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Allan Cohen by Roy Malone
KMOV boss is a survivor
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February 2009 Vol 38 Number 311 $4.00 Wiley Price tells stories with a camera
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Brings in the Money
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February 2009 Volume 38 Number 311
Editor Roy Malone Editor/Publisher Emeritus Charles L. Klotzer Illustrator Steve Edwards Designer Frank Roth Radio History Frank Absher Ad/PR Rick Stoff
FEATURES 7 10
Longtime KMOV boss is a survivor / Roy Malone
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Veteran tells stories with his camera / Karen Robinson
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Most college papers prefer print; slow to move to online / Don Corrigan
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KWMU gains listeners / Terri Waters
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Art groups find a home at Crestwood Plaza / Joe Pollack
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Cities without newspapers / Daily Media News Feed
Art/Sports/Media Joe Pollack Media/Politics Terry Jones Board of Editorial Advisers Frank Absher Jim Kirchherr Lisa Bedian Roy Malone Ed Bishop Tammy Merrett David Cohen Avis Meyer Don Corrigan Michael Murray Eileen Duggan Steve Perron David P. Garino Joe Pollack Ted Gest Joe Sonderman William Greenblatt Michael D. Sorkin Daniel Hellinger Lynn Venhaus Board of Directors Robert A. Cohn Michael E. Kahn Don Corrigan Charles L. Klotzer John P. Dubinsky Paul Schoomer Gerald Early Dr. Moisy Shopper David P. Garino Ken Solomon Ray Hartmann
COLUMNS 3
Letters
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Off the Record KFUO may be sold / Frank Absher June 12 deadline for TV switch / Don Corrigan Out, Safe / J.B. Forbes Cutbacks in Columbia / Benjamin Israel The rest of the story / Frank Absher Reruns on Channel 5 News / Tripp Frohlichstein Losing face / Ed Bishop Guild fights pay cuts at KSDK / Newspaper Guild Biondi’s suit against Meyer ends / Roy Malone
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The myth of objectivity / Charles L. Klotzer
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Limbaugh trails O'Reilly, Hannity in ratings / Terry Jones
The St. Louis Journalism Review 8380 Olive Blvd St. Louis, Mo. 63132 Phone: (314) 991-1699 • Fax: (314) 997-1898 e-mail: sjreview@sbcglobal.net www.sjreview.org
SJR The St. Louis Journalism Review (ISSN: 0036-2972) is published monthly, except bi-monthly in December/January and July/August, by The St. Louis Journalism Review Inc., a non-profit corporation. Subscription rates: $25 (one year), $44 (two years) $62 (three years), $80 (four year), $98 (five years),. Foreign subscriptions higher depending upon country. Periodical postage paid at Washington, Missouri and additional mailing offices. Please enclose stamped, self-addressed envelope with manuscript. Copyright © 2009 by The St. Louis Journalism Review. No portion of this journal may be reproduced without the express permission of the publisher. Indexed in the Alternative Press Index. Allow one month for address changes. Postmaster: Send address changes to The St. Louis Journalism Review 8380 Olive Blvd. St. Louis, Mo. 63132.
Biondi's suit again Meyer ends / Roy Malone
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A-Rod's Mea Culpa / Joe Pollack
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Chet Thomas cashed out at KXOK / Frank Absher
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Media Notes
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Sources say . . . Post gets downsized literally Mandatory furloughs at Post The Wente Group Hoaxers get hoaxed
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 73-85160
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commentary
letters Minsky article “One of the best” Dear Mr. Klose, Thank you for drawing attention to the ongoing relevance of the ideas of my husband, Hy Minsky. (Roland Klose in Dec./Jan. SJR). You clearly define his insightful analysis of financial markets and the causes of financial crises. Of the many “Minsky Moment” articles, this is one of the best. ■ Esther Minsky Rhinebeck, N.Y.
Newspaper problems more than corporate greed If the only problem the news business had was trying to digest acquisitions, then solutions would be a lot simpler. The St. Louis Journalism Review has for years defined the problem as one of corporate greed, period. But the problem, and problems, are far more complex. Traditional print newspapers do face online threats—but they're not online news content. One is Craig's List, which has been gobbling up
classified advertising coast to coast. Newspapers have singularly failed to compete in an environment where classified ads are free. A second problem is how people, particularly younger people but not only them, are defining news and where they get it—a host of sources, including online news sites, news aggregation sites, blogs, friends and Facebook, among others. Third, the 24-hour news cycle outdates tomorrow morning's newspaper even before it's printed. Fourth, there's the trust factor—a lot of people just don't trust what they're reading and especially what they're reading on the editorial pages. Throw too much debt from questionable acquisitions into that mix, and it spells disaster. I grew up with print newspapers, and I hate to see what's happening. We're losing something important, and it's unclear what's going to take its place. But this isn't all about corporate greed. ■ Glynn Young Kirkwood
Raps Post city hall reporting After reading the St. Louis PostDispatch articles questioning how a committee of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen selected several nonprofit groups to share in spending $1 million in crime prevention funds, it is easy to conclude that the newspaper is more interested in smearing the reputations of black elected officials than reporting the truth. Reporter Jake Wagman implied there was impropriety around how the groups were selected. Wagman said, “One of the groups seemed to have remote connections to an alderman on the Public Safety Committee and two others to two additional aldermen not on the selection committee.” The fact that three of the aldermen mentioned in Wagman’s Feb. 19 article are also members of the St. Louis Aldermanic Black Caucus is also telling. Wagman had talked at length with members of the Public Safety Committee. They said that the resulting story bore no resem-
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letters blance to the conversations they had with Wagman. Several committee members expressed disappointment that Wagman misrepresented the facts about the process of allocating the crime prevention monies. If Wagman had taken the time to attend earlier Public Safety Committee meetings when the crime prevention funds were discussed, he would have heard Alderman Fred Wessels comment that he did not care which groups proposed by the Public Safety Director Charles Bryson received any money as long as his area received some of it. This is the same Wessels that Wagman quoted as saying the selection process was an “abomination.” Wessels’ area did not receive the amounts of monies he desired. Wagman implies in his writing that Alderman Terry Kennedy, chairman of the Public Safety Committee, was part of some African- American Caucus plot to award these monies to only black groups. He did not mention that Alderman Kennedy initially opposed the tax that created this fund, voted against it, and spoke against it publicly at the Board of Aldermen and within the
off the record community. Wagman could not report this because the facts refute the premise of his article. Most of the proposals submitted were for neighborhoods in north St. Louis. The Public Safety Committee was trying to concentrate funds in the areas of the most need. These facts were left out of Wagman’s article because they did not support his theory of a black conspiracy. Historically, St. Louis has been divided along racial lines on key issues. Media coverage, such as the article written by Wagman, only promotes racial division, stereotypes and racial biases that have plagued St. Louis for generations. ■ George Jackson Jr. St. Louis
off the record KFUO may be sold Classic 99 KFUO-FM, St. Louis’ heritage classical music station, may soon be offered for sale by its owner, The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. The announcement was made at several church services following a
meeting in Kansas City last month. The synod’s announcement said the radio property would be examined as to explore the possibility of selling it. Such a move would undoubtedly foment a revolt of the station’s loyal listening audience. KFUO-FM is one of the nation’s few commercial classical music stations. An informed source told SJR the station is operating in the black, so one might assume the synod is looking for a way to pick up the millions of dollars it could get for the signal. But the timing couldn’t be worse. Few, if any, broadcast groups can find the $30 million or so it might take to buy KFUO-FM, and the synod might do well to consider the potential listener revolt. As one of St. Louis’ first FM stations, and the longest continuous ownership of any local FM station, KFUO-FM has greatly enhanced the image of the synod. It doesn’t appear this has fully been taken into consideration. ■ Frank Absher
June 12 deadline for TV switch St. Louisans who haven’t made the digital leap with converter boxes
Out, Safe The 1969 photo by Lynn “Jug” Spence of Mike Shannon tagging out Bill Sudakis of the Los Angeles Dodgers is arguably the most famous photo taken by any St. Louis Post-Dispatch photographer. Everyone knows it as the “Out, Safe” photo. Spence, 71, died recently after suffering a stroke and falling at his home. He retired eight years ago after working at the Post for more than 34 years. The photo has been reprinted hundreds, if not thousands of times. People are still ordering copies of it today. Judges and lawyers have it hanging on their walls. It is still mentioned occasionally on sports talk radio programs. It was a runner up for the Pulitzer Prize. After much arguing by the team managers, the umps, John Kibler on the left, and Ed Vargo, finally agreed that Sudakis was out. Spence didn’t know what he had when he clicked the shutter. It wasn’t until he was back in the darkroom going over negatives that he saw this iconic frame. The Post ran it eight columns across the sports page. For many
years Spence had an enlargement of the photo covering an entire wall of his house. Sadly, the Post didn’t even give Spence a news obit. When the Pulitzer family owned the paper the employees—be they editors, printers or security guards—got the traditional retirement story and then an obit when they died. It was respectful, good for morale and sat well with the public. But that policy, reflecting the Pulitzer paternalism, did not sit well with Arnie Robbins, who became editor of the paper after Lee Enterprises bought it. “We don’t write
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about ourselves,” is how Robbins explains his policy, although that policy is often broken, especially when Robbins himself appears in a promotional ad telling readers how good the paper is under leaders like him. One Post staffer called it “ridiculous” that the paper couldn’t continue devoting some ink for the passing of longtime employees, and give Spence “his due” for producing that legendary photo. ■ J.B Forbes, a Post-Dispatch photographer, wrote about Spence and his photo on a Post blog. But it never appeared in the paper. . .
