January 2008 by Bill Babcock

sjreview.org

by Don Corrigan

Immigration backlash targets Mexicans

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January 2008 Vol 38 Number 302 $4.00 2008: Political junkie heaven (pg.11)

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January 2008 Volume 38 Number 302

FEATURES Editor Roy Malone

Editor/Publisher Emeritus Charles L. Klotzer

Same as it ever was— Editorial writers grapple with same politics as 100 years ago / Steve Hallock

The shape of newspapers Here and in Europe, same problems / Jenna Steege

The shape of newspapers Daily readers decline; Sunday Post-Dispatch gains / Charles Klotzer

Former St. Lous Post-Dispatch writer looks back / Repps Hudson

George Killenberg: A damned good editor / Sue Ann Wood

Assistant General Manager/Online Editor Tammy Merrett Illustrator Steve Edwards Designer Frank Roth Channels Tripp Frohlichstein Radio History Frank Absher AM/FM Joe Sonderman Ad/PR Rick Stoff

Immigration backlash targets Mexicans / Don Corrigan

Art/Sports/Media Joe Pollack Media/Politics Terry Jones Board of Editorial Advisers Frank Absher Roy Malone Lisa Bedian Tammy Merrett Ed Bishop Avis Meyer David Cohen Michael Murray Don Corrigan Steve Perron Eileen Duggan Joe Pollack David P. Garino Lou Rose Ted Gest Joe Sonderman William Greenblatt Michael D. Sorkin Daniel Hellinger Jim Kirchherr Lynn Venhaus Board of Directors Robert A. Cohn Michael E. Kahn Don Corrigan Charles L. Klotzer John P. Dubinsky Robert H. Rose Gerald Early Paul Schoomer David P. Garino Dr. Moisy Shopper Ray Hartmann Alberta Slavin Ken Solomon 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 twice per year, 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, Mo., and additional mailing offices. Please enclose stamped, self-addressed envelope with manuscript. Copyright © 2008 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 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 73-85160

COLUMNS 3

Letters

Off the Record - First class for Giuliani / Terry Jones - Bowl games not brimming / Joe Pollack - HDTVs use more energy / Benjamin Israel - KTVI's fair and balanced reporting / Roy Malone - Polygraphs: Good or not? / Benjamin Israel - Future of the Internet - Book highlights Pulitzer Prizes / Roy Malone

Lee Enterprises stock declined 63 percent in 2007 / Charles L. Klotzer

2008: Political junkie heaven / Terry Jones

Newspaper ads stagnant; online growing / Rick Stoff

Rams, Cards struggling; Not so for Blues, Mizzou / Joe Pollack

Press Club bars press / Tripp Frohlichstein

Downsizing radio personalities / Joe Sonderman

1925: KMOX becomes the Voice of St. Louis / Frank Absher

Sources Say

Media Notes

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commentary

letters Red-light camera warning in Philly (Following Rick Stoff's cover story for SJR in December about sparse media coverage on red-light cameras, this warning was issued by AAA in Philadelphia.)

SJR: AAA, with more than 650,000 motorist members in the Philadelphia region and 3 million in Pennsylvania, is worried about Philadelphia's red-light camera program. Lawmakers are losing sight of the essential purpose of the programâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;traffic safety. They are now fighting about the money because some view redlight cameras as a cash cow. Traffic safety was the original and should remain the guiding and only principle of the initiative, not revenue generation, regardless of how worthy schools or other myriad purposes may be! The legislation that created the city's red-light camera program ensures that monies generated from the fines be used only for transportation enhancements and traffic safety. And, that's the way it should be. AAA has watched too many other cities' red-light cameras become nothing more than a "profit center" where yellow lights are short-timed

to do nothing more than catch motorists. Government and legislators further dissipate what precious little credibility they may still have with their citizens, and law enforcement loses respect. When traffic safety takes a back seat, the cameras become nothing more than a gotcha game for greenbacks, and everyone loses. Catherine L. Rossi Mgr. Public & Government Affairs AAA Mid-Atlantic

NEW WEB SITE SJREVIEW.ORG The new site is active now, but parts of it are still being revised. The site was created by Richard Gavatin of IMS, Inc.

Join Ed Bishop for conversations about journalism and media Every Wednesday

7 p.m.

KDHX (88.1 FM)

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off the record First class for Giuliani

epublican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani has been criticized in the national press for his upscale taste in lodgings. It’s Ritz Carltons and Four Seasons, not Hampton Inns and Fairfield Suites for the former mayor of New York City. Seems like Giuliani has the same preference leanings for hospital emergency rooms. When he had his plane return to Spirit of St. Louis Airport in Chesterfield Valley, Dec. 19, because he was feeling ill, he bypassed three nearby hospitals (St. Luke’s, St. John's Mercy, and Missouri Baptist) for the more distant—but higher ranked— Barnes-Jewish. Terry Jones

Bowl games not brimming

he discouraging number of mismatches and badly prepared teams—on the field and in the announcer's booth—to which we all were exposed in recent bowl games is evidence of the increasing scam that bowl committees are perpetrating upon the American public. And yet, the sharp drop in ratings may be indicating, as Abraham Lincoln said, that not all the people can be fooled all the time. The snubbing of Mizzou by the Bowl Championship Series was the unkindest cut of all to Missourians. There are many possible reasons— the only one with razor-thin legitimacy being that the Jayhawks had only one loss, even if it was to the Tigers, and Mizzou had two, including an embarrassing one in the Big 12 championship game. Some said that Kansas was chosen because more of their alumni travel to road games, but that's specious at best. A more probable reason is that someone from Kansas knew someone on the selection committee and exerted the necessary pressure. But bowl committees—and the BCS as well—don't care how bad the game is or how badly the announcers report it. All the games are tied in one way or another to the host city's chamber of commerce or downtown establishment, or political power brokers. They want people to buy tickets, use hotel rooms, rent cars, eat in restaurants and so on.

