the offer still stands, but Lee said at this point he wants more than his money back. He also wants compensation for the way he feels he had been treated, something that even the original offer from Beuckman would not have done, in his eyes.

"I still didn't feel it was right," Lee said of Beuckman's offer. "The man's (Perez's) only intention was to kill the story. He still didn't care about me as a customer."

Appellate court strikes blow for student press freedom

By Don Corrigan

In the 1988 Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier decision, the U.S. Supreme Court said that the First Amendment's reach stops at a high school's classroom door. A similar attempt to halt First Amendment freedoms at the college gates has now been repudiated.

University journalists and their campus newspaper advisers are hailing the Jan. 5 ruling of a panel of federal appellate court judges who rejected the application of high school-based Hazelwood standard to college student media.

In what appears to be a landmark ruling, the judges said Kentucky State University officials violated the First Amendment when they confiscated the student yearbook, the Thorobred, because of the book's content and quality.

"KSU officials' confiscation of the yearbook violates the First Amendment and the university has no constitutionally valid reason to withhold distribution of the 1992-94 Thorobred from KSU students from that era," wrote Judge R. Guy Cole for the majority.

The Jan. 5 ruling in the Kincaid v. Gibson case by a panel of judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati was being watched closely by school officials and student media across the country. A contrary ruling would have given university officials unprecedented power to censor student media and other forms of student expression on campus.

A coalition of civil rights groups, media outlets and journalism education organizations, including every accredited journalism program in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee-the states within the jurisdiction of the Sixth Circuit-had urged the court to strike down KSU administrators' actions as ill-conceived and unconstitutional.

In its 10-3 ruling, the appeals court majority noted a number of Supreme Court decisions that have found that the "university environment is the quintessential 'marketplace of ideas' which merits full, or indeed heightened, First Amendment protection" and rejected any application of Hazelwood to the college press issue.

"Nearly 13 years to the day after the Supreme Court allowed school officials greater censorship authority over the expression of many high school students, the court today has drawn a clear and strong line saying that such censorship must stop at the college gate," said Student Press Law Center (SPLC) Executive Director Mark Goodman.

The court soundly rejected KSU administrators' argument that school officials were entitled to confiscate the yearbook because they were disappointed with the publication's quality and content.

Background on Kincaid

The case decided early this year follows a Sept. 8, 1999, decision by a divided three-judge panel of the Sixth Circuit Appeals Court that found that KSU officials had not violated student First Amendment rights.

The case decided Sept. 8 focused on KSU's 1994 yearbook, which was seized by the vice president of student affairs at KSU. The official, Betty Gibson, confiscated the university yearbook and withheld the publication from distribution.

Two students filed a lawsuit against KSU arguing that their First Amendment rights had been violated. One of the students served as editor of the Thorobred yearbook. The other was a school newspaper reporter who argued that he had paid a student activity fee which entitled him to a yearbook copy.

Legal counsel for the university contended that the yearbooks were withheld because of "poor quality" and not for any reasons of "ideology or any opinion in them." Gibson reportedly objected to the theme and title of the yearbook and pictures of current events unrelated to day-to-day happenings at the university. She also took issue with the color of the yearbook's cover.

A lower court ruled in 1997 in favor of university officials and against the students. In that ruling, a district judge held that the yearbook was not a public forum and that the officials had a right to okay its content before distributing it.

In September 1999, appellate judges Alan E. Norris and James L. Ryan echoed the reasoning of the lower court, maintaining that college publications were bound by the same restrictions placed on high school newspapers by Hazelwood.

Enunciating the appeals court's opinion, Judge Norris stated: "It is no doubt reasonable that KSU should seek to maintain its image to potential students, alumni and the general public. In light of the undisputedly poor quality of yearbook, it is also reasonable that KSU might cut its losses by refusing to distribute a university publication that might tarnish, rather than enhance, that image."

Judge R. Guy Cole Jr. strongly disagreed with the other judges' decision to apply Hazelwood to a college case. Wrote Cole: "It is worth emphasizing that the Supreme Court in that case was addressing the scope of the First Amendment in the context of high school student publications," he wrote. "I believe that there is reason for courts to afford colleges and universities greater deference than they do high schools."