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off the record for their “stand-alone TVs” got a reprieve from Congress. The date for TV stations to move from analog to digital has moved to June 12. The switch from a Feb. 17 deadline to the June date gives viewers of free, over-the-air televisions more time to apply for a federal subsidy to help pay for required converter boxes. To avoid blacking out TV sets in many homes, the Obama administration sought and received more money for the subsidy program and a delay in the push to digital. The stimulus bill that President Barack Obama signed in February includes $650 million in additional subsidy funding. That money should go a long way in clearing a backlog of 4 million coupon requests backed up after the original program funding ran out. Without such a coupon, a converter box from retail appliance stores can cost $45 to $80. Even with converter boxes that are correctly installed, some St. Louisans may be in for a rude awakening on June 12. That’s because apart from killing analog, many stations are also transitioning to broadcast on new digital frequencies. Viewers who were already watching the digital signal—through a converter box or a digital TV—may lose the channel until they direct their device to “rescan” the airwaves. An additional problem concerns the antennas. Many households will find they need new antennas that aren’t on old sets. Digital signals usually come in better than analog ones, but they are not well received by some of the older units’ antennas. In the St. Louis area, it’s estimated that more than 60,000 households are still not ready for the digital switch. To apply for a converter box coupon, consumers can call: 888-388-2009. For more information on the switch, go the FCC Web site: www.dtv.gov. ■ Don Corrigan
Cutbacks in Columbia Columbia, Mo., home to probably more reporters per capita than any other city, has seen its share of layoffs and firings this year. KFRU Radio, which calls itself “News Talk 1400 AM, Columbia's News Station” fired its last two reporters in February. In the same month, the Columbia Daily Tribune cut five people from its newsroom— two in news, two in sports and one
photographer. Tribune Managing Editor Jim Robertson said the paper's cuts were due to decreased revenue. “In the past few months, local advertisers have continued to cut back on their ad budgets, as consumer demand falls off,” he said in an email. The news staff has also dwindled due to attrition. “The 2007 budget included 52 positions, both full-time and parttime, in news, photo and sports. Today we have 43,” he wrote. Robertson declined to comment on how the Tribune, a non-union paper except for its pressmen, determined who it would let go. Unlike the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Tribune is locally owned by one family, that of editor and publisher Hank Waters. Its board of directors consists of Waters, his wife and four of his five children. Robertson said in the pages of the Tribune that he believes the paper's prospect for long-term survival is better than shareholder-owned papers. “As soon as we get to the end of this cycle, I think we’ll be fine and growing again in revenue.” In contrast, KFRU, once locallyowned with Hank Waters as partowner, now belongs to Cumulus Media, the second largest owner of radio stations in the nation. It owns six other stations in mid-Missouri. In October, it fired its news director, Dan Claxton, and morning-show co-host Fred Parry. On Feb. 6, when reporter Matt LaCasse showed up for work, the station manager told him not to bother because he was fired, LaCasse said in an interview. His co-workers, reporter Scott Smith and meteorologist Katie Crandall were let go at the same time. LaCasse said he did not take the firing personally because Cumulus fired seven percent of its staff nationwide at the same time. “I don't think any of those decisions were made locally,” he said. “I think all of the decisions were made in Atlanta, where they're headquartered.” According to the website of Brian Matos Radio Update, Cumulus' cuts were brutal. In Toledo, Cumulus offered Tom Watkins, the host of a morning drive-time show, a choice between keeping his job at minimum wage or losing it. On a broadcast on public radio station KBIA, Missouri University journalism professor Lee Wilkins said the demise of local news coverage on KFRU was a blow to Colum-
bia. “KFRU in many ways has been the only place on the radio to hear about local news. If you wanted to hear in-depth interviews with local officials, that was the place you turned.” ■ Benjamin Israel
The rest of the story When Paul Harvey died March 1 at the age of 90, the nation lost a broadcast icon whose impact on radio will doubtful ever be duplicated. As was the case with most radio people, his early days took him to several stations, including KVOO in Tulsa when he was 14, KFBI in Abilene, KOMA in Oklahoma City and KXOK in St. Louis. He was here when that station signed on in 1938, working as the news and special events director. He met his future wife in the elevator in the Star-Times Building one day as they were both going to work at the station. Lynn Cooper, a Washington University graduate, became his “Angel” after his second proposal. They moved to Chicago in 1944 where she directed the business end of what became known as Paul Harvey News, eventually reaching 24 million listeners worldwide. Paul’s other show, “The Rest of the Story,” had similar success. Paul Harvey became a news commentator in the days when the airwaves were filled with them. His contemporaries included Lowell Thomas and Gabriel Heatter. He outlasted them all, and in 2002, he signed his last contract with ABC Radio. It was for $100 million over the next 10 years. The pair never forgot their St. Louis connection, maintaining a farm in rural Jefferson County that later housed a studio so he could do his daily broadcasts from there. Angel Harvey died May 3, 2008. The Harveys were generous to Washington University. Their gifts included funds for providing financial assistance for students, support of various programs, and resources such as the Harvey Media Center for broadcasting and print publications. Both of the Harveys received honorary doctorate degrees from the university. In addition, they made a major donation to the Mercantile Library as seed money for the St. Louis Media Halls of Fame. Both are members of the St. Louis Radio Hall of Fame. ■ Frank Absher
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off the record Reruns on Channel 5 News Taking time off from SJR’s monthly Channels column I wrote for 20 years, and being more of a casual observer of local news, I have noticed a disturbing trend at Channel 5. The station is repeating stories too frequently. The stories are identical and may run for three days in a row. Sure, the economy is in dire straits and the stations have to cut back. But repeating stories three or more times over several days is not the way to attract viewers. The most recent time I noticed this, it wasn’t that big of a story: A woman volunteered at a television recycling center and ended up with a free television. Given cutbacks in newsrooms and the lack of ability to do more local stories, a few options come to mind. Instead of repeating stories, make them longer to fill the time. Rather than cut those eight- to 15second clips, let people go 20 or more seconds to fully explain themselves. If you must repeat a story, at least do interviews that are long enough so they can quickly be re-edited with new sound for the additional showings. Also, bring more live guests into the studio to discuss the important news of the day—the mayor, a congressman, economist, employment specialist, or frugal cook. Anthony Slaughter, a handsome and personable weathercaster, was added to the Channel 5 lineup last month. But he lacks polish and could use some on-air coaching. Following are some of his words that made me say, Huh? “We’ll be in the 60s this week by next time.” “We definitely missed a huge bull’s-eye as this system made its way to the south.” “A storm is battening down on your county.” “Those winds get behind that storm and will really push out ahead of that.” “So we could see some winds not only in excess of 70 miles per hour but even greater then that.” “Our next system moves in after this one.” “Tonight, showers and thunderstorms are expected. So if you hear a rumble of thunder and they are severe, we will definitely be on the
air keepin’ (sic) you updated. If they are not severe, we will not be on the air. But if they do turn severe, we will definitely be on the air.” ■ Tripp Frohlichstein
Losing face For most of the 12 years Alvin Reid worked at the St. Louis American, he was that newspaper’s public face. He served as a semi-regular on the KETC (Channel 9) weekly show, Donnybrook. He appeared on panels at professional and community conferences. He accepted the awards given to both him and the AfricanAmerican newspaper for which he worked. In short, when most people thought of the American, they thought of Alvin Reid, who was city editor and often had several bylines in the paper each week. No more. On Feb. 22, Reid was fired. “They let me go for financial reasons,” Reid says. “Just like all newspapers, they had to let someone go and it was me.” But, when most newspapers lay off people through early retirement or other means, more than one person goes: editors, reporters, photographers and salespeople, often en masse. “As far as I know, it’s only me,” Reid says. Although he says he saw his release coming, Reid says the newspaper’s public image being intertwined with his own wasn’t discussed. “That’s up to them to decide,” he says. “I really don’t know what they were thinking about me being the public face.” Chris King, the managing editor of the American, was unavailable for comment. But he sent a message to the staff to say Reid was let go. “It was a business decision made in response to the economic conditions. The terms, of course, are private, but they were very fair. His position has been eliminated and we will be dividing his responsibilities among the rest of the newsroom staff, including myself.” Donald Suggs, owner of the American, said “Ultimately, the decision was mine. Alvin is very articulate. He was more of the face of the American than I. . . . It's a loss for the paper. It's lamentable.” Suggs said the paper has fixed costs and was in a financial squeeze, as are many other publications. “It was more of a business
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decision than an editorial one.” Reid is 48 and is married with two children. He wants to stay in St. Louis and has no plans to take a journalism job elsewhere. In fact, he’s not sure what kind of job he will get, journalism, public relations, or something else. “That decision will probably be made for me,” he says. ■ Ed Bishop
Guild fights pay cuts at KSDK The St. Louis Newspaper Guild, which represents some employees at KSDK Chanel 5, says the station’s owner, Gannett Corp. is insisting that Guild employees take a 15 percent pay cut. The Guild is trying to negotiate a new contract for 16 of its members. Shannon Duffy, business manager of the Guild, said Gannett “is insisting that our people agree to a 15 percent wage cut, even though they admit that they are still profitable.” Duffy said companies like Gannett “are using this economic downturn as an opportunity to really stick it to their employees.” In a story in the St. Louis Labor Tribune, Duffy urged area union members and others to call the station to voice their displeasure. Gannett recently ordered employees at KSDK to take one-week furloughs without pay as a cost-saving measure. It is also having its stations, including KSDK, employ “backpack journalists” who do three jobs—,interview, shoot video and edit stories—as a way of reducing manpower. ■ Newspaper Guild
Biondi’s suit against Meyer ends federal lawsuit by Saint Louis University against one of its professors has been settled with the professor agreeing not to be involved as an adviser to the student newspaper, the University News. The suit was the latest episode in a 20-year effort by Rev. Lawrence Biondi, SLU’s president, to oust Prof. Avis Meyer from his role as adviser and mentor to the student journalists. It was settled March 2 just before a possible trial before U.S. District Judge Carol Jackson. Lawyers for the university claimed that Meyer had violated a SLU trademark by filing for incorporation the name of the newspaper in
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2007. Meyer, a tenured professor, said he only incorporated the name for the student staff when they were told by the administration they might have to operate off campus. They never did leave the campus, and Meyer dissolved the incorporation. Still, the university filed suit about six weeks later. Meyer has said that Biondi seems to blame him whenever the student paper publishes anything Biondi perceives as negative to him or the university. Judge Jackson had dismissed six of seven SLU claims in December. The one remaining accused Meyer of violating a 1919 Missouri statute that forbids misuse of the name of a benevolent organization (the university). She did not rule on the claim but appeared annoyed at the pretrial hearing when she asked, “What are we doing here?” She asked lawyers for each side to try to resolve the case, which had dragged on for 18 months. After five hours of negotiations, the SLU lawyers agreed that Meyer would not have to pay their expenses, which some court observers said may top $200,000. Meyer agreed to pay to SLU $6,000 in future earnings from a summer class he’ll teach next year. Meyer also agreed to plead guilty of unintentionally registering the name of the student paper without the university’s permission. But that admission cannot be used against him in any way by the university, it was stipulated. Meyer has said he felt the suit was a way of establishing that he violated some law or procedure so that Biondi’s administrators could revoke his tenure and then fire him. Biondi, a Jesuit priest, pushed the lawsuit but has not been seen during any of the court proceedings. From a corridor outside the courtroom he was heard frequently on a speakerphone in a conference room used by the SLU lawyers during negotiations. Biondi apparently had to approve the terms of the settlement. Last summer, university provost Joseph Weixlmann ordered Meyer not to go into the newspaper’s newsroom, as he had done for 34 years to help the students with putting out the paper. The university hired another person to be the adviser. Student editors continued to seek Meyer's advice by going to his office. Biondi hired the firm of Lewis, Rice & Fingersh, a big downtown law
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firm which employed several lawyers on the case. Lawyer Frank Janoski said in one court filing his fee on a particular legal chore was $357 an hour. Janoski and Biondi did not reply to queries from SJR. Jeff Fowler, a spokesman for SLU, declined to say whether Biondi and the university will pursue further legal or administrative action against Meyer, or to say what the legal SLU’s costs have been in its suit against Meyer. Fowler, in a statement, said Meyer violated the law in misusing the university’s name and was reprimanded by the judge for deleting emails which SLU’s lawyer said might have had information adverse to Meyer. “The court’s order shows that Dr. Meyer is responsible for all that has transpired,” the statement said, and “is a victory for the university.” Meyer said he was broke after hiring a lawyer to defend himself. He said he agreed to a settlement because he couldn’t afford to battle Biondi and the university’s unlimited financial resources any longer. Spectators at the pretrial hearing included present and past students of Meyers, colleagues, relatives and other supporters. About 300 former students and acquaintances had protested the suit on a website, calling it vindictive. Many vowed to withhold donations to SLU until the suit was dropped. SlU’s lawyers hurled a raft of accusations against Meyer over the course of the pretrial maneuvering, and said he was the cause of the donations being withheld. He was accused of trying to create an independent newspaper and of destroying his e-mails that might have been adverse to him. Meyer denied all the allegations and said he never used the newspaper‘s name. Eileen Sullivan, a former student of Meyer’s who graduated in 1980 is now a professor. She lives in Yankton, S.D. but was in town on family business and decided to attend the hearing. She said she was disappointed that the suit was ever filed because “it is detrimental to the academic environment.” Sullivan said that Meyer, as an adviser, never urged the students to write anything. She said the former students who are withholding donations are doing so because “they are conscience-bound.” She said she admired Meyer for “fighting these allegations of misconduct. You have to protect yourself.” ■ Roy Malone
You don’t have to look far for news in St. Louis Get your copy of SJR for the single-issue price of $4 at any of these locations: Left Bank Books 399 N. Euclid St. Louis (314) 726-6010
World News (Clayton) 4 S. Central Ave. St. Louis (314) 726-6010
World News (Westport) 308 Westport Plaza St. Louis (314) 434-9449
Barnes & Noble Booksellers 8871 Ladue Rd. St. Louis (314) 862-6280
Barnes & Noble Booksellers 1600 Clarkson Rd. Chesterfield (636) 536-9636
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he issue was settled years ago, so I thought. Then I came across a statement by David Brooks, New York Times columnist, who asserts that for journalists objectivity is a valid goal. Brooks wrote, I am not a relativist on the subject. I think there is truth out there and that objectivity is like virtue; it's the thing you always fall short of, but the thing you always strive towards. To be objective, he states, you have to suspend judgment. You have to look at all the facts. You have to suppress your egos. Then you take all the data, not just the data you like, and form it into a generalizable whole. In my view, Brooks is wrong. Objectivity is not only an elusive goal, it doesn't exist. We cannot see what the microscope or the telescope does, nor are we aware of the millions of waves, electronic and others, which swirl around everyone's head. Any happening will reveal only a small slice to the reporter of what actually took place. The observer then selects from the limited data available what is relevant. You can be fair, accurate, collect and present all the facts accessible to you, but it still will not be objective. Objectivity implies an absolute. Objectivity in journalism demands the presentation of all the facts, and depending on the situation, of all the motives and emotions. Obviously, an impossible task. If objectivity is impossible, that everything we proclaim or write is incomplete, should we therefore abandon any attempt to be neutral, fair, balanced, and as complete as possible? Of course, not. I am not insisting that reporters intentionally select data they favor and omit others they dislike. They are professionals and partiality, conscious partiality, is taboo. Fairness, accuracy and truth must be the standard goal irrespective of a reporter's perceptions and background. Up the chain of command, these demands apply to the editors and the layout artist as well. Journalists traditionally try to include opposite views of an issue. But which opposite views? A liberal and a moderate? Or a moderate and a conservative? And who said there are only two views of a particular issue. Nowadays, particularly on the airwaves, moderates are paraded as leftists. And extremists, such as Rush Limbaugh, are paraded as conservatives. These are all value-loaded decisions (including this paragraph). We cannot escape the limits of our humanity. But we can acknowledge it and act accordingly. Most journalists are intelligent. It must gall them no end for having to
Charles L. Klotzer
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You can be fair, accurate, collect and present all the facts accessible to you, but it still will not be objective. Objectivity implies an absolute.