They don't care about the players. They want athletic department personnel, university officials, boards of curators and wealthy alumni... the people who spend the money, much of it not their own, but company-based tax deductions or university allocations for gamerelated expenses. On the wasteland that would usually be New Year's Day, television is happy if a couple of dozen pairs of eyes are focused on the screen. A football game—or any sports event for that matter—is among the least expensive things that networks can produce. Most of the bowl games were big busts on the field, or among the cheerleaders and dancing girls. Time was when conference champions played in the games, but that was before conference playoffs gave many conferences a second champion, and when the NCAA determined that playing .500 or better gave a team something called "bowl eligibility." In an effort to make the team look better, its PR people and statisticians now have a whole new set of records for bowl games, ignoring the regular season. Oklahoma was over-confident going into its game against West Virginia, Hawaii was in the same position as Illinois. Kansas did play well, and courteously declined to run up the score at the end of the game. The Missouri victory was a tribute to Gary Pinkel and his coaching staff, who obeyed the old cliche of taking what their opponents allowed, using the running game with great effectiveness and playing superior defense. There was no defense against the announcing crew of Pat Summerall and Brian Baldinger, who were unprepared, unaware and often apparently unconscious. I am sad to write this because Summerall, with whom I go back more than 40 years, was the analyst on many football Cardinal games, often working with the late Jack Drees, and both men were consummate professionals. Either Summerall's eyesight is fading, or his spotter, whose job is to point out who is doing what on the field, was watching another game. Summerall had to make far too many corrections, was wrong

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on down and distance or made other foolish errors. Baldinger, whose analysis was generally good, destroyed his credibility when he described the Arch as something that spanned the Mississippi River. Joe Pollack

HDTVs use more energy

t a time when there is little doubt that people in developed countries should decrease energy consumption, the Federal Communications Commission and the television industry are pushing television viewers to use more energy. On Feb. 17, 2009, television stations will abandon the VHF and UHF bands to broadcast digital signals only. Viewers with old analog televisions must attach a converter to watch any over-the-air stations. According to the non-profit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, these converters will use twice the energy of the televisions they are attached to. Cable users won't need the converters. Buyers who switch to new digital-format televisions will find their electric bills rising as well. The new format televisions use more power than old-style, cathode-ray-tube televisions (CRT), while HDTVs use the most. In all formats, larger screens mean higher energy consumption. Exact figures are hard to come by. It is so complicated that engineers at the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star rating office have not agreed on a standard for rating televisions. What is clear is the more pixels—color dots—per inch, the more power the TV needs. HDTV sets have almost six times the number of pixels as conventional CRT televisions, according to the testing group CNET. CNET also points out that size affects energy use and has published ratings by energy consumption per square inch for the three main types of digital televisions: LCD–0.29 watts per square inch; rear projector–0.14 watts per square inch; and plasma–0.35 watts per square inch. One complicating factor in rating a television's energy usage is that sets use power when turned off, usually about one-tenth of the

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off the record power when in use. Energy estimates must include a formula for figuring out what percentage of time the set will be on. Also, CRTs and plasma sets use more when the picture is brighter. According to information from the Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative, a non-profit utility that supplies electricity to semi-rural Virginia east of Washington, the average CRT uses 146 watts, while the three main digital units all use more: LCD, 193; rear-projection, 208; and plasma, 328. Even without exact figures, it is clear that HDTVs will join SUVs and bottled water as energy-wasting products that a few years ago consumers didn't even think of buying. Benjamin Israel

KTVI's fair and balanced reporting

t. Peters Mayor Len Pagano says KTVI (Channel 2) reporter Elliott Davis has been "singling out St. Peters with negative and inaccurate stories" and cleverly inserting sound bites that make it sound like the city "is doing something improper or illegal." Such a complaint against Davis is not new, especially by government officials whom he has skewered in the past, often using ambush interviews, in his long-running television expose series called "You Paid For It." At issue is Davis' Nov. 28 story on Fox 2 news that questioned why St. Peters did not solicit bids when it sold land that is now being used by developers for the large Lakeside 370 project. When questioning Pagano, Davis said if the city had sought bids it might have received more than the $50 million it got. He then showed an interview with State Auditor Susan Montee, who said it's usually best to seek bids, although she declined to discuss the Lakeside project. Pagano sent a three-page letter to Davis' boss, general manager Spencer Koch, complaining that Davis left out much of the information he was given. Pagano said Davis never told viewers that offers of $5 million and $12 million for the land were turned down, in favor of the $50 million one. Pagano said opponents to the project, who have gotten Davis' ear,

have filed lawsuits against the city, which the city has won. He said these opponents include "the same people who made the $5 million and $12 million offers." Davis showed a sound bite of a woman who said not enough study was done for the Lakeside project, but there was no mention that 12 studies were done, Pagano said. Also irritating to Pagano was to see himself looking perplexed during the interview. He said this clip was picked to make him look unknowledgeable when in fact it was the result of Davis' asking him the same question over and over again. "I was perplexed that the reporter would not accept the same answer 10 times," the mayor said. "The reporter refused to accept my answer and instead made it look like I had no answer…. At the very least we should be able to expect our answers to be aired." Davis staunchly defends his story, noting he first learned about it from "a citizens group" and saying the St. Peters' officials looked pretty bad. He said they should have sought bids for the land sale. This has been disputed by the mayor as being unnecessary, given that at least three offers were made. Davis said while he did ask the mayor the same question several times, "it was his initial reaction that we used, not the second or third…. He wasn't answering the question." Davis said lawyers often use the same technique of repeating their questions. Pagano also complained that another Davis story was critical of St. Peters aldermen's health benefits being paid for by the city. Pagano said it is allowed by state law and that 42 other municipalities do it, which Davis did not mention. Davis told SJR it may be legal, but is not a good use of taxpayer funds because the aldermen are part-timers. Pagano received no replies to his letter to Koch and Channel 2 News Director Kingsley Smith. Even after receiving the complaint, the station re-ran Davis' story over the holidays. Koch told SJR he would probably reply to Pagano as a courtesy. He defended Davis' stories saying they are "lawyered to a point you wouldn't believe. It's a very careful report…. Elliott is true to his core

belief that taxpayers' money should be well spent. It's about educating the viewer." St. Peters officials say Davis is using tricks of his trade to slant his stories and the stories are so unreliable that officials are considering videotaping Davis if he wants to do any more interviews. Roy Malone