Cole's dissenting opinion-and outcries from various press freedom groups-apparently influenced the full panel of judges on the Sixth Circuit Court. In a rarely exercised legal procedure, the Court of Appeals threw out its initial decision in November 1999 and agreed to rehear the case before a larger panel of judges.

Narrow escape

According to SPLC's Goodman, the decision by the Court of Appeals to throw out its initial decision and to rehear the case represented a narrow escape for the college press. Had the initial 2-1 decision been allowed to stand, the Hazelwood application would have emboldened college administrators across the country to tamper with campus press freedoms.

Since the original 2-1 decision against KSU student journalists, Goodman has argued in forums across the country that the Sept. 8 decision was an affront to free expression on at least four counts:

• The decision held that colleges are on an approximate level with high schools when it comes to free speech issues.

• The decision gave administrators arbitrary power to censor for "quality" reasons; an adverb gone astray can be a cover for clamping down on campus expression that causes university officials a degree of discomfort.

• The decision held that students have no legal ability to contest the removal of a media adviser who is removed for failure to carry out censorship orders by administrators.

• The decision made no legal distinction between a yearbook and a newspaper, a theater performance, art shows, film programs, speakers on campus and faculty speech.

Goodman said he was shocked by the language in the original Court of Appeals decision and its failure to provide any justification for why Hazelwood should apply to the college press. He said efforts to fight the 1988 Hazelwood decision must be redoubled, because there's always a "trickle-up-effect" whenever there is a curtailment of First Amendment rights at any level.

"It took some time, but this court finally got this case right," said Goodman of the Jan. 5 decision. "As this court's decision indicates, the very idea that books have been locked away by government officials on a public university campus for the past six years so that students cannot read them is more reminiscent of a Third-World dictatorship than our American democracy.

"Kentucky State University will now have to live down its reputation as the university that attempted to bring an end to the free expression rights of college students," added Goodman. "I can only hope that this ruling will serve as a wake-up call to other colleges and universities in the country inclined to censor the student press."

Rosie

By Joe Pollack

Many years ago, Franklin P. Adams, a New York columnist, wit and fan of the Giants, wrote a poem about the Chicago Cubs' great double-play combination, Joe Tinker, Johnny Evers and Chance. It began, "These are the saddest of possible words, Tinker to Evers to Chance/ Trio of bear Cubs and fleeter than birds, Tinker to Evers to Chance. . . ."

Advance close to a century and we have Rosie and Martha and Oprah, three powerhouses with one syllable too many to scan properly, but who seem to have added magazines to television in their battle to take over the world of feminine communications.

At the same time, Rosie O'Donnell learned a lesson about corporate power. A couple of months ago, when the German corporation Gruner & Jahr, publisher of McCall's, made a deal with O'Donnell to lend her name to the magazine, O'Donnell said she was not interested in competing with Oprah Winfrey (O: The Oprah Magazine) and Martha Stewart (Martha Stewart Living) in the upscale women's magazine field.

The original Gruner & Jahr's thinking was to keep the 125-year-old McCall's and name the new baby Rosie's McCall's. That's certainly an awkward name, and even focus groups realized it, so McCall's went to the scrap heap and the new publication will be called-surprise!-"Rosie's: The Magazine," and will be an upscale women's magazine. The editor-in-chief is Cathy Cavender, former editor of the highly regarded and ever-popular magazine, Celebrity Dish, a spinoff of TV Guide.

Susan Ungaro, the editor-in-chief of Family Circle and consulting editor on Rosie's publication, then taught the TV personality and would-be actress about life in the magazine world, pointing out that Gruner & Jahr had "realized there was consumer and reader confusion" about the name. When asked about O'Donnell's earlier stance, Ungaro told The New York Times, "It is true that she said she never wanted to become a brand, but I call it a learning curve." She then went on to define the learning curve by saying, "Rosie knows that this is what being an editor is all about. You've got a new idea for a magazine, and you've got to be open to what is going to be best for the reader." And she capped the lesson by defining O'Donnell's role in the new publication. "She is cheerleading captain," Ungaro reported.