Charles L. Klotzer is the editor/publisher emeritus of SJR.
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report on issues that they know are being misrepresented (forget about being objective). Should a reporter quote officials, knowing that they may be lying? What should they do? What if a journalist knows facts that in an interview are not presented? Should the reporter introduce his views, in other words instead of reporting news, should the reporter include data beyond what he is being told? Yes. A reporter betrays his calling (fortunately, many reporters still look upon their profession as a calling), if he/she does not. The reporter's or editor's role is to serve the public, not officials be they in government or business. We now know, for example, after the public confession of the New York Times and other national media, that they failed to tell the public all they knew about the Iraq war. (Incidentally, this request should not be interpreted as an endorsement of public journalism. That fad placed the media as an actor and instigator of news, beyond its traditional role of observing, reporting and analysis.) Editors and others who meet in the morning (or in the evening) to decide next day's news, follow their judgment. If St. Louis would have a second daily newspaper, another group of editors would make different judgments and present a different potpourri of news. The presentation by both would be factual, but incomplete. If St. Louis would have a dozen dailies their composite product would still be incomplete. The New York Times claims that it offers “All the news that is fit to print.” Besides its arrogance, it is factually wrong. It would be acceptable if they would claim, that “is fit to print per our judgment.” The Wikipedia proclaims that objectivity is a significant principle of journalism. “Journalistic objectivity can refer to fairness, disinterestedness, factuality, and nonpartisanship, but most often encompasses all of these qualities. Advocacy journalism is one alternative to objective journalism.” The Wikipedia is wrong. The difference between mainstream journalism and alternative journalism is a matter of degree, not substance. ■
The myth of objectivity
Correction In the column by Charles L. Klotzer, the statement by the St. Louis County Library Board in the Dec./Jan. issue should have been credited to Barbara Brain, assistant director, adult and support services. The name was misspelled. Our apologies.
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politics & media / Terry Jones Terry Jones is professor of political science at UM-St. Louis
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ow that Rush Limbaugh is the self-proclaimed and Obama-blessed voice for the Republican Party, it is an appropriate time to take a look at his audience. That’s what the Pew Research Center has done, releasing its findings recently. Taking advantage of the Center’s extensive biennial national survey of the nation’s media habits, most recently conducted in May 2008, here are some key numbers. First, Limbaugh does not have the highest ratings among those commentators targeting political conservatives. Both Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity command larger shares with their Fox News shows: 10 percent watch the O’Reilly Factor regularly and 7 percent are faithful Hannity viewers. Limbaugh has 5 percent. The order stays the same among self-identified conservatives: O’Reilly has 19 percent, Hannity 12 percent, and Limbaugh 10 percent. Limbaugh’s audience, however, is less diverse ideologically. Only 17 percent of his regular listeners describe themselves as liberals or moderates, considerably less than O’Reilly’s 27 percent and Hannity’s 29 percent. Although males are the majority of each commentator’s audience, the share is much higher for Limbaugh (72 percent) and Hannity (67 percent) than it is for O’Reilly (53 percent). According to a recent Gallup Poll, Limbaugh is well-liked among Republicans (60 percent favorable, 23 percent unfavorable), panned among Democrats (6 percent favorable, 63 percent unfavorable), and tilts negative among independents (25 percent favorable, 45 percent unfavorable). He is not a tool for moving the GOP to the center, but bland and balanced commentary is less likely to build a loyal group of listeners than is firebrand rhetoric. A 2003 Gallup Poll has similar favorability shares among Republicans, Democrats, and independents.
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The media’s preoccupation with presenting all sides of a controversy. . . has contributed to this disconnect between scientific evidence overwhelmingly buttressing evolution and public opinion divided on the issue.
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Are they with Mike Huckabee, the next-tothe-last candidate left standing in the Republican nomination gauntlet last year. He said on more than one occasion that “if you want to believe that you and your family came from apes, that’s fine—I’ll accept that.” He then continued, “I just don’t happen to think that I did.” Or is the prevailing public view that evolution explains the path life has taken on earth? Much to the consternation of the scientific community, the poll asked a relatively straightforward question: Do you personally believe in the theory of evolution, do you not believe in evolution, or don’t you have an opinion either way? Responses showed 39 percent believe in evolution, 25 percent do not, and 36 percent do not have an opinion. Accepting evolution as an explanation varies dramatically by education: 74 percent of postgraduates do so, 53 percent of baccalaureate recipients, 41 percent of those with some college, and just 21 percent of those with a high school education or less. Even these numbers make one wonder about the large number of college graduates who reject over one hundred years of research supporting Darwin’s original conjectures. There is also a sharp division by religiosity: 55 percent of those who seldom or never attend religious services opt for evolution compared to just 24 percent of those who attend weekly or more often. Perhaps the media’s preoccupation with presenting all sides of a controversy and its corresponding reluctance to declare a scientific dispute settled has contributed to this disconnect between scientific evidence overwhelmingly buttressing evolution and public opinion divided on the issue. A March 2007 Newsweek poll question certainly points toward this as a major factor. The question: “Do you think the scientific theory of evolution is well-supported by evidence and widely accepted within the scientific community, or that it is not well-supported by evidence and many scientists have serious doubts about it?” Responses showed 48 percent chose well-supported, 39 percent not well-supported, and 13 percent did not know. ■
Limbaugh trails O’Reilly, Hannity in ratings
Many undecided on evolution Charles Darwin turned 200 in February. That gave Gallup a chance to revisit where Americans stood on evolution in an early February poll.
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By Roy Malone
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In the competitive and sometimes callous business of TV news, station managers are usually the first to get fired when new owners take over. Just as in baseball, the owners think they can improve results by bringing in a new manager, preferably one they know. In TV land, where the object is to make more money, the owners reason that the best way to do it is with a new manager, usually someone from another city. So, how is it that Allan Cohen has remained general manager of KMOV, Channel 4, for nearly three decades, under five different managements?
– He’s a charmer and knows how to win people over. He’s well liked. – He‘s obviously a good businessman.
And most of that time KMOV has been the number-two station in ratings in the St. Louis market, behind KSDK Channel 5. Cohen has his strengths and weaknesses, his strategies and gimmicks. Here are some conventionalwisdom explanations from people who have known him at KMOV and from watchers of the local TV scene:
the longevity record among TV station general managers, but he hasn’t verified that. Cohen, who is 6-foot-2, was dressed casually in slacks and an open-neck yellow knit shirt. He wanted to sit on a couch so he could watch TV monitors along one wall. Once, he jumped up, saying “Breaking News!” But it wasn’t, so he sat back down, still keeping an ear to the TV sets. He has not had experience as a hard-news reporter or news director, but he says, “running a TV station is the best job in the world.” A native New Yorker, he got an engineering degree in college and worked as a civilian engineer on electronic equipment for sub-
Nearing 30 years as G.M. Next year will mark Cohen’s 30th year at KMOV. He came in 1980 when he was 32, the youngest CBS station manager. “I was younger than most people at the station. Now (at age 61) I’m older than most people here,” he laughed, during an interview in his second floor office at Market and Memorial Drive, across from the Gateway Arch. He’s been told he has
Allan Cohen
Center photo: Cohen with reporter Craig Cheatham and photographer Gary Womack at the 2007 Peabody Awards. Right photo: Cohen with his wife, Roberta Cohen, at his induction into the St. Louis Media Hall of Fame.
– He’s able to consistently bring in the revenue, even if he‘s No. 2. – He knows what the corporate bosses want, and he gives it to them. – He’s ruthless. He will do what he has to do. – He’s imaginative and a shrewd marketer.
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marines. He joined CBS in New York as a financial analyst and worked in other corporate jobs, including financial officer for WCBS-TV in New York. He said he wanted to be on the management “fast track.” He had married his college sweetheart, Roberta Segal, and the family, including a son and daughter, moved to St. Louis where he took charge of the CBS station. They thought they might stay two years. “When we came here, we loved it,” Cohen said. They are both involved in civic and charitable organizations, as a way of “giving back” to the community. For 20 years KMOV has telecast the annual Variety Club
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operations that were rejected by CBS. “They took a chance with me,” and he remained general manager, he said. Viacom went through two incarnations, and Cohen worked for three different management groups, including Paramount Pictures. “They could care less about us being No. 1. They thought we could make more money. It was a hard decision, keeping the same guy,” he said. In 1997, KMOV was sold to Belo Corp., owner of many television stations and newspapers. Cohen said it’s the best company he’s worked for and that it has a reputation for quality journalism.
some advertising or underwriting income for the station. Gaining viewers, especially those in the 25–54 age range, depends largely on having good network shows before and after the local newscasts, and also having popular on-air local talent. Cohen feels he’s good at judging talent. He once told a trade publication, “We rely on our instincts.” Julius Hunter, retired from his longtime anchor role at KMOV, was on board when Cohen arrived. He said they had a sometime bumpy relationship but he realized “Allan’s the head and I’m the worker bee. . . . It’s Allan’s candy store.
THE STATION’S HISTORY The television station that today is KMOV began in 1954 as KWK-TV. The call letters were changed to KMOX-TV when CBS bought it in 1958. When it was sold to Viacom International in 1986, the call letters were changed to KMOV because CBS still owned KMOX radio. It has been owned by Belo Corp. since 1997. The station under CBS had a good record of news and public affairs programming, including personalities such as Max Roby, Spencer Allen, Les Carmichael and Dottye Bennett. It was the first station in the nation to switch from film to electronic video.
show. That charity is closest to his heart, Cohen says, because it helps children with special needs. Cohen said CBS always pushed for its stations to have the top ratings in a market, and for a few years in the 1980s, his station was No. 1. But he said a No. 2 station can make just as much money, or more, than the No.1. “We don’t sell No. 1, we sell our ratings,” he said. Even so, in the sweeps last November KMOV beat out KSDK in the 10 p.m. news slot.