Polygraphs: Good or not?

n Oct. 1, the St. Louis PostDispatch ran a front-page article about Washington University neurologist Dr. Marcus E. Raichle. Raichle served on a National Academy of Sciences committee that studied polygraphs, known in popular culture as lie detectors. The story said the panel found the science behind polygraphs dubious and noted that a polygraph test is not admissible in court as evidence. "The people administering it believe it, and so do the crooks, but the evidence just doesn't support it," Raichle told reporter Tina Hesman Saey. Raichle's opinion is the dominant one among psychologists and neuroscientists. Still, in the next two months, Post stories about suspicious death investigations cited the failure of law enforcement officers to administer polygraph tests, apparently as evidence of sloppy police work. The Post ran a front-page story on Nov. 25 headlined, "Case Closed—Then Reopened," about the possible wrongful conviction in 1992 of Joshua Kezer for a southeast Missouri murder. In summarizing the shortcomings of the police response to the crime, reporter Benjamin Poston wrote: "Investigators had not conducted a polygraph test, taken a blood sample, thoroughly questioned Kezer or checked his alibis, according to police records." Three weeks later, the Post ran a story headlined, "Was It Suicide? Questions Linger," about suspicions that a man's death in rural Missouri that was ruled a suicide was really a murder. In this case, the victim's girlfriend was present when her boyfriend was shot to death. Reporter Phillip O'Connor wrote continued on next page

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off the record Continued from previous page

this about the shortcomings of the sheriff's investigation: "A sheriff's deputy allowed Miles, 25, to wash her hands before a gun residue test that proved inconclusive; a polygraph test was never administered; and a deputy who was a former roommate of Miles' was allowed to work the crime scene." In neither case did the reporter mention that police did not consult a psychic or an astrologer. In 1984, psychologist David Lykken, who published many articles in peer-reviewed journals about the polygraph, addressed a conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science about the so-called lie detector. "It is both curious and disturbing that a technique based on such implausible assumptions has managed to become entrenched in American mythology," Lykken said. "The field of polygraphy is shot through with a degree of psy-

chological naivete that would be funny if it didn't result in so much harm." It is unfortunate that a large daily newspaper buys into that mythology. Benjamin Israel

the Internet should look like. Share your comments and ideas, and keep the conversation going at www.free-press.net and www.savetheinternet.com/blog/.

Book highlights Pulitzer Prizes Future of the Internet

s Sen. John Kerry has written: "The current state of broadband in America is unacceptable. . . . Most Americans have been left out of the Washington debate over the future of the Internet. But highpriced lobbyists have no trouble bending the ears of lawmakers. "Previous generations put a toaster in every home and a car in every driveway as signs of economic progress. . .to stay competitive, we should strive to do the same with nationwide broadband. Our economy, our businesses and our families are counting on us to deliver." Free Press has started a public conversation of what the future of

new book is out about Pulitzer Prizes that are given in the coveted public service category. It's by Roy Harris Jr. and is titled, "Pulitzer Gold: Behind The Prize For Public Service Journalism," (University of Missouri Press). Harris' father, Roy Harris Sr., had a hand in winning four of the awards in the 1940s and 1950s as a reporter and editor at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The author says the award bestows no prize money, is never given to an individual, has no restrictions on subject matter and "has not gotten as much attention as the easier-to-follow awards." Roy Malone

correction CORRECTION: The December 2007 issue included a number of layout problems. The errors were a technical problem that will be remedied in the future. Final paragraphs of affected stories follow: Joyce Meyer finances investigated by Don Corrigan— Ministry Attorney Winter declared that donations to Meyer’s ministry now provide more than 11 million meals for the poor in underdeveloped countries. He noted that the ministry fully funds and operates more than 50 orphanages around the world and presents the gospel to a potential audience of 3 billion people daily via her radio and television programs. Channels: Channel 5 wins most Emmy awards by Tripp Frohlichstein— Being live can be good. Live for live’s sake isn’t worth it, and, as was the case on Thanksgiving, can actually make a story less exciting. Media Notes— International Association of Business Communicators The following officers, board

members and directors were named for 2007-2008: Jennifer Pruett, president; Natasha Webster, president-elect; Aimee Muldrow, treasurer; Sandi Clement, treasurer-elect; Rich Jen-

SJR is a not-for-profit organization and can accept tax-deductible contributions

nings, secretary; Executive Committee members: Diedra Yates, Rhonda Sciarra, Annie Hafner, Janet Vigen and Greg Aranda; Directors: Les Landes, Bethanie Rivolta and Dora Smith.

Contributions would be much appreciated to promote the growth of SJR

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Charles L. Klotzer

The investing public has little faith in the accuracy of these companies' financial statements, this is 'a sad commentary for an industry whose mission is to keep other institutions honest.'

Charles L. Klotzer is the editor/publisher emeritus of SJR.

report on the economic well being of Lee Enterprises, Inc. was featured by Bloomberg News columnist Jonathan Weil (Jan. 9). He examined Lee's balance sheets and concluded that the company's purchase of Pulitzer, Inc. was "one of the worst deals in the [newspaper] industry's history" for its shareholders. This writer is not qualified to judge the accuracy of Weil's conclusions, but the data he cites is impressive. "Lee's stock market value today is a mere $515 million, after a 63 percent decline during the past year" yet, "judging by its latest balance sheet, you would think the value of the papers Lee bought has been holding up just fine," wonders Weil. He explains, "Under the accounting rules, a plunging stock price isn't the final word on whether a company's intangible assets have become impaired. Companies instead look to their own internal estimates of future cash flows and other yardsticks when assessing the need for writedowns." Lee values its subscriber lists of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and its 54 other daily papers at $849 million, which would be higher than the value of all its shares. The company's biggest asset was $1.51 billion of good will. As everybody knows, good will can't be sold by itself, says Weil, it's "merely the ledger entry that companies record to reflect the difference between a premium acquisition price and the fair value of the acquired company's net assets." The investing public has little faith in the accuracy of these companies' financial statements, this is "a sad commentary for an industry whose mission is to keep other institutions honest," concludes Weil. We are presenting these excerpts, because the Post, typical for most media, is unlikely to offer this information to its readers. This is not only a current, but also a traditional shortcoming of the mass media. Indeed, in SJR's first issue in 1970, we exposed the Joint Operating Agency between the St. Louis Globe-Democrat and the Post even then unknown to many of the papers' editors.