Media/Law

Sunshine seeping into courtrooms

By Ken Jones

By and large, Missouri's open government statute-the Sunshine Law-has been a great success since its enactment in 1973. Citizens have learned to insist that public business be conducted in public, and the press has been quick to force the issue when government bodies are slow to comply with the law.

At the same time, one branch of government has generally escaped the trend away from secrecy. Courts across the state routinely seal the record in their cases-including pleadings, exhibits, transcripts of testimony and settlements-at the urging of the lawyers involved.

But the situation is starting to change. Courts themselves are beginning to recognize that open courtrooms are good for self-government. Moreover, several states-including Missouri-either have enacted or are considering laws that diminish the ability of lawyers and judges to seal court records in civil cases.

On the closed courtroom front, the Missouri Court of Appeals weighed in recently with an opinion that corrected a St. Louis City judge who closed his court in a high-profile criminal case without any notice.

In that case, St. Louis City police officer Robert Dodson was charged in connection with the death of a burglary suspect who was being arrested. Dodson's lawyer filed a motion for change of venue, citing pre-trial publicity. On the morning of the hearing, the prosecutor and defense lawyer approached the judge in chambers and advised that they both wanted the hearing closed to the public.

The judge agreed and ordered the sheriff's deputies to clear the public, including a St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter, from the courtroom.

At the urging of the paper, the Court of Appeals reversed the trial judge's ruling. Acknowledging that an accused's Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial might sometimes require a closed court, the appellate judge said First Amendment considerations must also be weighed and that a criminal proceeding should not be closed without a hearing.

"[B]efore a judge closes a courtroom, representatives of the press and public must be given an opportunity to be heard on the question of their exclusion," the appellate court said. "That is, the trial judge must take the bench and inform the public then present in the courtroom that he or she is going to close the courtroom to the public and allow objection."

On the civil side, a bill that seeks to limit the authority of courts to seal court documents and prevent public access is currently working its way through the General Assembly.

Senate Bill 309 is part of a nationwide trend toward more open courts. For example, California-a bellwether state on matters legal-just enacted a sweeping law that, for all practical purposes, prohibits courts from sealing documents.

According to a summary published by the Missouri Senate, SB 309 "establishes that all pleadings, motions and other documents filed in civil cases are open public records, with limited exceptions."

Under the bill, a party can get a court order sealing the record only upon a showing that its request is "narrowly tailored" and that (a) the information "is a trade secret or other confidential research, development, or commercial information," (b) public disclosure of the record or proceeding "would subject any party to undue harassment, embarrassment, annoyance, humiliation, oppression, burden or expense," and (c) an interest exists "which substantially outweighs the right of public access to the information contained in the record or proceeding and the overriding interest will be imminently compromised if the record is not sealed or the proceeding not closed."

If a record is not sealed pursuant to this procedure, it "shall be open and available for inspection, copying or viewing by the public."

Moreover, the bill provides that a court record can never be sealed in any of the following types of cases: defective product, discrimination, environmental hazard, fraud, misrepresentation, personal injury, sexual harassment, unfair insurance practices, or wrongful death. The only exception to this no-sealing provision is a claim involving child abuse.

In my experience as a civil attorney, SB 309 is long overdue. At present, trial judges ordinarily rubber-stamp requests to close court records, provided the lawyers for all the parties involved agree. The requests usually come from companies in litigation that want to protect financial or customer-contact information from public disclosure.

The Missouri Press Association has expressed a couple of reservations about the bill. For example, the MPA is questioning a clause providing that "all records and proceedings of juvenile courts" shall remain sealed. Kansas City attorney Jean Maneke, MPA legal counselor, told SJR that the provision appears to conflict with current Missouri rules regarding the availability of juvenile records.

But overall, enactment of SB 309 would be a step in the right direction. It would write into law a presumption that civil court records are open to the public, and would reduce the expense-and frustration-of media companies that have to wage legal battles against courts that habitually seal their documents.