Viacom took a chance in 1986 When Viacom bought the station, Cohen said he showed officials many of his proposals to improve
In 2007, KMOV won the prestigious Peabody Award for a series entitled: “Left Behind: The Failure of East St. Louis Schools.” It included 21 reports by reporter Craig Cheatham and photographer Gary Womack. Last year the station ran a series on race relations in St. Louis. Cohen is credited with launching projects and shows that help bring in non-traditional revenue. “The Homework Hotline” was sponsored by Domino’s pizza, and “Do The Right Thing” by Schnucks markets. “We look for local productions to generate new-to-TV revenues and provide entertainment,” he said. More recent shows include those on Forest Park, St. Louis Zoo and The St. Louis Symphony. They generate
“There’s no way he could have been there all these years if he had been in the red. . . . he’s a brilliant strategist, a tactician,” Hunter said.
Raided other stations In the mid-1980s Cohen raided other stations for talent. Larry Connors was lured from KTVI Channel 2 and remains an anchor for KMOV. When he recently shaved his balding head it was a surprise to viewers, but not to Cohen. A humorous promo was produced with Connors saying: “I’m not getting older, I’m getting bolder.” Any idea of retiring is on hold because of the financial woes that have hurt KMOV’s revenues and
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those of other media companies. Cohen has told employees he feels he should stay at the helm to guide the station through the economic crisis. “Everybody’s affected—car dealers, housing. It‘s frightening,” he said. Cohen praises his management team that includes people who have been with him for 20 or more years. But Belo dictates the budget, and that has led to rounds of firings, non-renewed contracts and resignations. Some of the on-air people who have left in recent months include Mike O’Connell, Robert Townsend and John Mills. Besides cutting salaries, Belo is replacing some reporters with backpack journalists, where one staffer can take the place of two or three by doing interviews, shooting video and editing the story. Other budget cutbacks: no overtime, some staffers are on four-day weeks of 10-hour days, no more penalty pay for missed meals, no take-home cars for photogra-
Cohen is not keen on the station making political endorsements or editorializing on controversial issues. “It leaves 45 percent of the viewers upset with the station,” he said. The safest way for KMOV and the other stations, which seem to mimic each other, is to serve up easy-to-get stories on crime, fires and sensational news, plus some happy talk by the anchors at the end of each newscast. Political ads are a bonanza during campaign seasons, and KMOV, like other stations, makes no effort to check their accuracy before airing them. In 2007, Belo sent Cohen to Louisville for a few days each week to help straighten out its station, WHAS-TV, which had been wracked by staff dissension. In cities where Belo has its signal carried by Charter Cable, it has pushed to have Charter pay for the content. In December, after fruitless negotiations, Cohen announced that unless Charter was willing to pay, the KMOV signal would not be available on cable. KMOV viewers were asked to call Charter to complain. By
A JOURNALISTIC SCANDAL Cohen’s long run as president and GM of KMOV was marred by a scandal in 1993 in which the station set up a sting to lure a Catholic priest to a hotel for a liaison with a male prostitute. It was to be part of a series for the spring sweeps. But the material gathered with hidden cameras and microphones in a hotel near the television station was so sensitive that it was rejected. The story never aired. But the male prostitute, whose expenses were paid by KMOV, was angry that the story didn’t run, and a few months later the station’s involvement was leaked to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, which disclosed it. The result: a firestorm of criticism from all quarters, including Catholic leaders. The credibility of KMOV was damaged, many viewers quit watching, and advertisers, especially auto dealers, withdrew their ads. On-air apologies went out, including one from the president of Viacom, which owned the station. Two heads rolled, those of the news director Gary Whitaker and reporter Jeff Rainford (he is now chief of staff for Mayor Frances Slay). Cohen knew about the series, which was to include sexual misconduct by priests, but said he was out of town when the priest was lured to the hotel. “Some people let me down. . . . it made no sense,” he said of his subordinates as he recalled the episode, probably the darkest days of his career. But he survived it, and he worked to make amends with the Catholic community.
phers, no more reimbursements for employees who ride public transportation (a Belo perk). Cohen said when he was starting with CBS he thought “Being a station manager was the coolest thing,” and TV news was “a license to print money.” But it’s not all that cool any more. The job includes firing people, which is a given as stations vie for ratings. Over the years, Cohen has feared for his own job. He told his son years ago that if he gets fired he would somehow make sure his son continues to go to school in St. Louis.
A changing business
year’s end, an agreement had been reached, and sources said Charter agreed to pay for KMOV content. Cohen likes to keep in the public eye. He did on-air editorials because CBS required it, he said. He wrote restaurant reviews for the St. Louis Business Journal. He’s a sought-after speaker and emcee. Acquaintances say he’s kept a lower profile in recent years. He and his wife, Roberta, like to travel, and he’s thought about doing other things in his life. Their son Evan lives in Wisconsin, and their daughter Stacie lives in Indiana. Both are married, with two children each. Asked if he is planning on retiring, perhaps next year. Cohen said: “I don’t know.” ■
He sees his business changing and believes that news organizations may join in partnerships to deliver news. Already, KMOV cross-promotes content with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch by reporting what the paper’s mornings stories will be. And Post reporters talk about their stories on KMOV’s Extra Edition show.
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Roy Malone is a retired investigative reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and editor of SJR
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ll the guys are doing it . . .” has been an excuse for the misbehavior of little boys through the ages. When the prehistoric child pulled on the animal’s tail, causing the animal to squeal in pain and Mom remonstrated, that was a popular phrase. In essence, that was what Alex Rodriguez said to explain his use of drugs to gain an extra advantage in the competition to hit home runs and earn obscene amounts of money. Soldiers on both sides of every war have used it to justify what amounts to inhumane behavior. The maternal response in my house—and in the houses where most of us grew up—was, “If all the guys jumped off the roof, would you jump off the roof too?” Of course Rodriguez, of the Yankees, is not a little boy, though grown men who play sports for huge salaries, or who write about them for smaller salaries, remain little boys in many aspects of their lives. This writer is as guilty as most. Given the news stories of the last few years, which bounce up against our consciousness every now and then, what are we to do about sports, which appear to have become an integral part of the drug culture? There are those who would renounce all ties to their favorite teams, and others who would place asterisks next to every record that might have been drugtainted. Some would throw the rascals out, always a popular reaction. Others will continue to deny that their favorites ever used performance-enhancing drugs. Some will blame the entire thing as an Almighty punishment for general moral turpitude.
sports & media / Joe Pollack
“A
What are we to do about sports, which appear to have become an integral part of the drug culture?
Joe Pollack is a former St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist and current theater critic for KWMU
what they do is important; people who are involved in fantasy leagues for fun and profit; player agents angling for new contract pitches; even sports writers and radio-television types who keep hammering us with useless information like all-purpose yards and plusminus ratings and the fact that a baseball player hit safely in eight out of his last 12 games. What nonsense! I’ve watched hundreds of games in all sports. I used to get paid for doing so. I have generally good powers of concentration. Therefore, I don’t need a set of statistics or a computer printout to tell me that Bill Russell was a better basketball player than Norm Stewart, or that Gale Sayers and Jim Brown were great running backs while Steven Jackson is not, or that Joe DiMaggio was a better baseball player than Rick Ankiel. An experienced, professional scout can do this sort of analysis far better than I. Team sports are team sports. The winner of a game is the better team on a given day, no matter what the shooting percentage, or the number of penalties, or whether this is the third time in the last 14 games played on a sunny Saturday with the temperature in the ’70s and the wind from the northeast that the home team beat the visitors. I spent many years as a sports writer in the days when the writer was a lot like a theater critic, as I am now. I wrote about why one team beat another, who played well and who played badly—and never once quoted the coach or manager. Someone else wrote that story, or maybe I did it in another story the following day. The coach or manager, in a postgame press conference, says the same things, one set for a victory, another for a defeat. Day in and day out, with rare exceptions, his statements are the same. I think it’s the worst part of his job, even worse than knowing the only thing he has to look forward to is getting fired some day. As a theater critic, I would never be so foolish as to point out that the hero entered from stage right 12 times and from stage left only four. I would never think to discuss how many hours of rehearsal preceded opening night, or wonder if a leading lady were taking amphetamines. Maybe I can do some arithmetic and note that the leading man won fair lady for the third time in eight films where they co-starred. But in sports, a writer can discuss—in all seriousness—that the defense blitzed
A-Rod’s Mea Culpa
Statistics gone wild I may have found an answer to retaining the joy of games, the pleasure of watching great athletes, but not the time wasted in minutiae. Abandon all individual statistics! Keep game scores, and even box scores, because some will claim they help in game analysis, continue to have championship events like the World Series, the Super Bowl and the Stanley Cup. Just leave out the batting averages and the quarterback ratings and the Vezina Trophy. No one cares except the members of SABRE, who hide their numbers games and formulas, which mean very little, under a smokescreen of “research;” a cadre of team executives who have convinced others that
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photographs by wiley price photographs by wiley price photographs by wiley price photographs by wile
he name Wiley Price is synonymous with the St. Louis American. The award-winning photojournalist has been with the weekly newspaper since the 1970s. When asked why the American, he says he enjoys covering African-American issues and lifestyles and is committed to telling the African-American story through photography. On a daily basis, his assignments—as the only staff photojournalist at the American—may include news, features, sports or business photos. Price is a familiar and trusted figure at city hall, at incidents involving police, and other venues. The American, founded in 1928, is Missouri’s largest weekly newspaper serving African Americans. It publishes and distributes 70,000 free copies every week, reaching more than 40 percent of black households in the St. Louis area. “What’s important to the African-American community is important to us,” Price says. The paper’s three main issues are education, jobs and health. Politics also gets vigorous coverage.
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Scoop Obama photo travels far Price took an intimate picture of Barack Obama in St. Louis last summer with some black church leaders praying over him. The photo, a scoop, got on the Internet and has traveled around the world. Price was born in 1956 to a middle-class family and has two older brothers. His late father, Wiley Price, Jr., was the first African-American radio personality and DJ in the bi-state area. He got his first radio job in 1944 at WTMV in St. Louis. It was his father’s career in the music business that influenced Price’s musical background. He credits his mother with shaping his moral values. Surrounded by award-winning photos and plaques in his office at the American, Price jovially recalled the experiences that helped shape his life. “I had a wonderful childhood,” he said. Price’s family moved from St. Louis to University City in 1968, when he was in the
fourth grade. “Moving to University City was a turning point,” he said. What he liked most about attending school there was the diversity and the superior quality of education. Most of his friends were Jewish, because there were not many African Americans living in University City at that time. Suddenly, he was attending schools in new buildings with new books distributed each year. “You could leave a bike outside all day, and it would be there when you returned,” he said. Price’s mother was active in his school by joining various organizations and attending most events. She encouraged him to play the trombone. He recalled a birthday party he had, which was attended by a friend whose family was poor and, according to Price, “It showed in his clothes as well as his hygiene.” He and other children at the party were outside making fun of his friend’s appearance, while his mother listened from a window above. She immediately called him in and asked him how he would feel if someone did the same to him. She told him if he did not put a stop to it, the party was over. Price went back outside and stopped the ridiculing. Price graduated from University City High School in 1975 and entered the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire as a music major. “It had a monstrous jazz band,” he said. His father predicted that he would play trombone or become a baseball pitcher for a living, since he was good at both. After two years, he decided against a career in music and transferred to the University of Missouri–St. Louis. In 1978, during his junior year at UMSL, his goals began to change. “We always had periodicals; Life, Jet and Ebony at home. I discovered that you can look at a picture and figure out the story,” said Price. His mother bought him a camera, and he began taking pictures for the Current student newspaper and soon was asked to take pictures of sporting events.