find informative and appealing. This has motivated editors over the years to seek new sources of information, to cover subjects outside the St. Louis metropolitan region, to update the design of SJR both in its printed format as well as its Web site (sjreview.org). The Web site is now active. We hope to improve greatly its usefulness as a source of information. Here is where the site could benefit from the labor of a volunteer, who could assemble the e-mail addresses of media resources, media publications, journalism organizations, news sites, journalism schools and a host of other media categories in which readers might be interested. Anyone who is interested should contact either Editor Roy Malone (rcmalone1@mindspring.com), Online Editor Tammy Merrett (tmerrettmurry@hotmail.com) or this writer (sjreview@sbcglobal.net). As our readers know from previous reports, the "editorial advisors" (not only those listed on the masthead, but many others) meet once a month to critique the last issue and make suggestions for future issues. The current list of invitees numbers more than 50. They are professionals, academics and experts working now or in the past for media organizations. We never know how many will attend the meetings. It varies from about a dozen to 25. These advisers are not appointed nor can they be elected, they are selfappointed. It was always the intent not to have a self-perpetuating in-group isolate itself from new ideas. (This does not mean that we do not appreciate the attendance and dedication of those who regularly attend these sessions. Indeed, many of our "regulars" have sought out and invited new participants.) If you have ideas for SJR or belong to the illustrious world of the media and might consider writing or accepting assignments, let's hear from you. ■

Lee Enterprises stock declined 63 percent in 2007

••• While the mission of SJR has not changed over the decades it has been published, it has tried to present the product of its deliberations in ways that its readers

Editor's Note: The December issue of SJR included a story about the late Sen. Thomas F. Eagleton in which it was reported that his niece tried to blackmail him. SJR was remiss for not including the fact that the niece admitted in court that her allegation was totally false. The niece was convicted in 1980 and went to prison.

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...what I am now

hile local and national news outlets have enjoyed covering the hot topic of immigration, less attention has been paid to the backlash against Mexicans—a backlash that is aiding whitesupremacist extremist groups. “Missouri has a Klan presence, a significant skinhead presence, as well as anti-tax extremists, sovereign citizen groups and militia members. Most of these people are into talk—just talk. A small minority believe in violence,” said Robert F. Harris, a Missouri-based expert on extremists, cults and gangs. “What I am now seeing nationally is that the radical right and white supremacists see the immigration issue as a way to recruit and to go mainstream,” added Harris. “It’s also an issue that can energize members in groups prone to terrorism.” For anyone attracted to the group’s anti-immigration messages, but skeptical that these groups may engage in terrorism, Harris asks doubters to recall a militant radical by the name of Timothy McVeigh and the April 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City, which killed 168 people. Harris noted the recent bust of the Alabama Free Militia and the confiscation of a large arsenal of grenades, rocket launchers and machine guns. The group reportedly was planning a machine gun attack against Mexican immigrants. “Militias are not as innocent as they like people to think,” contended Harris. “They like to say they are just a backup to maintain law and order. The fact is their members are anti-authoritarian. Many subscribe to a posse comitatus view that city police departments are illegitimate; only elected county sheriffs and militias should be lawfully recognized.” While Mexican immigrants have suffered from a surfeit of negative media coverage, some militia groups have

seeing nationally is that the radical right and white supremacists see the immigration issue as a way to recruit and to go mainstream... robert f. harris

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actually gained in stature. Civilian militia members patrolling southwest border areas have gained praise from politicians, newspaper pundits and TV broadcasters. “We are seeing an increase in anti-Mexican rhetoric and activities all over Missouri, including St. Louis,” said Karen Aroesty of the Eastern Missouri Office of the Anti-Defamation League. “We had an incident in Wright City where an immigrant, who was illegal, was attacked with a baseball bat. “There also has been some anti-immigration activity of concern by the extremist Minuteman group in Kansas City,” continued Aroesty. “Closer to home, there is concern about what has been going on in Valley Park. The media coverage of their ordinance aimed at Mexican immigrants in 2006 and subsequent developments this year have raised concerns about intimidation, but we aren’t aware of any violence.”

Valley Park battle Valley Park passed an ordinance in 2006 that provided penalties for landlords renting to “illegal aliens” and for businesses dealing with “illegal aliens.” The ordinance was challenged by the law clinics of St. Louis University and Washington University. Last March, St. Louis County Circuit Judge Barbara W. Wallace voided the ordinance as a violation of state law. The city’s ordinance made national headlines for its wording calling for denial of business permits for five years for any business that “aids and abets illegal aliens or illegal immigration.” The ordinance also prohibited illegal aliens from leasing or renting property—with a $500 fine for any violation—as well as declaring Valley Park an English-only city. Karen L. Tokarz, a law professor and director of the Washington University clinic that interceded in the case, called Valley Park’s actions unacceptable. “These ordinances are fueled by a mixture of misinfor-