Ad/PR

Go around disaster, not through it

By Rick Stoff

Who among us does not have a tale of fighting an employer's or client's fire which we probably could have helped prevent if we had been consulted sooner? The communicator's understanding of human behavior might permit many of us to guide organizations around disaster rather than through it.

Many practitioners are leading a campaign toward greater utilization of communications skills in strategic operations rather than simply disseminating foregone decisions to internal and external audiences.

"Communications people have got a choice," said Les Landes of 10-year-old Landes Communications of St. Louis. "They figure out how to take this broader perspective and see their primary function as building relationships within the organization and making sure those relationships align with the public communications we are doing. Or they keep being message-and-media hacks who are putting out corporate propaganda that everybody sees through and hates."

Landes offers two categories of service through his practice, marketing communications and organizational performance improvement. He saw the need for the second service during a previous life at Pet, Inc.

"I was in charge of the organizational communications as well as public relations, corporate advertising, creative services, even consumer affairs. That is when my sensitivities started to heighten about the connection between what's gone on inside the company and what's gone on outside," he said.

There are many ways in which communications failure harms organizations. Policies are instituted without thought to the long-term reactions of customers. The sales force makes promises the operations staff can't fulfill. Reward and performance-evaluation systems may discourage employees from going the extra mile to satisfy customers. The various departments may not know enough about each other's work to understand where they're all supposed to be headed.

Communicators may be in a good position to understand these disconnects and help devise means of correcting them, Landes said.

"People who are in communication tend to have some experience, either by education or on-the-job training, about human nature. Once we have got that, added to the communications skills and knowledge we have, we can be one of the most potent forces in the history of organizations."

Landes calls his organizational performance improvement program "Marketing Inside Out."

"For a long time, I treated marketing communications and organizational performance improvement like they were separate parts of our business," he said. "Then I realized in the back of my brain that all of this stuff was connected, and decided I needed to take a more formal approach to integrating the two. In the final analysis, the quality of relationships you have inside the organization determines the success you are going to have in the market place."

His model starts with an evaluation of 40 organizational value statements. Leaders are asked to score them on their current applicability to their organization and then to rate them on the importance they would rate in an ideal organizational culture.

A computer analysis compares the two values systems, Landes said. "The disparity between the two is often enormous."

Landes then assists his client in creating a "systems control center" that enables the organization to do a better job of continually communicating strategic information so that everybody knows where they are headed, how they are getting there and how well the trip is going.

"We are trying to shift to a more spontaneous, almost organic, approach to information availability and access to information, often on a minute-by-minute basis, and importantly it is about relevant operation information and not just some PR guy's cooked-up version of what is relevant," Landes said.

"As you no doubt know, what passes for communications in most organizations is really a series of episodic and periodic memos, newsletters, magazines and weekly meetings, none of which is really what we could call systemic or systematic. It is just too late. Most of the time you get this stuff it's 89 days after everybody knows most of it."

His system measures employee involvement and operational performance as "leading indicators" to customer satisfaction and financial results. It also encourages "people first" policies that stress measurement and rewards, communication, continuous learning and continuous improvement.

"If you want a great organization, you have to have systems that get people engaged in continuous improvement every day.

"This is a concept whose time has come," he said.

However, many of us know that some clients/employers have limits to the amount of advice they're willing to accept. Landes realizes that some organizations aren't ready for something like "Marketing Inside Out," so he doesn't aggressively pursue clients for the service. "If people aren't willing and eager to do it ahead of time, there is no way to talk them into it."

Retired editor finds plenty of work correcting media's minor mistakes

By Jim Fox

It's too cold for golf, I'm too old to learn household skills now that I am retired, so how can I get my kicks?

One way is by reading the papers, watching TV and listening to radio and picking up, or perhaps I should say nitpicking about the little things I read, hear and see that would make an old copy editor take to drink.

Anyone who has spent any time in journalism, be it print or electronic, knows that this is a business of mistakes, what with deadline pressures, questionable sources, errors in the morgue files, you know the drill. But I am talking about the little things that escape most readers and listeners, and in "the big picture" are probably not that important. Still, if practitioners of journalism are to be, among other things, guardians of the language, it is disheartening yet amusing to encounter some of the quirky twists and turns the language can take under the care of journalistic whizzes.