“You look just like your father”
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As his photography skills improved, he decided to
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by wiley price photographs by wiley price photographs by wiley price photographs by wiley price pho-
By Karen Robinson
WILEY PRICE
pursue a job with the American. He showed up one day unannounced and asked for a meeting with the editor, the late Bennie Rodgers. Rodgers agreed to meet with Price only because the name on his resume was familiar. Rodgers said to Price, “You look just like your father.” He told Price that he grew up with Price’s father and that the last time he could recall seeing the youngest Price boy was when he was about three years old. That meeting sealed the deal for Price who was hired and started off with one or two assignments per week. In the meantime, Price also worked as a freelancer for the Associated Press in St. Louis. It was there that he received formal photography training with photojournalists James Finley and Fred Waters. Following a dispute with the American in 1988, Price left the newspaper and went to the Suburban Journals. “It was a good move, because it made me raise my game.” He said it was also a humbling experience because he was working with some good photojournalists. In 1992, he returned to the American where no assignment was off limits to him. “If it’s worth sending a photographer on, send an African-American photographer to the African-American community on a photo shoot,” said Price.
An emotional roller coaster “I never know where I’m going to wind up in the course of the day,” said Price. “That’s appealing about my job. I gripe sometimes about assignments, but that’s the nature of the business, and it’s my job to be creative.” One minute he may be shooting a tragic scene, the next a graduation, then back to something tragic. “It’s an emotional roller coaster.” he said. He likes spot news situations even though some involve tragedy. “When I walk into a scene, I become the scene. . . . I always remember everything about it down to the day and time and the smells.” In 1992, Price was selected to participate in the project, “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” It started out as a book of photos with short bios of African-American pioneers in broadcasting and journalism but came to include black leaders from all fields. Price’s work included a black-
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tographs by wiley price photographs by wiley price photographs by wiley price photographs by
and-white portrait of each subject. He had already shot most of them and said it was easier for them to relax when they trusted him. “My job is to make the reader want to read the story, because of the photo,” he says. His advice for an aspiring photojournalist: “Weather can never be an issue neither can time of day. And shoot the picture with your ears; you have to listen sometimes.” Price has seen photojournalism change over the years. “Digital photography has made it easier because you don’t have to go back to a dark room to process images. You can transmit them from the front seat of your car,” he said. Price is a divorced father of two sons, Jaime, 30, and Chip (Wiley IV), 24. They are local rappers. He bowls with them at least three times a week. “It’s my addiction. It’s my exercise, my release,” he says. Also. he likes action movies and the music of any band with horns.
Fan of Gordon Parks One of his favorite books is “A Choice of Weapons,” by the late Gordon Parks, who was a black photojournalist who worked for Life magazine. Price had the honor of being photographed with the legendary Parks and the photo adorns the wall of his office. While Price doesn’t feel worthy of a comparison to Gordon Parks, he does feel they share a similarity. “We try to be artistically creative in bringing news, and in good taste.” Price said of Parks: “He was serious in documenting African Americans so whites could understand the African-American experience.” Price is also an admirer of the late Moneta Sleet, Jr., who was a photojournalist for Ebony, and the first black to win a Pulitzer Prize. Sleet once said that working for black media meant that he “was not confronted with any on-the-job tension rooted in racial prejudice.” When Price was asked if he felt the same about working at the American, he responded: “Sure. I work for an AfricanAmerican company owned by an African American.” The owner is Dr. Donald M. Suggs, president and publisher of the American. The two have a mutual respect for each other. Suggs said: “Although I have had the
opportunity for a varied career in St. Louis, the American has provided a unique opportunity to help address the concerns and interests of the African-American community in particular. Working with Wiley over the years has been very rewarding personally and professionally, because of his great passion and high standard for his work as a photojournalist. His ongoing contributions to the success of The American are far-reaching and indispensable.” Price’s personality will not allow him to think he’s irreplaceable. While he’s not considering retiring at age 52, he says of his eventual successors, “They would have to understand that their job is to document the lifestyles of the African-American community in a positive light.” When Price approaches an assignment along with other photojournalists from the mainstream press, he said the difference is, “I am seeing a different story because, I’m only aiming at the African American.” Being able to document the black community is more important to him, “than making more money at the Post-Dispatch. . . . I can make up the difference by freelancing,” Price said.
How he got that Obama shot He has been able to make some extra money by selling copies of his photo of the black bishops praying over then-candidate Barack Obama last July. It was during a convention in St. Louis of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Because he was known to organizers, Price alone was let into the private meeting where the bishops prayed for the safety and success of the candidate. Other photojournalists from the mainstream media were not invited in. Price knew immediately he had taken a good photo, “A picture of a man that the entire world appreciates.” He describes the photo as “quiet noise,” when a picture is subtle, but, speaks volumes. The photo appeared in the American and then traveled all over the Internet, even to foreign countries. “Hey, that’s my picture,” Price would say when it showed up again and again on the
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wanted to see me. . . . hen Chet He had sold the StarThomas came Times to the Post-Disto St. Louis patch.” with his young wife, he But the radio stawasn’t sure he’d made tions were not part of the right decision. the deal, and Thomas Then their house was learned he was being burglarized. They left made a vice president within a year. It would of the corporation, rebe several years before named the 800 North he could be persuaded Twelfth Corporation, to return. and appointed to serve When he did, on the board of direcThomas was given the tors. task of turning KXOK And the changes radio into a profitable continued. Elzey Robenterprise. The year erts told of his plans to sell was 1942, and many men the stations. The new ownwere going off to war. Busiers were to be Roberts’ son, ness owners had to stretch Elzey Jr., and Thomas. But their remaining employthere was a problem. Chet ees. Chet Thomas was to Thomas didn’t have enough be program director of money to buy his share. KXOK Tuesday through The senior Roberts reFriday and then travel to minded Thomas of some Columbia, Mo., to spend stock purchases he’d made Saturday through Monday as an employee over the overseeing the parent comyears. Elzey Sr. would buy pany’s station there, the stock back so he could KFRU. use the money for the purThe pressure and stress Chet Thomas chase of the stations. proved too much for his Thomas knew he still wouldn’t have health. The medical diagnosis was rheumatic fever. A too-short bed rest enough money, so his boss made out a was agreed to, and he was back to work. check for what was called “a substantial Chet Thomas had always known Elzey bonus,” and the deal was sealed. Next Roberts had high expectations. Roberts, came an expansion of sorts and a move of the publisher of the St. Louis Star- the studios. Co-owner Elzey Jr., found a Times, was his boss because the news- fixer-upper property in a residential neighborhood on North Kingshighway. paper owned both of the radio stations. Thomas was able to develop income An architect and contractor were hired, and to hit budget, even during the war and Radio Park was born. When the work years. He was eventually made general was finished, the station announced a manager of KXOK in 1942 and finally Sunday open house for listeners. Twelve was relieved of his management respon- thousand people showed up. Things went well for Roberts and sibilities in Columbia in 1945. In the late ’40s, rumors began to swirl Thomas. KXOK was financially successthrough the Star-Times Building. As ful, using many external promotions to Thomas wrote in his autobiography create visibility in the community. But “Chet: Radio Pioneer,” “In early June of most of the advertising dollars were still 1951, most of us knew that something going into newspapers, and television momentous was about to happen. . . . late continued to expand in the St. Louis in the afternoon of June 14, Mr. Roberts’ market. Elzey Roberts Jr., was getting secretary called and said Mr. Roberts antsy, and it was obvious his heart was not in the radio business. When he was approached by a potential buyer, he was eager to talk. The talks went well. By the time the sale of KXOK to Storz Radio was completed on Dec. 14, 1960, the two men split the purchase price that ran into seven figures—not a bad payoff for a guy who, less than 10 years earlier, had not had enough money to purchase his share in KXOK. ■
Radio History/Frank Absher
W
The new owners were to be Roberts’ son, Elzey Jr., and Thomas. But there was a problem. Chet Thomas didn’t have enough money to buy his share.
Frank Absher is a St. Louis radio historian. St. Louis radio history is available online at www.stlradio.com
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Chet Thomas cashed out at KXOK
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By Don Corrigan
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university newspapers are feeling recession pain, it’s mainly the larger operations cutting student staff salaries, curtailing frequency of publication, and turning to online Web editions as a substitute for print. Large-circulation college papers from coast to coast have been hit with a bad taste of “real world” economics. According to Inside Higher Ed, papers on University of California system campuses have scaled back, as have student papers at Syracuse University in New York and Howard University in Washington, D.C. “This past summer we were online only and didn’t print after facing huge losses in revenue and in circulation,” noted Tom Knox, managing editor of The Lantern at Ohio State University. “It seems like this year might be make or break for our print edition, and the same for many other struggling publications.” Uncertainty at Missouri schools In Missouri, student editors and their college newspaper advisers are reporting some decline in advertising. A few say they’re worried that a 2009 budget crunch could prompt school administrations to cut or stop print edition publication in favor of less costly Web news operations.
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operation can be costly and yet is unlikely to bring in needed revenue to support its maintenance. Even more important, college papers are among the best-read publications in print that exist; they find more eyes per issue than many of their professional peers. The assertions made by Diamond are backed by a number of studies of the college press. The high number of eyes-per-issue of college papers is not only verified by these studies, but by ad agencies that use them. This may be one reason why college papers have not seen the large slippage in ad revenue that some big city papers have suffered. Diamond said The Standard at MSU pays for operations, a student staff, a half-time business manager and full-time ad manager. This is done without student fee money or a university subsidy—the funding is from print ads sold nationally and from the Springfield area. “If we were online only, we could not afford to pay anyone anything,” said Diamond. “We could perhaps make more money on the Web if we weren’t using College Publisher (Web news template service), but I still don’t think that would be anywhere near enough.” Diamond said he is open to the arguments that multi-platform, online journalism should be taught in universities, because the future of journalism may be in that direction. He said he’s aware of all the evidence that print journalism is shrinking. “But think about this,” cautioned Diamond. “How many professional online-only ‘newspapers’ are there? Not many. How many combined print-online newspaper organizations are there? Most of them. “Looking at those hybrid news organizations, if they stopped printing a print edition today, how many of them would be able to make payroll next week?” asked Diamond. “My guess would be none. I’m all for being cutting edge, but the newspaper industry still makes its money— granted in ever-decreasing amounts in print.”
Harsh transition Jack Diamond, faculty adviser to the twice-weekly campus newspaper at Missouri State University (MSU) in Springfield, Missouri, said schools should think twice before making draconian decisions about student media. Diamond said a good online news
Robert Bergland, professor of journalism and integrated media at Missouri Western State University (MWSU) in St. Joseph said it’s notable that more than a third of colleges don’t have online student newspaper Web sites almost two decades into the Internet age. He said a move to online-only campus news would
be a “harsh transition” for these schools and not especially wise. Bergland presented a study of almost 400 college press operations at the annual college media convention in Kansas City this past fall. The research, conducted by Bergland and his students, found that 35 percent of the colleges had no student online news sites; 30 percent used the College Publisher template, which some would describe as minimalist; leaving 35 percent which were using original Web designs or another online template provider similar to College Publisher.
The number of original online sites streaming audio or video was surprisingly small. The study would indicate nuts-and-bolts convergence student news operations at colleges in the country have a long way to go. “We do need to keep giving our students experience in both print and online,” said Bergland, adviser to The Griffon News at MWSU. “For our students, who will graduate and work at papers where they will be expected to help with layout, the hands-on laying out of the student newspaper is critical in helping the students land a job and survive in the first months on the job. “And, for students who hope to have a career in journalism, gaining experience in convergent reporting techniques should be a given,” Bergland added.