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mation and fear, and they foster discrimination and racial families that are just trying to survive.” profiling,” Tokarz said. “This is the first court judgment in the country outlawing such ordinances and puts other Media treatment cities on notice that it is illegal for cities to regulate immiAroesty of the ADL said the news media have not pergration.” Nevertheless, Valley Park's actions were hailed by anti- formed well in explaining U.S. immigration issues, whether immigration groups, including the St. Louis chapter of Mis- on the local news or on the cable news channels that simsourians Against Illegal Immigration. Janet Renner, ply provide airtime for anti-immigration rants. “What is most disturbing about the news media treatfounder of the group, spoke to the Tesson Ferry Township Republican Club after the court decision and called for sup- ment is that they bring on people who are polarizing, provocative and just plain angry about immigration,” said port of ordinances such as Valley Park’s. “The dangers we face from illegal immigration are Aroesty. “Of course, television can’t be boring, but what are many,” said Renner. “Above all, it will destroy our culture. the consequences of stereotyping and appealing to the As Pat Buchanan has shown in his book, ‘State of Emer- basest instincts?” Aroesty said even more disturbing than what appears on gency,’ our culture and our country can be overwhelmed by the news is the material on Web sites of right-wing extremthe uncontrolled flow over the border. “If we don’t control our borders, we face national secu- ists. The groups cited in a recent national report issued by the ADL include Mothers Against Illegal rity threats and the destruction of our Aliens, Federation for American Immigramiddle class,” said Renner. “We face tion Reform, Choose Black America, You social service costs that will break our Don’t Speak for Me, Americans for Legal economy. The crime by illegal aliens is a Penalize Immigration Political Action Committee, major problem.” Grass Fire and the Dustin Inman Society. Renner said her message is getting an employers for The report cites several key tactics attentive hearing wherever she presents used by anti-immigrant groups, including: it. She said the grassroots opposition to not following illegal immigration has trumped the leg• Describing immigrants as “Third World the I-9 rules. islative plans of the “Washington elites” invaders,” who come to America to to simply legalize and provide amnesty destroy our heritage, “colonize” the counDon't stereotype for those who have entered America illetry and attack our “way of life.” Such gally. According to Renner, the number charges are commonly used against Hisand engange in of illegal aliens in the United States may panics, Asians and other people of color. be as high as 30 million. punishing families • Using terminology that describes immigrants as part of “hordes” that “swarm” that are just over the U.S. border. This dehumanizing Circle of Concern language has become common. trying to survive. “Based on the news media reports, you • Portraying immigrants as likely carriers would have thought there was an of diseases like leprosy, tuberculosis, onslaught of Mexicans to Missouri and — Glen Koenen, Chagas disease (a potentially fatal paraour area,” said Glen Koenen, director of sitic disease), dengue fever, polio and director, the Circle of Concern, a community charmalaria. ity based in Valley Park. “I know that at Circle of Concern • Depicting immigrants often as criminals, our food pantry, which serves a lot of murderers, predators, rapists, terrorists south and west county, we’ve never had and a danger to children and families. more than 20 Mexican families out of about 800 needing assistance.” • Propagating conspiracy theories about Koenen said the news media furor caused most of the an alleged secret “reconquista” plot by Mexican immigrants Mexican families in Valley Park to move out. He also said to create a “Greater Mexico” by seizing seven states in the businesses that employed Mexicans here legally were reluc- American Southwest that once belonged to Mexico. tant to send them out to work sites for fear of possible Aroesty noted that some of this unsavory material reprisals. “I could never get across to the officials in Valley Park aimed at Hispanic-Americans inevitably works its way that their actions and all the media coverage were giving the into the mainstream news media. She said resorting to city a bad name,” said Koenen. “Instead of emphasizing the dehumanizing, hateful stereotypes and outright bigotry affordable housing here, the diversity, our family values and paves the path to violence against other people. “Let’s face it, it’s not going to get any better any time community cooperation, we ended up looking like a bunch soon,” said Aroesty. “The 2008 election is coming up, of insular bigots. “Ironically, we chased away some church-going folks and immigration is going to be exploited by some politiwith good family values and a great work ethic,” said Koe- cians for everything it is worth. The news media will nen. “Right now it seems easier to punish moms and kids, highlight it. “We should be highlighting this nation’s commitment than it is to go after exploitative employers who aren’t folto making diversity and pluralism work,” added Aroesty. lowing the rules. “It all comes down to this,” added Koenen. “If you “If that can’t happen here, what hope is there for the rest really want to stop the illegal immigration problem, of the world?” ■ penalize the employers for not following the I-9 immi- Don Corrigan is a professor in the School of Communications at Webster gration rules. Don’t stereotype and engage in punishing University and also edits three weekly newspapers.

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Same as it ever was—

Editorial writers grapple with same politics as 100 years ago

he message from a year's worth of editorials on the immigration reform debate in Congress is one that goes beyond current politics. Anti-immigrant attitudes and those of Americans welcoming the influx of new cultural blood comprise a long running American conversation. Similarly, other themes of recent election campaigns are timeless. The sentiment upon reading commentary and listening to shouted cable TV opinions on various current hot issues is one of deja vu.

Immigration "The proper goal of immigration reform is to be humane and practical without insulting people's innate sense of fairness," opined a New York Times editorial on proposals to either seal off the U.S.-Mexican border with a big fence or to encourage Mexicans to work in the United States and become part of its cultural stew. "And if such reform removes the perverse incentives that make it more rational to enter the United States through the Sonoran Desert than through a line at a consular office, so much the better." With minor changes in the cast of characters, the immigration controversy today centers primarily on Latinos, while in the 1800s the immigrants were European. Consider this, courtesy of Allan Nevins' 1928 collection of newspaper editorials, "American Press Opinion, An Anthology of Editorial Writing from Washington to Coolidge," on immigration: "Not to arrest immigration by absolute prohibition," suggested the Richmond (Va.) Enquirer in 1855, "but to suffer foreigners to come hither and then to deny them the privileges of citizenship, is so foolish and fatal a policy that it is difficult to understand how any man of ordinary intelligence can assent to it." As the Times and other newspapers of the 21st century appeal to humanity and practicality, the Richmond writer in the mid-19th century argued against a "harsh and illiberal" policy that would "repel some of the prouder, brighter, and more aspiring spirits, who might seek freedom and distinction in this country."