Glitches turn up so often that quite a few can be garnered in a matter of a few hours of reading, watching or listening. I'll not name names because we who have spent any time in this business know we are all guilty. But, as Dave Barry, the humor columnist is prone to remind us, "I'm not making this up."

Let's begin, shall we? On this particular morning, a talk show host was recalling Republican Senator Kit Bond's outburst after the Democrats in St. Louis scored a brief victory by having a judge rule to keep the polls open longer than prescribed by law. As you know, that didn't last. Anyway, our intrepid talk show host spoke of Bond "standing at the podium" in a rage. I am still under the impression one stands on a podium and at a lectern. The Senator was standing at the lectern ranting and raving, and may have been tap dancing on the podium for all I know.

In the St. Louis Post-Dispatch a few days earlier I had read "the fire was believed to have started in a mattress that was too close to a hot water heater." When I was at the old Star-Times we had a news editor named Ed Mills who would go berserk whenever the term "hot water heater" appeared in the paper. Normally mild-mannered, a quality not usually associated with news editors, he would first chastise the reporter who wrote the offending words, next the person on the city desk who had passed on the copy and finally the copy desk.

Mills would shout, "It is a water heater, not a hot water heater! If the water was already hot, you wouldn't need a water heater!"

Of course, he was right, but he had little effect then or now. Hot water heater is still getting into the paper and most people I know, journalists or normal human beings, continue to refer to this household fixture as a hot water heater. Rest easy, Mr. Mills.

Not long ago when I was watching KSDK (Channel 5), the news reader, I believe they are called anchors, mentioned the "close proximity" of something or other. Well, distant proximity is a little difficult to achieve. It is my understanding that proximity means close. My wife will tell you I spend far too much time calling newspapers and radio and TV stations to point out such matters, but, as I said, I am of no use around the house so I have to do something. I called the offending TV station, made my point and the guy who had answered the phone said, "No, you're wrong."

Since he couldn't hit me, I was brave enough to ask, "Do you have a dictionary?"

"Sure," he growled and there was a long silence. To my delight he was gracious enough to come on again and say, "The dictionary says you are right."

A small and rare victory, but what the heck...

A radio newsreader made reference to "the HIV virus." I called her to suggest the V in HIV stands for virus and was she, perhaps, engaging in a slight redundancy? She was also very gracious and actually thanked me for the call.

Another TV anchor recently made reference to being "united together" which seemed to me a bit of an overkill on unity.

Then, another little thing in the Post. The reporter was recounting the tragic story of a young woman who died at St. Louis Children's Hospital after having survived for several days following what doctors thought had been a successful kidney transplant. The young woman's name was Charissa Samples. This is the paragraph that stymied me: "After three years of dialysis treatment, Charissa's father, Marty, received a call," telling him a kidney was available for his daughter. Now, you grammarians tell me, what is the subject of the clause "after three years of treatment?" I believe it is Charissa's father, Marty. Shouldn't the sentence have read, "After Charissa had received dialysis treatment for three years, her father Marty, received a call that a kidney was available." Okay, no big deal, you say, so we'll move on.

Channel 5 told me of a bank robbery on Gravois Avenue. No address. When I called, and reminded the producer Gravois runs from about 12th Street in St. Louis to St. Clair, Mo., he thought I had a point, an address would be helpful. In fact, he said the address had been in the report but the TV reader inadvertently left it out. Then, to cover everybody's tracks, he added rather lamely, "It is the only bank on Gravois with that name." I guess I am going to have to start learning the names of all the banks in the area. Ah, such is life for those of us who prefer details.

One of my favorites occurred when a fellow on KMOX on a Saturday morning said, "Now we will fill you in on some breaking news that happened yesterday." Breaking news that happened yesterday? Maybe it's me, I have been out of the business for some time now.

Because I am partial to Channel 5, I may be reporting too much about it, but I was taken aback by the reader who made mention of "funeral services are still pending." Is that 'still' necessary?