Not so dire At several College Media Adviser (CMA) roundtables at Kansas City’s national college media convention this past fall, many advisers noted that the situation for ad revenue for print college papers is not so dire as in the industry generally. That’s another argument for not moving wholesale into online editions, since they only generate between one and two percent of ad revenue for college news operations with
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such auxiliary sites. Executives with Alloy Marketing & Media, a company that sells national advertising in the college newspaper market, remain high on school print editions. They point to research showing that 80 percent of students read the print edition of campus papers at least once a week. Alloy’s Samantha Skey told the Chronicle of Higher Education at the beginning of this academic year, “There was a fear four or five years ago that online versions of the newspapers would eat the lunch of the print versions, but that did not come to pass in any sort of significant way.” Skey is executive vice president for strategic marketing with Alloy Marketing & Media. She and others in the business believe that online college newspaper editions may be read by parents, alumni and sports fans, but they lack allegiance from the target audience—the on-campus students.
Forced to the web Avis Meyer, longtime adviser to the University News at St. Louis University, said advertising was once cancelled by administrators during his tenure at the U. News one summer, because of past coverage that might have irked officials.
Some newspaper advisers at Kansas City’s national college media convention said administrators may feel that a virtual newspaper online may be less of a publicity problem than print copies which visibly “hang around” in hallways, classrooms and in dormitories. Meyer said the U. News staff is not interested in an online version only. However, he said the U. News staff is intent on increasing the size and coverage of their campus online edi-
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tion. Avila University in Kansas City has moved to the Internet with Talon News Network, which adviser Joe Snorgass said is far preferable to the monthly print publication the school once sported. Snorgass said print college papers are for student portfolios, not for real life on today’s campuses. He said he had to push administrators to move away from print. He also said it’s a myth that the Web news sites are cheaper for colleges than sticking with print. “Certainly there may be some cost savings over printing excessive copies, but quality Web, interactive and mobile publications can be costly as well,” said Snorgass. “In fact, just retooling can be expensive.” Latonia Bailey, adviser to the Crowder Sentry, which was named Missouri’s best community college newspaper in 2008, said her students are adding an online edition to complement their print edition. Crowder College is in Neosho. “We are adding an online edition this semester for the first time since 1996 when we had one that was truly cutting edge,” said Bailey. “We haven’t had a website all these years since due to small staffs. I don’t foresee the administration ever trying to encourage an online edition only for the purpose of ‘burying the paper’ or to save money—assuming enrollment is steady.” Craig Bartholomaus, adviser to The Spectrum, the school newspaper for Penn Valley Community College in Kansas City, said it’s hard to keep and maintain a quality college online newspaper site. He said student turnover and the ebband-flow of student interest in online papers makes such operations difficult. “I can tell you that one of the problems is that online-only was cutting edge 11 years ago, but it is not anymore,” said Bartholomaus. “It used to be a major draw for students who wanted to learn how to do websites with digital photography. Those things are so commonplace now that I have trouble finding students who want to do our online production.” ■ Don Corrigan is a professor in the School of Communications at Webster University and also edits three weekly newspapers.
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t a time when newspapers A new facilityx across the country are suffering readership and revenue One of Eby’s biggest challenges losses, Tim Eby has inherited a pubas he settles in at KWMU will be to lic radio news operation in St. Louis help raise the remaining $6 million that has seen a rise in listeners. of a $12 million capital campaign to Eby, who became general manbuild a new facility for the station. ager of KWMU (90.7 FM) in January, said the station set a record last fall by reaching more than 200,000 listeners a week, the largest audience in the station’s history. Despite this, Eby said, “Public radio cannot survive by staying the same. We need to continue to reach a wider and more diverse public.” As the Internet challenges the traditional media, Eby sees the importance of forging relationships with other news organizations “for the sake of democracy.” He mentioned the online Beacon, the St. Louis Business Journal, and KETC-TV Channel 9 as potential partners. “We’re interested in partBy Terri Waters nerships with other institutions that share our values,” he said, adding that “the institutional knowl- links to stories; I get breaking news edge of this city within the walls of sometimes.” He remembers sitting Tim Eby in an NPR board meeting two years the Beacon is amazing.” Web streaming, podcasts and ago, and reading a post that Boris Plans are to break ground at the new adding a second HD channel has Yeltsin had died. Sharing the news location in St. Louis’ midtown also helped reach new audiences, with others in the room at that Grand Center in 2010, and move into Eby said. These tools plus social moment helped illustrate the signif- the building in Spring, 2011. It will media and other Internet-based icance of “new media” and how it be located on Olive Street, just east activities are key to future growth. impacts the way the public gets of KETC’s building. KWMU has a Facebook group set up news. Eby says the move brings a numfor its young ber of advantages. members, and “We can engage staff members the community Eby experienced at public radio monitor Twitter, better—we’ll be in Tim Eby, 48, brings to KWMU more than 20 years of experience the heart of the the micro-blog sensation that city,” he said. The in public radio. has an estimated He was general manager at WOSU (89.7 FM/820 AM) in Colum- new building will four to five milbus, Ohio, from 2004–2008. Prior to Columbus, he worked at “allow us to lion members. expand the jourWVPE (88.1 FM) public radio in Elkhart, Ind. He started there at nalism franchise “They listen to the age of 16 when it was a small community radio station. He and strengthen (read) Twitter conversations (in local coverage. was spinning records and announcing sports. which KWMU is After college he returned to WVPE, became the first full-time Our seven staffers mentioned) and staffer, and “did a little bit of everything,” including filing news do a great job, but respond. It’s we want to have a reports for NPR. But his focus was on management. He was bigger impact. We great customer involved as the station added American Public Radio program- want to build the service. I’ll respond myself ming and, in 1991, joined NPR. By 1995, the station was all-news reporter base, and sometimes—peoexpand and focus under Eby’s leadership. ple like it.” Eby was named to NPR’s board of directors in 2002 and served on specific beats, Eby, a selflike education and as its chair from 2004 through November 2008. He is an active the environment. described “early leader and member of several other professional organizations We want to do adapter,” has been “twittering” including Public Radio in Mid-America and is a trustee of the NPR more investigative for about two reporting, too.” Foundation. years, long before The staff curEby’s wife, Kathi, and their three daughters remain in Ohio for it hit the mainrently includes a now, and plan to relocate to St. Louis when their oldest daughter science reporter stream. “Twitter graduates from high school next year. has become a and a Missouri news source for Eby lives downtown in the loft district and frequently takes the legislative me,” he said. MetroLink to work. ■ “People share continued on page 25
A
KWMU gains listeners
Looks to local partnerships, Internet for future growth
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Crestwood, but we also have a hey broke ground for Crestschool for the arts, a jeweler, a yoga wood Plaza in 1955, and the school, six galleries and a couple of first stores opened in what we dance studios. recalled as “wa-a-ay out there,” “Rents are ridiculously low, the along Watson Road, the following response from artists has been huge year. It was the first mall to have two and the Regional Arts Commission anchors—Sears, Roebuck and has provided so much help,” Son Scruggs, Vandervoort and Barney. said. Jill McGuire, executive direcBy the end of 1956, 43 other tenants tor of RAC, has been smiling broadly had joined them and so had thouas the enterprise takes shape. sands of shoppers, traveling to the The Avalon Theatre Company, suburbs where there was more parkwhich had been operating out of a ing and a greater selection in one church basement in South St. limited area. Louis, became the first theater to At its peak, Mark Zorensky mount a real production, opening remembers 200 tenants in the cenwith “The Subject Was Roses” in ter owned by his father Milton and early February. Artistic director his uncle Louis, who had been part Larry Mabrey and his wife, Erin Kelof the garment industry that thrived ley, managing director, were thrilled in downtown St. Louis, then joined with the idea of having their own millions of Americans who migrated home, and they praised Son for away from the cores of their cities. being an ideal landlord. The new The Zorenskys also opened Norththeater has seats more comfortable west Plaza in 1963 and in 1984 than those in a church basement, bought Westroads, which they and as generous as the church was renamed the Galleria, remodeled in making space available, Avalon and reopened two years later. They By Joe Pollack was not working in a real theater. sold Crestwood in 1998, the Galleria other theaters. Whether it was a Better dressing room space, and in 2004. Crestwood Plaza has a ghostly question of geography, or of curios- something to call their own overpresence these days. A handful of ity, I do not know. But I do know that came a personal concern that the chain restaurants are still open, but I’m in favor of anything that puts St. old home was across the street from Trattoria Marcella, long a favorite. footsteps echo in the corridors and Louisans into theater seats. The new site has eating places that there’s an eerie feeling that deserted Bringing new life are just slightly above fast-food levbuildings everywhere seem to share, els. offering up almost an odor of decay, Leisa Son, a native of Indiana Another small theater group, kind of an incense to the end of an with six years experience in mall Echo, will use the space later in the era. But there’s life in the old girl yet. marketing, handles leases for spring. There’s a downside, of course, as With the Regional Arts Commission Jones, Lang, LaSalle, a management involved, along with the center’s company that works for Centrum there is in everything involving help current owners, Centrum Properties and is excited about the opportunity for the arts, and all exacerbated by of Chicago, dreams are housed in to use Crestwood as a model for the current bad economy. The mall abandoned shops along quiet corri- bringing life and, hopefully, an even- is for sale, and that may happen in dors, and about 15 organizations are tual income stream to worn-out, the next couple of years. That’s why taking their first giddy breaths in tired or almost-abandoned shopping the arts groups are not getting leases for more than a year, and no homes of their own. What was Crest- centers. one knows what the wood Mall now is Crestfinal chapter will read, wood Arts Center, with Crestwood a variety of non-profit But there’s life in the old girl yet. With the whether arts organizations set- Regional Arts Commission involved, along will be rehabbed, or rebuilt, or torn down tling in or dealing with the necessary paper- with the center’s current owners, Centrum to make room for that work as they prepare to Properties of Chicago, dreams are housed in great achievement of 20th-century architecmove in and to spaces abandoned shops along quiet corridors, and ture and design—the of their own. A theater, galleries about 15 organizations are taking their first parking lot. “Our owners and and studios are in the management want East wing, in locations giddy breaths in homes of their own. more involvement,” where small individual Son said, “and the stores were located. “It’s very exciting to be here,” she response here has pleased them. The theater only has about 100 seats. Sears and the Crestwood Cin- said. “Every day, people come here Typical retail models have not ema are still operating, but Macy to take advantage of a class, or to worked here, but we are able to go see a gallery, or to see what we’re outside regular relationships. And plans to close at the end of March. As a long-time theater-goer in St. doing because a friend talked about sitting in that theater, on opening Louis, I was interested in the fact us. We have a theater, and hopefully night, and listening to the audience that the opening-night audience was we’ll have others, because nine the- around me, was a thrilling experiquite different from those we see at ater companies are interested in ence.” ■
T
Arts groups find a home at Crestwood Plaza
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Cities without newspapers? By Daily Media News Feed As many newspapers struggle to stay economically viable, fewer than half of Americans—43 percent—say that losing their local newspaper would hurt civic life in their community “a lot.” Even fewer—33 percent—say they would personally miss reading the local newspaper a lot if it were no longer available. These results, of a recent Pew Research Center poll, were to more bad news for the beleaguered newspaper industry which is having its advertising revenue eviscerated by the economic crisis. The Rocky Mountain News in Denver has already ceased to publish, leaving only the Denver Post to serve the city. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer shut down March 16 after its owner, the Hearst Corp., failed to find a buyer. The 146-year-old paper will go to an online-only publication. The city is still served by the P-I’s larger rival, the Seattle Times. Observers say the San Francisco Chronicle could be the first large city to no longer have a newspaper. Guild members were asked to make concessions to help save their paper and there were rumors the Chronicle would cut half its editorial staff, or go digital only. The Hearstowned Chronicle says it will begin charging readers for its online content. At The Sacramento Bee unionized employees voted to take a pay cut to limit layoffs. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer warned its employees they may lose their jobs if the Hearst Co. is unable to sell it, or if it goes only online, It was unclear whether its larger rival, the Seattle Times would follow suit, possibly making Seattle a no-newspaper city. The parent of the two papers in Philadelphia declared
bankruptcy as did the Journal Register Chain. Other bankruptcy filings were for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and Chicago Tribune.
