KMOV (Channel 4) is the latest local medium to jump on the civic journalism bandwagon. On Sunday, Sept. 26, Channel 4, in a collaborative effort with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, launched "Imagine St. Louis," a 30-minute program airing at 10 a.m. each Sunday and dedicated to examining "critical issues" for the region. Public journalism was, of course, brought to St. Louis by Cole Campbell, editor of the Post. The paper launched its "Imagine St. Louis" section in April.

The inaugural program on Channel 4 imagined the creation of quality jobs. Host Myriam Wright was joined by Post reporter David Nicklaus along with Eddie Davis, president of the St. Louis Minority Business Council, and Richard Fleming, president of the St. Louis Regional Commerce and Growth Association.

The discussion was loosely based on Nicklaus' two-part report in the "Imagine St. Louis" section of the Sunday Post that appeared Sept. 19 and 26.

The program opened with footage of the demonstrators who shut down Interstate 70 earlier this year to protest a lack of minority hiring, mentioned the high number of layoffs at Boeing and wrapped up its introduction with Wright declaring that "finding quality jobs for people is the greatest challenge for the city."

The show then featured a package by Channel 4 reporter Jamie Allman, who talked to a woman looking for a job at a local employment office and then went to a nearby temp agency. The main thrust of Allman's story was that while unemployment figures here are slightly lower than the national average (4.2 percent compared to 4.3 percent as a full-screen graphic showed us twice during the program), finding good-paying jobs is a different story. Most temp jobs pay in the $6 to $7-an-hour range.

Fleming of the RCGA talked about how raising the quality of jobs sustains job growth and said that the entrepreneurial spirit needs to be encouraged. He said St. Louis' natural assets are plant and natural sciences, and automobiles.

Davis pointed to the small-business backbone, most especially that of minority-owned small business because they tend to hire more minorities. He also said business should invest in the center of the city.

After a commercial break, the group discussed the "nagging problem" of the city's earnings tax, which comprises one-third of St. Louis' budget. Fleming, who noted even stock options are taxed, talked about capping this tax.

Davis then talked about the importance of education and plugged a course offered locally in the business of construction.

Nicklaus didn't say much and appeared decidedly uncomfortable in the spotlight, never once smiling nor looking at the camera. He wore an off-white suit and was placed against an off-white wall.

No citizen involvement

What was lacking in the program -- the concept of which attempts to get citizens more involved in their communities -- was the participation of those very citizens. There was not one aspect in the show that would help a person looking for a job. All the talk about entrepreneurial growth and the use of phrases such as "we need to understand our assets," "the competition is improving on its basic products" and "the intellectual capacity needed to compete with down-sizing" mean absolutely nothing to a person who is worried about making next month's rent.

If these guests are talking to the policy makers, then wouldn't it be better if they set up a meeting with the folks at City Hall or Civic Progress? If they're talking to Joe Citizen, how about sponsoring a job fair instead?

What could make this program reasonable would be if it were live, shot in front of an audience or where viewers from home could call in and ask questions about whatever the topic is. Instead, the program is taped each Wednesday.

And as much as the creators would like a live show as well, they say it's an impossibility.

"A live call-in show with a studio audience would be the optimal thing to do," producer Steve Perron said. "I don't see it as a possibility, financially. We'd have to have an entire studio crew there, the control room, a camera crew, the producer, talent. It would be a logistical nightmare. It would affect the entire week's schedule."

Bob Duffy, the Post's cultural news editor who oversees the print version of "Imagine St. Louis" and works with Channel 4 for the TV show, agreed. "Live would be preferable," he said. "But in terms of their production schedule, they need to pre-record it. I would hope that at least we'll have a phone number (so viewers can) call the TV studio."

Duffy said a comment on the air Sunday made by Fleming and referring to Nicklaus' story may have confused some listeners about the format of the show. Fleming mentioned how he agreed with the lead in the reporter's story. Duffy noted Nicklaus' story was in two parts and Fleming was referring to the first part, printed the Sunday prior to the Wednesday taping of the show. He said the guests do not get to read the coming Sunday section in advance.

'Imagine' replaces 'Newsmakers'

Perron was formerly the producer of "Newsmakers," one of Channel 4's two public-affairs programs. The station canceled "Newsmakers" to produce "Imagine St. Louis." The show aired Sunday morning and the decision to cancel was made by upper management, Perron said. President and General Manager Allan Cohen approached the Post about the collaborative effort, according to Duffy.

Duffy said the paper was first contacted by the station over the summer, when he had initial meetings with Executive News Director Steve Hammel. "And then we had more meetings and lots more discussions. Marketing and PR people got involved. And we had our show, more or less," he said.

No money changes hands between the Post and the station. Channel 4 pays for its talent, promotions and the air time while the Post does the same for its staff and promotional materials.

Who decides the topics? "Sort of me," Duffy said. "I still determine what goes in the paper and the show is determined by the paper. The idea is to take an issue of broad public interest or a problem of broad public impact on the region."

Duffy chose the job-creation issue for the debut of the TV show even though he admitted that wasn't one that has generated a lot of interest. "It was the first time we revisited the topic since July," he said. "It's sort of a rotation. We revisit issues every six or eight weeks." Duffy said he expects to introduce about eight new topics a year. "Some reach critical mass. We feel the time has come to go out and do something else."

'Works in progress'

Duffy said both the printed and on-air versions are "works in progress." "'Imagine St. Louis' in the paper and on TV is something evolving and nothing is really set in stone."