The Post again. Arnold Police Chief Dale Fredeking said neither Stephanie Johnston nor her father, Donald Johnston, were wearing seat belts. Maybe the chief said that, but no quotation marks leads me to believe that is how the reporter wrote it. It should say, "Neither Stephanie Johnston nor her father, Donald Johnston, was wearing a seat belt." Right?

The recent snow had a number of news practitioners squirming over his or her grammar. A weathercaster made mention of snow probably beginning at about "2 a.m. in the morning." Another news editor, Harold Tecumseh Meek at the Post, was more in the accepted mold; irascible, profane and downright unpleasant. He would bellow at the copydesk, "A.M. means morning, you dunderheads!"

Then there was the weathercaster on KTVI (Channel 2) who said, "One of the more heavier snows." He must have been knee deep in the stuff when he came to work because he wasn't going to let it rest as one of the heavier snows.

Speaking of weathercasters, an expert on Channel 2 said, "We made it up above the freezing mark." Better, I suppose, than down below the freezing mark.

Same channel, same night, a reader said, "Something you don't see hardly at all." Did we see it or didn't we?

A Channel 5 anchor recently made reference to the "baseball Cardinals." Haven't the football Cardinals been gone long enough (thank goodness) that we can drop the designation "baseball Cardinals" or should we start referring to the hockey Blues and the football Rams?

How about the anchor who told us, "One of the Senate's first priorities will be..." Is that first really necessary?

When I was at the Post, I took considerable ribbing because of my paranoia about streets, avenues, boulevards, drives, and so on. If a reporter wrote Compton Street when he or she should have written Compton Avenue, I would sulk. Such mistakes, in my view, diminish a news organization's accuracy and credibility, especially when most newsrooms in my experience have city directories that can help avoid such sloppiness. I think you get the idea, and I am not going to let myself off the hook. In my first newspaper job, I wrote a story referring to a "local restauranteur."

A woman copy editor pointed out to me very gently that the word was restaurateur, no "n." How was I to know, I was accustomed to dining in greasy spoon joints.

You may think I am being picky, especially since I grew up on the South Side. There, we added "ain't it" to almost everything we said. Not when it made some sense, such as in, "It's pretty cold today, ain't it?" No, we would use it this way, "I'm going, to the store, ain't it." Other expressions I was used to hearing in my boyhood were, "Throw the horse over the fence some hay," "Walk the tracks down," and "Down by the Gravois where the car bends."

So, I can sympathize with print and electronic journalists who stub their toes on some grammatical matters, or names or addresses, especially when on deadline.

But, in my day tyrants like Harold Tecumseh Meek showed no mercy and perhaps we need a little more of that in today's newsrooms. If we are to contribute to the reasonably acceptable use of language for our readers and listeners, shouldn't we be a little more careful? Have you noticed how the pronoun me is being accepted on TV shows as a nominative, as in, "Me and my brother are going to the movies," instead of, "My brother and I." It is so common now, it is being used in everyday conversations. Could the media help change this, or is it too late?

I mentioned copy desks, but I don't know that much about radio and television newsrooms. Do they have copy desks?

If they don't, they should, ain't it.

Jim Fox is a former Readers' Advocate for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

In SJR

10 Years Ago:

• UPI closed its one-person bureau in Jefferson City.

• After an absence of two years, the 6 p.m. news returned to KTVI (Channel 2). Anchors Don Marsh and Dana King were at the broadcast's helm.

• Nan Wyatt was hired at KMOX to assume the news duties of departing personality Mary Phelan.

5 Years Ago:

• Outgoing St. Louis Police Chief Clarence Harmon noted in an exclusive SJR interview that some African-American politicians used charges of racism in an effort to intimidate their critics in the press.

• Riverfront Times media columnist Richard Byrne left that job and moved to Eastern Europe as part of a journalism fellowship.

• Anheuser-Busch agreed to pay Snicker publisher Rich Balducci $10,000, even though the brewery had won a copyright infringement suit against his publication. Balducci agreed to turn over all remaining issues of the ad parody that led to the suit.