Ten papers that might shut down The Wall Satreet Journal listed ten of the nation’s largest dailies which it said might cease print publication and publish only online, in the next 18 months. It was based on the competition the papers faced, the strength of their parent companies, and their losses. The ten were: 1. The Philadelphia Daily News. The smaller of the city’s two papers is owned by The Philadelphia Newspapers LLC, which recently filed for bankruptcy. The parent company says it will make money this year, but with newspaper advertising still falling sharply, the city cannot support two papers. It will soon be printed as an edition of the Philadelphia Enquirer but keep its own news staff. 2. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune has filed for Chapter 11. The paper may not make money this year even without the costs of debt coverage. The company said it made $26 million last year, about half of what it made in 2007. There is no point for creditors to keep the paper open if it cannot generate cash. It might become an alldigital property. It could survive if its rival, the St. Paul Pioneer Press, folds. A grim race. 3. The Miami Herald, which has a daily circulation of about 220,000, is owned by McClatchy, a publicly traded company which could be the next chain to go into Chapter 11. The Herald has been on the market since Decemcontinued on the next page
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The broadcast industry is also ber. Newspaper advertising has been neighboring market—Dallas. The especially hard hit in Florida parent of The Dallas Morning News, hurting, especially in local TV news because of the tremendous loss in Belo, is a stronger company than the where stations have cut employees real estate advertising. It is likely Star-Telegram’s parent, McClatchy. and other costs. Two stations in the Herald will go online-only with The Star-Telegram will have to shut Philadelphia, owned by NBC and two editions, one for English-speak- down or become an edition of its Fox, are combining some of their rival. Putting them together would video operations to provide pool ing readers and one for Spanish. 4. The Detroit News is one of two save tens of millions of dollars a video service to all the stations daily papers in the city badly hit by year. McClatchy laid off 30 employ- owned by each company. In Decemthe economic downturn. It is ees at its Belleville/News-Democrat ber, 65 people were laid off by National Public Radio and some prounlikely that it can merge with the on March 17. 10. The Cleveland Plain Dealer is grams dropped, larger Detroit Free Press which is The Wall street Journal said local owned by Gannett. The two papers in one of the economically weakest have cut home delivery to just three markets in the country. Its parent, TV stations are cutting everywhere Advance Publications, has already they can as viewership and ad revdays a week. 5. The Boston Globe is said to be threatened to close its paper in enues sag, While some networks are losing $1 million a week. An invest- Newark. Advance, owned by the considering taking their programs straight to cable, local ment bank said the stations are forcing paper is only worth cable companies to $20 million. The Globe pay for the content the is owned by The New stations provide, such York Times and the It’s just not newspapers getting pumas news programs. Times has financial While media ownproblems of its own. meled. The bi-weekly U.S. News and ers try to figure out Supporting larger loshow to adapt to the ses at the Globe will World Report went to monthly publicachanging market for become nearly improviding news, a forpossible. Boston.com, tion. Newsweek and Time have also cut mer editor of Time the Globe’s online costs. Even the Associated Press, with magazine, Walter site, will probably be Isaacson, lamented all that is left of the 3,000 employees worldwide, has that any large city operation. should be without a 6. The San Franfound some newspapers wanting to newspaper. But, he cisco Chronicle‘s parsaid, a paper should ent company, Hearst, drop the service because of costs. not give away the has already set a deadnews for free, even online for shutting the line, as many have paper if it cannot been doing. “People make tremendous ought to pay a quarter cost cuts. The Chronicle lost as much as $70 million last Newhouse family, is carrying the or a half dollar and not expect to get year. Even if the company could burden of its paper plus Conde Nast, it free,” he said. ■ lower its costs, the northern Califor- its magazine group which is losing nia economy is in bad shape. The advertising revenue. The Plain online version of the paper could be Dealer will be shut or go digital by the end of next year. its only version. 7. The Chicago Sun Times is the smaller of two newspapers in the The bleeding is media wide city. Its parent company, Sun-Times Media Group trades for $.03 a share. Falling ad sales, higher newsprint Davidson Kempner, a large share- costs and the worsening economy holder in the firm, has dumped the have caused tens of thousands of CEO and most of the board. The employees to lose their jobs. The paper has no chance of competing McClatchy chain said it will soon with The Chicago Tribune. shed 1,500 jobs, or 15 percent of its 8. The New York Daily News is work force, and also cut salaries, one of several large papers fighting including those of its executives. for circulation and advertising in the It’s just not newspapers getting New York City area. Unlike The New pummeled. The bi-weekly U.S. News York Times, New York Post, News- and World Report went to monthly day, and Newark Star Ledger, the publication. Newsweek and Time Every Wednesday Daily News is not owned by a larger have also cut costs. Even the Assoorganization, but by real estate bil- ciated Press, with 3,000 employees 7 p.m. lionaire Mort Zuckerman. worldwide, has found some newspa9. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram pers wanting to drop the service competes with a larger paper in a because of costs.
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SPORTS TEAMS Continued from page 13
seven times on 12 third downs during the third quarter when the offense was moving from right to left on your radio dial. What do you do if your radio dial is vertical, or digital, or even round?. And by dropping all the emphasis on the inconsequential, like how many home runs they hit or how many errors they made, people like Alex Rodriguez and Mark McGwire and Manny Ramirez could go back into the statistical closet from which they came. Same old story Many people expect Missouri’s football team to be high in the national rankings in 2009, but since its schedule looks a great deal like that of 2008, I suspect the results also will be the same—looking great at the start and collapsing in the middle. Mike Alden, the athletic director, puts pressure on coach Gary Pinkel with an opening game against Illinois in St. Louis. Then it's patsy time—Southeast Missouri, the University of Nevada, the University of Buffalo and Furman in its next four games, four opponents willing to take a monster beating for a large chunk of cash. And then the Tigers play Nebraska, Oklahoma State and Texas, on successive Saturdays, with only the middle one at home. And after that, it may not make any difference. Splendid reporting Joe Mahr and Matthew Hathaway of the Post-Dispatch did a splendid job on the Jackie Joyner-Kersee youth center financial mess in a lengthy Sunday piece on Feb. 8. It’s the kind of investigative reporting and writing that newspapers should do more often. Once again, the sports department went to the back of the bus because both Mahr and Hathaway are news reporters, not sports apologists. It took some real reporting and writing skills to complete the investigation and write a cohesive, nicely flowing narrative. But it was the Belleville News-Democrat who actually broke the story, as the scrappy paper often does on stories in the Metro East. Investigative reporters George Pawlaczyk and Beth Hundsdorfer of the BND did articles on the youth center’s crisis more than a week ahead of the Post. At least the Post credited the BND with a brief mention of the paper, albeit in the 75th paragraph of its 105-paragraph story. ■
KWMU Continued from page 21
reporter. Illinois politics is covered by two Illinois Public Radio statehouse reporters, both affiliated with WUIS in Springfield. They report for all of Illinois public radio stations and KWMU. “Public radio has a true opportunity to set the local agenda,” Eby said. “We can fill the hole being left by the loss of print.” Public forums, meetings, and performances can be held in the new building, and the potential exists for locally produced, nationally syndicated programming, akin to Minnesota Public Radio’s “Prairie Home Companion” or WBUR in Boston’s “Car Talk.” “Being at Grand Center will allow us to engage the public on air, on line, and on location,” he said. The sta-
tion on the UMSL campus is cramped, with only enough space in the broadcast booths for a few people. Some of the support staff is housed in a different building due to lack of space. When KWMU’s capital campaign was announced in 2007 under the leadership of former GM Patty Wente, plans called for a new facility on the UMSL campus. Eby says the proposed building was too large for KWMU and lacked the central, city-based location that Grand Center offers. The decision to make the location switch occurred before Eby came on board. The St. Louis Business Journal reported that some donors had withdrawn their pledges for the capital campaign after Wente was fired last June, after nearly 20 years as GM. (She pressed for and got a $50,000 severance.) “We’ve seen very little of that,” Eby said of the withdrawn pledges. “In the month I’ve been here the idea of being at Grand Center has been very well received.” At his previous public radio job at WOSU in Columbus, Ohio, Eby oversaw the expansion of the station in which the studio space was doubled. Under his tenure, WOSU also became one of the first ten stations in the country to broadcast a second channel in HD. One of Eby’s desires for community outreach at the planned new facility is to educate young people about the media. “Kids might read a blog and believe everything, not understanding this is opinion,” he said. The non-profit Big Brothers and Big Sisters is just around the corner from Grand Center, and Eby sees opportunities to work with that group and others on media literacy. Recently, the state of Missouri cut back on its financial support for broadcasting stations and KWMU lost an expected $45,000 dollars for this year. In an uncertain economy, many non-profits are experiencing drop-offs in donations. But the annual on-air “For The Love of KWMU” membership drive in February raised approximately the same amount of money as in February 2008—$231,000. It came from 2,067 donors (13 percent more) and in two-and-a-half fewer days. This income represents about one-third of KWMU’s budget. “A lot of people said, ‘keep the gifts’ (chocolates and roses), I just want to donate.” ■ Terri Waters is a freelance writer as well as a senior associate at The Vandiver Group, a strategic communications firm in St. Louis.
WILEY PRICE Continued from page 16
American’s website. He admits to feeling intimidated occasionally by his subjects, but he learned that the photographer is in charge and must remain focused. “The more popular that Barack Obama got the more exciting it got. I remember photographing him early in his campaign in Springfield (Ill.),” Price said. Price has won countless awards. His first, in 1986, was for a photo of a homeless black man posing in front of St. Louis City Hall. He’s won 10 awards from the Missouri Press Association. The Obama photo may win him yet another. He says he likes telling stories with his camera. “I love my job. I love coming to work.” ■ Karen Robinson works at the Washington University School of Medicine and BJC Health Care. She wrote this story for a class at Washington University
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people people people people people people people people people people people
Media Notes MEDIA Belleville News-Democrat Jeffry Couch has been appointed vice president. Most recently, he has served as editor and will continue in that capacity. HealthDay News Dr. Cynthia Haines has been appointed chief medical officer of the health medical news service. Haines is a member of the staff and faculty of the Department of Family and Community Service at St. Louis University School of Medicine. KHITS 96 Mark Klose, a longtime radio personality and member of the St. Louis Radio Hall of Fame, was terminated recently from his full-time job at KHITs FM 96 by the station’s owner, Emmis Communications. It was part of a widespread cutback caused by faltering revenue. The Indianapolis-based firm said March 6 that it was laying off 7.5 percent of its workforce at its 29 radio stations in the U.S. and abroad and at its corporate and publishing divisions. That amounts to 91 full time and 14 part-time employees. Klose was among several employees to be cut at KHITS and the three other stations Emmis owns in St. Louis: KFIK-FM 97.1; KPNT-FM 105.7 The Point; and KSHE-FM 95. . Others included a sales manager, receptionist, Webmaster and a parttime engineer. Klose announced his departure during his Friday afternoon drive-time show. He will continue in a part-time capacity, on weekends and doing promotions, according to John Beck, the station manager. Klose has had a 29-year career in broadcasting and has worked at several radio stations in St. Louis. He joined KHITS in 2000. The station is often referred to by area listeners as as “Classic Hits KHITS 96.” The music played includes classic hits from the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s, with
an occasional trip to the early ’90s. KMOV-TV (Channel 4) The station laid off reporter and substitute anchor John Mills, a 13year veteran at the station and Robert Townsend. KTRS (550 AM) The radio station laid off morning show host Vic Porcell and news reporter Brian Kelly.