Campaign money As for ethics of elected officials and campaigners, here's what the Springfield Republican had to say in 1904— more than 100 years ago: "Whichever way our sympathies may incline as between parties and candidates, let us not forget that the secret collections and secret use of enormous campaign funds, for whose control no one is responsible under the law, and about which, when once scattered, no one pretends to have the slightest knowledge—let us not forget that all this has become a national scandal, and confronts you and all of us as a deadly peril to the form of government and the institutions which we hold dear." It is a national scandal still, and a bipartisan one at that. We know the history, but we keep repeating it nonetheless—in our politics and in our newspapers' scolding and agenda setting.

Wrong wars The war in Iraq has drawn considerable, albeit well-placed, criticism. But anti-war protestors of the 1960s-1970s remember the governmental deception behind the Vietnam War. As with the war today, editorial writers then mourned the needless and senseless slaughter of American GIs, along with the deaths of innocent Vietnamese. This sort of anti-war sentiment had roots in the 19th century, before the more acceptable World War I and World War II, as seen in the New Orleans Times-Democrat's 1898 argument against the looming SpanishAmerican War. "Few who consider the matter seriously will justify such a war," argued the newspaper. "Men who would not hesitate a moment, if their country was invaded or its honor and good name were at stake, to offer their lives to save it, have not been able to see any justification for this war of sympathy with Cuba. They fail to see why they should sacrifice their lives and those of their sons for such sympathy… driven into an unjust and unnecessary war, to satisfy the demands of men who, for political purposes solely, have

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by Steve Hallock desired to plunge the republic into foreign war."

Stolen elections Modern-day politicians have no monopoly on politically motivated warfare. Nor, for that matter, do we have exclusive claim to allegations of stolen elections, such as the Bush-Gore contest of 2000 and Florida, or the BushKerry contest of 2004 and Ohio. In 1876, the New York Sun asked this about the questionable election of Rutherford B. Hayes as president: "The proposition of the crazy and reckless Republican managers, like Zachariah Chandler and Jay Gould, is that all three of the disputed states shall be declared to have voted for Hayes, and that he shall be declared elected president upon this basis. "But can the Republican party afford this? If Mr. Hayes should be declared elected in this way, by a majority of one electoral vote only, with the great majority of the popular vote against him, and with the almost universal conviction that the declaration was procured by fraud, would it be a situation such as the Republican party would desire? And would Mr. Hayes, under such circumstances, be able to perform the duties of the president effectively, successfully, and happily?"

Sex scandals And the editorialists who railed against President Bill Clinton's dalliance with Monica Lewinsky certainly were not treading on unwalked opinion grounds on the subject of presidential sexual misbehavior. Clinton and his affair with Lewinsky clearly were outdone by the sexual adventures of Grover Cleveland. "We then assume as a fact, admitted and known to the people, that some 10 years ago Mr. Cleveland, when he was about 40 years of age, was guilty of the offence imputed to him, and that he is the reputed father of a bastard son, now living in Buffalo," said The Indecontinued on page 23

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politics & media / Terry Jones

Four Missouri papers have used blogs to expand their political coverage, particularly the chewy nuggets prized by insiders.

Terry Jones is professor of political science at UM-St. Louis

his year promises to be political junkie heaven. There are competitive presidential nomination contests in both parties, Missouri will have at least two key statewide races for governor and attorney general, and the initiative proposals keep flowing. Where should junkies go to feed their information habit? Forget television and radio for everything except the presidential race. Newspapers will have some coverage but not enough to satisfy the truly addicted. Fortunately for them, the blogosphere has arrived. Here’s a guide through the leading outlets. Four Missouri papers have used blogs to expand their political coverage, particularly the chewy nuggets prized by insiders. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has "Political Fix" (www.stltoday.com/blogs/category/news-politicalfix). Jo Mannies, the Post’s veteran campaign reporter, has the most entries but Jake Wagman, who covers the City of St. Louis, is a frequent contributor. "KC Star Prime Buzz" (www.primebuzz.kcstar.com) is the Kansas City Star entry. A wider range of Star reporters and editorial writers contribute, although the two chief political reporters, Steve Kraske and Tim Hoover, are regulars. Mid-state, the Columbia Daily Tribune's Jason Rosenbaum, an energetic and talented reporter, mans their political blog (www.blogs.columbiatribune.com/politics). Rosenbaum often carries a camcorder, so his posts sometimes include videos. Tony Messenger, the Springfield News-Leader's editorial page editor, is the sole author of "Ozark Messenger" (www.newsleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/se ction?category=BLOGS03). It was Messenger's query for some of former gubernatorial chief of staff Ed Martin’s e-mails that triggered all the uproar about what should be saved and when. Both Messenger and Rosenbaum are rising stars among Missouri political journalists. If you enjoy attacks on Gov. Matt Blunt, go to www.firedupmissouri.com. Started by Roy Temple, a high-level staff member for both the late Gov. Mel Car-

nahan and Sen. Jean Carnahan, its contributors masquerade under pen names, like Jefferson Thomas and Howard Beale. The latter was the "I'm mad as hell" anchor in the movie "Network." For the reverse slant—especially on Attorney General Jay Nixon, Sen. Claire McCaskill and Sen. Hillary Clinton— check out www.missouripulse.com. Its major scribe, John Hancock, sounds like a pseudonym, but that's his real name. A former Missouri Republican Party executive director, he now heads a thriving political consulting firm whose clients include Blunt. Jeff Roe, a GOP consultant on the western side of the state, gives his spin on things at www.thesource.typepad.com. For the City of St. Louis scene, go to www.pubdef.net and www.archcitychronicle.com. The first is run by Antonio French who, like Hancock and Roe, combines blog entrepreneurship with a political consulting practice. French’s site also features videos. The Arch City Chronicle began as a print publication but now exists only electronically. Dave Drebes, the consummate urban yuppie, operates the site. Much of the good stuff, though, can only be found on "MO Scout," a pricey subscription service offered by Drebes. Surrounding all this is www.johncombest.com. Combest, a talented young public relations executive, rises daily before dawn to scan Missouri’s newspapers for all political stories. By the time most of us are having our first cup of coffee, he provides hyperlinks to everything he has located. He is the quintessential enabler for political junkies. At the national level, you can get a robust sampling of the blogosphere by sipping from the National Journal's Hotline link:www.blogometer.nationaljournal.com. Keeping up with all the polling is made easier by www.pollster.com, a cooperative venture between Mark Blumenthal, a top Democratic pollster, and Charles Franklin, a University of Wisconsin–Madison political scientist. They are especially adept at synthesizing results from many polls, as well as alerting readers about methodological developments. ■

2008: Political junkie heaven

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The shape of

newspapers

Here and in Europe, same problems

ownsizing of newspapers is rife in America and also the United Kingdom, where in recent years some of the most prestigious newspapers in the world have trimmed their resources, both in people and content.