Perron said it's fine for the Post to choose the topics and schedule the guests at this point, as he's been enormously busy building the set and setting the tone for the show. "We do retain the discretion in choosing how to present it visually," he said.

Duffy and Wright are now meeting every Monday to discuss in depth what is in the upcoming article for the following Sunday's show. By Thursday or Friday, Perron will find a reporter to do a piece for the broadcast.

Jamie Allman, whom Perron called one of the station's "premier reporters," expressed an interest in participating in "Imagine St. Louis." Perron and Allman discuss the possibilities, whether it be an overall story or a "slice of life" piece and then Allman is freed for a day to cover the story.

"That's a big commitment on our part," Perron said. "He's taken out of the news mix and we generally don't have reporters to spare."

Perron said he's excited about the new program and its possibilities. "We all understand in our business (TV) we are not able to do the types of in-depth examination of issues that a newspaper can. David Nicklaus worked three weeks to a month, maybe more, on that story. We just can't do that type of thing. But there are things that we can do visually. We can take an issue and capture the feelings of that on the street. And that is what a newspaper isn't able to do," he said. "This whole public journalism thing and, of course, 'Imagine St. Louis' is a manifest of Cole's (Campbell, Post editor) views, but regardless of how you feel about public journalism, the issues they've brought up are worth looking at and it's worth going ahead with the program."

But what about the TV station doing its own examination of issues rather than collaborating with the only daily newspaper in town?

"We did that with 'Newsmakers' and 'Eye on St. Louis,'" Perron said. "We've been doing these kinds of shows since television had its licenses. This type of program is certainly not, by any stretch of the imagination, anything new for us."

Perron noted the ratings were good for the first "Imagine" broadcast, with only the Ryder Cup beating it in its time slot. He added that he believes the collaboration is exciting and innovating, and said he doesn't know of any other similar effort.

But this type of effort between TV or radio and a newspaper has been done in Madison, Wis., San Francisco and Seattle, where civic journalism is also practiced by daily papers. In all of these cases, it was the newspaper approaching the TV stations rather than the other way around, as Duffy said happened with "Imagine."

Collaboration raises concern

What concerns many is both the proliferation of public journalism in St. Louis and the fact that other media are joining forces with the Post.

Eileen Solomon, an associate professor of broadcast journalism at Webster University and former executive producer of the Channel 4 news department, thinks the collaboration is dangerous. "Does this mean that now we can expect Channel 4 to do no critical reporting of the Post-Dispatch and the Post-Dispatch to do no critical reporting of Channel 4, now that they're working together for a common goal? When the media join forces, it seems to me, there is an inherent danger," she said.

Perron discounted that theory. "I don't see how the relationship would affect coverage. We've been working with the Post for years in smaller ways."

Campbell wrote in a letter announcing the new joint effort, "While newspapers and television are often seen as competitors, we believe there is great opportunity for the two media to complement each other. And we look forward to many more opportunities to join the power of the pen with the illumination of the lens."

Other criticisms of the joint effort include the fact that there are more than enough news stories in a market the size of the St. Louis for media organizations not to tag-team coverage, and there's certainly enough for "Imagine" to cover 52 topics a year instead of just eight. These collaborations do nothing to diversify information.

Illusion of participation

Critics of public journalism in general and the "Imagine" section in particular say the movement only gives an illusion of public participation. With Duffy essentially choosing the topics in the Post and on Channel 4, it is he alone who determines what issues are "critical" to the area.

The Post has said it is reflecting a citizens' agenda and is not taking a proactive stance on any issue. However, the second printed issue of "Imagine" asked people to "Imagine a Bridge" and brought up the need for another bridge crossing the Mississippi River in downtown St. Louis. Later, the paper editorialized in favor of the bridge. The Post could stand accused of choosing topics to soften readers so they'll be more receptive to its editorial positions. After all, a new bridge was never a citizens' agenda. It was the Post's from concept to editorial to determining when an issue has "reached a critical mass."

And how is that decided? Does the Post determine a problem is "solved?"

"No. We're not guilty of that," Duffy laughed. "Our hope is this will be a way for people to re-engage themselves in public life. It's a public journalism cliche but we believe that. It is my sincere hope that's what this series does."

But Duffy admitted some issues haven't attracted much interaction. At a Post-sponsored town hall forum on a new stadium held at Charlie Gitto's downtown, which Duffy chose because of its baseball history, only two citizens showed up.

"It was a total disaster. Nobody came," he admitted. Thinking the get-together would be crowded, he ordered a lot of food. "There were two guys who were very interested in the topic, and there was a man with a sign that said if the owners wanted a new ballpark they should borrow the money from the players to pay for it, who stood across the street." Duffy added a television news crew came to cover what the station expected to be a crowded meeting. "It turned out that the cameraman was very articulate and had been in Chicago and had a lot of knowledge on the subject. We had a perfectly nice time but the Post people outnumbered the audience," he said. Also, Duffy noted no one from the Cardinals' organization attended.

However, Duffy is quick to add other meetings have attracted large crowds, including one on health care at the St. Louis Metropolitan Medical Society. And response ran high on the baseball issue, with an estimated 75 e-mails and even more letters. The job issue, on the other hand, has received little response, Duffy said.

"Complexity, emotion maybe have something to do with it. You just never know. It's not scientific," Duffy said.

Imagine that.