members include Sally Altman (health editor), Robert Duffy (associate editor), Susan Hegger (issues and politics editor), Robert Joiner (reporter), Brent Jones (presentation editor), Donna Korando (features and commentary editor), Mary Delach Leonard (reporter), Linda Lockhart (public insight network analyst), Dale Singer (reporter) and Dick Weiss (contributing editor). IN MEMORIAM
KXEN (1010AM) The studios of WGNU-AM (920) moved to suite 12 on the first floor of 5615 Pershing Avenue late in 2008. In February 2009, the sister station KXEN-AM (1010 AM) also moved to the same address. Paul Simon Public Policy Institute David A. Yepsen, the longtime chief political columnist for the Des Moines Register, has been appointed as director of the Institute at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois. Yepsen covered every Iowa presidential caucus campaign since 1976, including Paul Simon's 1988 bid for the Democratic nomination. St. Louis American Alvin A. Reid was laid off. The American announced, “It was a business decision made in response to the economic conditions.” Editor Chris King said, “The terms, or course, are private, but they were very fair. His position has been eliminated and we will be dividing his responsibilities among the rest of the newsroom staff.” The St. Louis Beacon The online publication added two staff journalists Kristen Hare and Elia Powers, who will focus on race and issues affecting those under 35 respectively. This hire is made possible in part by a grant for local reporting from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Hare came to St. Louis after five years as the Sunday features reporter for the St. Joseph (Mo.) News-Press. Powers comes to the Beacon after three years covering higher education for the website Inside Higher Ed. Also using Knight Foundation funds, the Beacon recently hired former St. Louis Post-Dispatch political reporter Jo Mannies. She had been a reporter at the Post for 30 years. Other editorial and reporting staff
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Jerry Marshall, 67, died on February 11. He was a sportswriter for the old Globe-Democrat, then an insurance broker, and later an antiques dealer. He was the husband of Karen (Klink) Marshall, the Globe-Democrat food editor. Lynn “Jug” Spence, 71, died on March 6, 2009 A photographer at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for 34 years, he was known for his “Out, Safe” photo in 1969 where two umpires are calling a runner both out and safe at the same time. MEDIA AWARDS Capitol News Connection Deirdre Shesgreen former Washington Bureau reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, was awarded the 2008 David Lynch Memorial Award for her Congressional reporting on regional issues. She now works for Capitol News Connection and its public radio affiliates. Missouri Professional Communicators A Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Avis Meyer, Ph.D., professor at St. Louis University and longtime mentor for the student newspaper. The luncheon will be held at Ces and Judy's in LeChateau Village in Frontenac, at noon on April 18, and will be emceed by Christine Buck, anchor for KPLR-CW 11. Eight communicators will receive the Virginia Betts White Quest Awards. They are Suzanne Corbett, writer and author; Bill Fronczak, public relations and special events director for Mathews-Dickey Boys' and Girls' Club; Margaret Gillerman, reporter for the St. Louis PostDispatch; Dan Martin, cartoonist for the Post; Kay Quinn, KSDK News Channel 5 anchor and medical reporter; and Art Silverblatt, professor of communications and journalism at Webster University; and Mary
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people people people people people people people people people people people Ann Wagner, promotions director for the Suburban Journals. Cost of the luncheon is $50. RSVP by April 11. For information please contact Marge Polcyn at 314-4164074 or Susan Fadem at susanfadem314@yahoo.com. Radio Hall of Fame The five members for the Radio Hall of Fame have been selected, and the list includes the man who is believed to have started call-in radio shows in the St. Louis market. J. Roy McCarthy, who also worked under the names Roger Bell and Byron Scott, hosted a telephone talk show on KXOK in the late 1950s, prior to being hired by KMOX, where he hosted At Your Service. Also inducted this year are Frank O. Pinion, who has entertained St. Louis listeners for more than 25 years; Jim Taszarek, an international broadcast consultant who worked as a sales person and general manager at St. Louis stations; Dick Ulett, an announcer for many years and former program director at KSD who now owns and operates Clayton Studios and is active in the preservation of broadcast history; and Charles Brennan, who has been an announcer on KMOX since 1988 and talk-show host. St. Louis American The paper has been named second-best weekly newspaper in the nation by Inland Press Association. The best paper was the Taos News in New Mexico. Suburban Journals Steve Pokin, of the Suburban Journals, was named Journalist of the Year by the Suburban Newspapers of America. On Nov. 11, 2007 Pokin broke the story about a St. Charles County teen who committed suicide after being harassed and bullied by messages on her MySpace account. The Press Club of Metropolitan St. Louis Larry Conners and Vickie Newton will be honored as 2009 Media Persons of the Year on Wednesday, April 1, at the Chase Park Plaza. Cocktails 5:30 pm, Dinner 7 p.m., Program 8 p.m., Roast and Toast. For tickets and information contact www.stlpressclub.org. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch Nancy Cambria, feature writer, re-
ceived the Terry Hughes Award from the St. Louis Newspaper Guild for her articles on society’s underdogs. Cambria joined the Post in 2005. Kathryn Rogers, a copy editor at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch who recently retired, was named the 2009 Guilder Of The Year by the St. Louis Newspaper Guild. The Post is a finalist in deadline news reporting for coverage of the Kirkwood City Hall shooting on Feb. 7, 2008 in the Jess Laventhol Prize for Deadline News Reporting. The awards are given by the American Society of Newspaper Editors. AD/PR Koplar Communications Pat Dougherty joined the company as public relations director. AD/PR AWARDS Casey Communications, Inc. The agency received a Hermes Creative Award and a MarCom Gold Award from the Association of Marketing & Communication Professionals (AMCP) for the Archdiocese of St. Louis website redesign. The website functions as an independent site as well as a gateway site to 47 sub-sites, each with independent control over content and layout. Grizzell & Co. The agency was named a winner in the 2009 American Graphic Design & Advertising awards competition, a contest recognizing outstanding work by creative professionals. Mercy Multimedia, Inc. The firm received four awards for its video production and public relations work. University of Missouri–St. Louis Antionette Dickens, a senior in media studies at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, was recently named to the American Advertising Federation's (AAF) annual list of Most Promising Minority Students. She received the award at an AAF event in New York. This year, the AAF selected 40 advertising, marketing, media and communications students from across the United States. The Vandiver Group, Inc. The agency has named Lana Cooper Employee of the Year. Cooper is Practice Area Leader for
Creative Services, specializing in logo development, rebranding, corporate identity packages and advertising. INVITATIONS Millstone Memorial Lecture Scott Simon, host of “Weekend Edition Saturday” on National Public Radio, will talk on “The Illinois Paradox: The Politics of Greed and Hope” on April 6, 7:30 p.m., in the St. Francis Xavier Church Grand Ballroom, lower level, 3628 Lindell Blvd. (enter on Grand Blvd). The event is free and open to the public. For more information call 977-2704 or email kgordon8@slu.edu. University of Missouri–St. Louis Michael Pritchett, associate professor of English and director of creative writing at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, will discuss the surprises in store for those who go seeking the truth about American history. Monday, April 6, 12:15–1:15 pm, University of Missouri–St. Louis, 222 J.C. Penney Conference Center. Elizabeth Yeampierre, executive director of UPROSE, a Latino community organization in Brooklyn, NY, and president of New York City's Environmental Justice Alliance, describes some of the struggles she and her fellow community organizers engage in to address local and regional inequities through education and activism. Monday, April 13, 12:15–1:15 p.m. University of Missouri-St. Louis, 222 J.C. Penney Conference Center. Society of Professional Journalists The 2009 SPJ Region 7 Spring Conference will be held in St Louis, April 24–25. Its theme will be, “Careers in Convergence; How all Media are Becoming New Media.” For more information visit http:// www.stlspj.org/?page_id=100. River Styx International Poetry Contest A prize of $1,500 and publication in River Styx journal is awarded annually for a single poem. Stephen Dunn will judge all entries. Contestants can submit three poems totaling no more than 14 pages. Entry fee is $20, which includes a one-year subscription. Entries must be postmarked by May 31. Mail to River Styx International Poetry Contest, 3547 Olive St., Ste. 107, St. Louis, MO 63103
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Post gets downsized, literally t’s not a rerun of The Incredible Shrinking Man, nor Honey, I Shrunk The Kids, but a possible new version. Call it: Honey, It’s Incredible, They Shrunk Our Newspaper! The St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s new page design, set for March 23, is aimed at saving newsprint. The six-column pages are narrowed to five columns. The narrower prototype showed that the front-page side rails, which promo what’s inside, are gone and fewer pictures will be used. The Saturday tabloid-style paper will now look like the other issues during the week. The metro section will be combined into the front section of the paper, along with other content. The sports will remain a separate section. The move is in line with downsizing at some other newspapers as the crisis in the economy continues to reduce advertising, circulation and revenue. Some newspapers have declared bankruptcy, some are for sale and the venerable Rocky Mountain News in Denver stopped the presses. Kaput. Lee enterprises, owner of the Post was able to restructure its debt payments last month—they are huge due to the $1.46 billion it paid for Pulitzer Inc. in 2005. An auditor a few months ago questioned whether Lee could remain “a going concern” or face bankruptcy. It faced possible delisting on the New York Stock Exchange because its share price dropped below $1. Lee was forced to suspend its dividend to shareholders, sell its stake in the Cardinals baseball team, and has shed hundreds of employees since acquiring the Post through buyouts, firings and resignations.
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to negotiate or arbitrate “despite the fact that our contract calls for it.” He said the Post remains profitable and should “play fair with the newspaper’s retirees and not use our pensions to pay the Wall Street-style salaries that Lee executives apparently need to live on Main Street here in Davenport.” One retiree dug out an old statement from the late Joseph Pulitzer II which he made during a depression-era slump in advertising revenues, forcing newspapers to resort to drastic economies. When told the Post could save about $300,000 a year by reducing the number of news columns, Pulitzer rejected the idea, saying: “Let us be very, very careful about ignoring the quality of our product. After all there is a difference between reducing the size of a chocolate bar and reducing the reading contents of a newspaper.”
The Wente Group atty Wente, former general manager of KWMU, has received a $50,000 settlement from the public radio station after her dismissal last year. Her firing was changed to a resignation and she got a letter of recommendation from Thomas George, chancellor of the University of Missouri–St. Louis, which sponsors the station. She now operates The Wente Group, which consults on fund-raising and donor development for public radio stations WNYC in New York, WAMU in Washington, D.C., WBEZ in Chicago and KUVO in Denver. Wente says she also has the following St. Louis clients: The Craft Alliance, Herbert Hoover Boys’ and Girls’ Club and St. Louis University.
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Hoaxers get hoaxed Mandatory furloughs at Post ven with some breathing room on its debts, mandatory furloughs of one week without pay were begun recently for Post employees. The 355 union employees were being furloughed as well after Guild members voted 2–1 in favor of the furloughs—in hopes of not being laid off. Still, the employees are expecting more layoffs this year. “No one’s safe,” said one employee. The Guild contract with the Post expires in June but early attempts at bargaining ended when the Post laid off some Guild employees last fall. Grievances were filed over the layoffs and increased health care costs, especially for retired employees. The company refuses to negotiate and the Guild said it would seek an order in federal court to compel the company to arbitrate. Some Guild members went to Lee’s headquarters in Davenport, Iowa, for the annual meeting and protested the company’s refusal to honor its contract with the union in paying lifetime health care costs for retirees. Joe Pollack, a retiree, told the board members that Lee management has refused
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t was ironic that the New Times alternative weekly chain, which likes to run occasional hoax stories, including some in its Riverfront Times in St. Louis, unwittingly fell victim to reporting a hoax story itself. The New Times’ flagship paper, the Phoenix New Times, ran a story last month about a proposed limit on the number of tattoos pro basketball players can sport. It was based on a satirical story run on a sports blog. The New Times story, written by staffer Niki D’Andrea, told how the NBA was considering a cap on the amount of tattoos players can have showing on their skin. She even interviewed players of the Phoenix Suns about the idea of such a cap. It was the cover story of her paper during the week that the NBA All-Star Game was being played in Phoenix. No such restriction on tattoos was ever proposed by the NBA. In a retraction, D’Andrea wrote that she was unable to contact the NBA and the paper went with the story anyway. “We’re the one with egg on our face,” she wrote. ■
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