Over here In the colonies, as Brits still call us, U.S. journalists are being asked to retire en masse. In September 2007, 60 staff members at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch accepted a buyout offer, the second in two years. In recent months, the Flint Journal, Milwaukee St. Journal Sentinel, San Antonio ExpressNews and USA Today offered buyout packages to their staffs. In 2006, more than 100 newspaJenna Steege per employees at Cox Ohio Publishing were given similar packages just in time for Christmas. Days later, the entire staff of the King County Journal in Kent, Wash., was informed by Cox Ohio Publishing, that within a month it would close its doors for good. Journalists are getting laid off as well as bought off. In March, Samuel Zell (Forbes’ 52nd-richest American) bought the Tribune Corp. which publishes the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times. In April, Zell cut 250 jobs. CNN reported that layoffs at media companies nearly doubled during the first quarter this year. But it's a fiction that journalism is in a bad way. Contrary to popular belief—and the litany of career casualties mentioned above—the news isn’t dying; it’s shape-shifting. While the statistics seem harrowing, they indicate a trend toward a new, journalistic strain of Darwinism—an evolution driven by a survival of the first to accept and adapt to changes in the market. How do professionals adjust to changes in the media market? As Robert Thomson, the London Times’ editor, put it: “Journalism, in print or online,

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by Jenna Steege which fails to address the readers (or is inherently contemptuous of them), is a slightly deranged soliloquy whose discordant echoes are a reminder that the speaker has stopped taking his medication.” Lured away from print by more promising returns on the Web, advertisers “have become more costconscious and have learned how to reach narrowly tailored audiences on the Internet,” Richard PérezPeña of The New York Times pointed out. Brian Tierney, CEO of Philadelphia Media Holdings, says that complacency in the industry is the problem. In an interview with PR Tactics, he said that up until 2001 newspapers were making so much money that they could live “a fat and happy life,” one in which “you had advertising sales people who could basically wait for the order.” Tierney’s company recently took the reins at the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News, where it’s taking advantage of advertising— the very medium that threatens to gobble up, or starve, its newspapers. These Philadelphia papers have launched an ad campaign featuring flying pigs, to spread a light-hearted message about their seemingly far-fetched goal to maintain steady circulation. At the same time, news holes are shriveling to accommodate expanding ad space in what Jack Shafer of Slate magazine refers to as “Liposuction for Newspapers”—sending a message about how we prioritize current events and commercialism in America.

Over there But America isn’t the only nation whose media diet has reduced its portion sizes. The major papers of Great Britain have experienced distinct, yet parallel changes. While British print has responded to its readership’s habits with aesthetic changes— both to layout and physical size—few American papers have followed suit. “New World newspapers look old-fashioned to Old World eyes,” commented Frances Stead Sellers, an editor at the Washington Post, in the American Journalism Review last year. This is due, in part, to the “tabloidization” of most British broadsheets over the past few years. In response to the popularity of racy tabloids like the Sun, the Mirror and the Mail, London broadsheets

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like the Times and the Independent have trimmed perDeathWatch.com), others predict how its rebirth down to tabloid size. Against the grain, the Daily will take shape in the years to come. In fact, the Telegraph advertises its refusal to clip content with World Association of Newspapers recently pubthe slogan, “Impact, not compact.” The Financial lished “Envisioning the Newspaper 2020,”the first of seven strategy reports in its Shaping the Future Times has also preserved its broadsheet form. The Guardian Unlimited Online is proof that of the Newspaper Project. In it, media experts made shrewd business sense and a commitment to qual- educated predictions about how journalism will ity journalism are not mutually exclusive. The Web evolve in response to changes in technology and the site, which is updated at least every 15 minutes, market. Some foresee tech-savvy businessmen reading offers digital editions of the Guardian identical to that day’s printed version. As an extra, each article full-length articles on their palm pilots; others, ends with a dated list of related articles sorted by like Richard Watson of the Future Exploration Nettopic. The Guardian’s bells and whistles are backed work in Australia, don’t see newspapers pulling a disappearing act any by substance—and time soon. recognition. Last “They don’t need year, the Guardian power, there’s no Unlimited won the The shape of screen glare, they international Webby newspapers don’t crash and Award for best newswhen you’re finished paper site. with them they can A common fear be safely recycled,” among newspaper Watson said. staffs is that a sucPerhaps the liquicessful Web site will dation, liposuction cannibalize its print he St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Nov. 6, and general scaling parent. Fortunately, 2007, that its Sunday edition showed a most down of the print the Guardian is imrecent 0.4 percent gain in Sunday circulamedia are evidence mune to this probtion, while its weekday circulation declined by 4 of the postmodern lem due to financial percent. “salad bar” mentalbacking from the The Post quoted the Audit Bureau of Circulaity: Sample a few Scott Trust, which tion report that Sunday print circulation for the articles here, dabble has a mission “to papers combined fell 3.5 percent. Aside from the in an advertorial maintain the jourPost, only the Houston Chronicle and the St. there and season nalistic and commerPetersburg Times gained in Sunday circulation. with a saucy tabloid cial principles” of Print circulation at 609 daily newspapers, the smear. With so C.P. Scott, a former Post reported, fell 2.6 percent. Of the top 25 many media sources editor. Without the newspapers, 21 showed weekday circulation to choose from, it’s confines of an adlosses. no wonder that motivated budget, The three that reported gains were USA Today, today’s recipe for the Guardian has the Los Angeles Times and the Philadelphia the well-informed more freedom and Inquirer. The St. Petersburg Times reported no citizen has such flexibility than its change in its circulation. ■ varied ingredients. competition—it may But are we noncomrepresent the model Charles Klotzer mittal or are we newspaper because renaissance readit can afford the ers? quest for ideals. Today’s newspapers come in many shapes and The perception that UK news sources are paring back less than their American counterparts is false. sizes, but trends in America and Britain do not In 2002, Capital Radio laid off 10 percent of its work indicate one correct formula to yield financially force. The British Broadcasting Company, which viable results. Since the Web cooked up unlimhas shed 9 percent of its staff since 2004, proposed ited new options for delivering news, journalism to cut an additional 12 percent this October. And has become a subjective and unpredictable sciTelegraph Media Group felt the backlash of its ence. However, a journalist’s duty is not to cling to downsizing decisions when it “shouldered $20m in costs for a slew of job cuts,” relocation and redun- yesterday’s newspaper, regardless of its shape, dancy costs, the Guardian Unlimited reported in but to help discover new ways to break the mold and serve it up to the world. ■ November 2007. While some bemoan the supposed “death” of the newspaper (among them the dismal Newspa- Jenna Steege is a senior at St. Louis University’s Madrid campus.