You can forget RCGA's 'Biobelt' idea

By Peter Downs

It used to be that conservatives opposed any kind of government subsidy to industry under the mantra that government should not try to pick winners and losers in business. How times change. The Regional Chamber and Growth Association (RCGA), which counts several Republicans among its ranks, wants taxpayers to subsidize the biotechnology companies, in effect, backing the RCGA's bet it will make St. Louis the heart of the "biobelt," which is to be the biological sciences' answer to Silicon Valley. Before legislators bow to that wish, however, they should at least realize how risky the bet is. That is information they won't get from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Admittedly, nearly everybody seems to agree that biotech is "the next big thing." For most people, however, that means medical biotech, and in that category, St. Louis already is an also ran. Analysts such as Hugh Kelly, chief economist with Landauer Associates, Inc., meaning no slight to Washington University and St. Louis University, have already picked the part of the east coast stretching from Boston south to Washington, D.C. as the heart of the biobelt.

Why? Because the resources concentrated there involve much more than two universities. That area has a few reasonably well-regarded schools of its own, such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard, Columbia and Johns Hopkins; the pharmaceutical industry is concentrated in New Jersey, and the National Institutes of Health and government funding are in Washington, D.C.

So, the quest for St. Louis is the same one that cost Monsanto its independence, to be the center of agricultural biotechnology. Some might say that agricultural biotech is setting the world on fire, but it is not exactly the kind of fire Monsanto and the RCGA hanker for, because it is the biotech products that are burning. Much of the world has become closed to agricultural biotech, thanks to Monsanto, which, as The New York Times put it in a Jan. 25 feature, managed to take food "from the laboratory to a debacle."

Here are a few of the setbacks to strike the industry last year, most of

them reported in the industry journal New Scientist:

In January 2000, U.S. and Venezuelan researchers confirmed that the Bt toxin in genetically engineered corn isn't fixed in the corn after all, but, contrary to industry claims, it can escape into the soil and kill bug larvae for up to 25 days.

In February, Canadian scientists acknowledged herbicide resistance had passed from genetically engineered seeds to weeds on Alberta farms in three years or less, rendering Monsanto's Roundup, Cyanamid's Pursuit, and Aventis's Liberty herbicides useless there. That news called into question whether those companies can ever recoup the billions of dollars they spent developing herbicide-resistant seeds.

In March, a long-suppressed U.S. government memo dating from 1993 revealed an experiment in which four of 20 female rodents fed the FlavrSavr tomato, now owned by Monsanto, suffered gross stomach lesions.

In April, scientists suggested that instead of protecting farmers from boll weevils, Bt cotton was causing a major resurgence of the pest in the U.S.

In May, Monsanto advised U.S. officials that it had detected unidentified DNA in its genetically engineered soybeans. Though company scientists had not figured out what the DNA did, the company assured federal regulators that it was safe.

The industry notion that the foreign genes scientists were inserting into plants would stay where they were put took a beating. First, German researchers reported finding a gene from genetically engineered canola in bacteria, fungi and honey bees. Then other researchers came forward, reporting a total of seven other species jumps, including one to humans.

Then English officials reported the same leap of herbicide resistance to weeds there as seen in Canada.

Then came the Starlink debacle--the contamination of the U.S. corn crop with seeds not approved for human consumption-that the Post did an excellent job covering.

In 1999, four-fifths of the total world area devoted to genetically engineered seeds was planted with Monsanto's seed traits. The company had succeeded in dominating the market for biotech seeds, but the cost was so great the company lost its independence. Former Chairman Robert Shapiro's vision of a unified "life sciences"company has been abandoned.

Former cheerleaders of food biotechnology now say it is "dead," or that the market will be a small fraction of what they once thought possible. And that is what the RCGA wants legislators to pin St. Louis' future to. They may be on to something, however.

Maybe there is nothing wrong with the technology. Maybe the problem is Monsanto. According to The New York Times, Will Carpenter, head of Monsanto's biotechnology strategy group until 1991, had this to say about his former employer:

"When you put together arrogance and incompetence, you've got an unbeatable combination. You can get blown up in any direction. And they were."