Daily readers decline; Sunday Post-Dispatch gains

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ntil about two years ago, I intended to be a newspaperman well into my late 60s, maybe longer, God willing. What better life for someone who loves writing, figuring out people and events and reporting and commenting on them? Surely, there would be a place for someone who bootstrapped into the Kansas City Star in 1969 after three years in the Army and learned the trade under some very demanding editors while earning two degrees; someone who came to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 1985 as an editorial writer and was oh-so-proud to be at a newspaper with a national, and even international, reputation. Then, last August, when the word rippled through the newsroom that Lee Enterprises, the Post's owner, was offering another round of buyouts, I couldn’t get my name on the list fast enough. My wife

our 50s and 60s, is our hard-won reputations as journalists of integrity and the savvy and skills to get the story right. We can't brag or threaten unless, of course, we have an iron-clad contract with a publisher—and that's not likely for most of us. Working for a newspaper assures a writer that he or she has a hungry editor who will work a story and publish it. Being a free-lancer means starting over every day. It's fundamentally an existential life: If you don’t work, if you don’t produce, you don’t exist—and your family may not eat. Nothing is guaranteed. No safety net. No Newspaper Guild to in-tervene on your behalf when the real world gets a little rough. Buyouts and retirements are all the rage in newspapers nation-wide as they reduce overhead, i.e., the salaries of experienced reporters and editors whose primary value is their knowledge and experience. Few fit the description

remarked that the day the offer came down, I was "positively giddy" with excitement at the thought of leaving the paper. I was 62. Was this the same Post that caused me many times to swell with pride because I was on its staff? What had changed? Some will say it's Lee’s management-bynumbers style, plus the changes wrought by the Internet, declining circulation and that litany of factors with which most of us are familiar. After a bit of reflection, I think it's more. I’m still a writer, as curious as ever. I and journalists of my generation know more about the world than we ever have. We still love trying to decipher the news and its impact. We still yearn for the snap of a good story that tells us something we didn't know. I checked with other former Post colleagues to see how they have adjusted to being away from life on a big-city daily newspaper. They seem to be doing fine, with interesting variations in their stories. I, too, having quickly had new business cards printed to establish my next assumed identity, have begun a second life as a free-lance journalist. I even had lunch with a free-lancer I respect to see how she does it. I reminded myself not to take on too much too soon, but to keep challenging myself. One of the first things I noticed was that I found myself intuitively being more polite, even solicitous, since I know there's no institution like a newspaper to back me up. A source may call a Post reporter back because he or she has to. But a freelancer? Not so likely. All we have, we who are starting over in

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of a top-quality journalist more aptly than Terry Ganey, projects editor for the Columbia (Mo.) Daily Tribune who is responsible for the Sunday Perspectives section. Sometimes he edits; sometime he reports and writes. What newspaper editor in his or her right mind wouldn't want a reporter of Ganey's caliber on the staff—a nationally recognized investigative reporter, Pulitzer Prize finalist, one of the Post's most dependable, profession-al and dedicated? Yet Ganey, who was the Jefferson City bureau chief, left the Post more than two years ago, when 41 newsroom staffers took that buyout. Another 39 left in September. "When I went to that paper, I thought I had arrived," Ganey said in a recent interview. Why did he leave 28 years later at 57 and the peak of his abilities? "If they are willing to pay me to go away," he said, "I get the hint." Ganey took one day off after departing the Post, then reported to the Tribune to start covering the education beat, the richest in that town with the University of Missouri, Stephens College and Columbia College. Ganey saw things at the Post when he decided to leave that he didn't like. He could make a personal comparison. Years ago, when he was considering taking an executive position with Investigative Reporters and Editors, the editor at the time called him. "Bill Woo got so upset that I was considering leaving," Ganey said. "He asked, 'What can we do to keep you?'" That was then. When Ganey decided to get out in 2005, no editor called. And he

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said he was thinking about the way do while at the Post. She plans to the Post was changing, the way it teach, write and freelance copy edit. She's glad to be on her own. Her job handled stories and investigations. "I wanted to be at the Post I knew, was lacking much that would stimubut it doesn't exist any more. I say late her. "I was feeling kind of isolated," this not with rancor, but with sadMorgan said. "I was just sitting there ness," Ganey said. Another long-time Post journalist, looking at a computer screen." For many of us in Morgan’s generJohn Linstead, who spent nearly 30 years on the staff as a copy editor, ation, staring at a computer screen jumped at the chance to retire last is not why we got into journalism. year. His transition, his challenge to We wanted contact with people, himself, was to get in shape to hike interviews, writing and shaping stothe 2,000 miles of the Appalachian ries. We wanted to get out of the office to sense and experience a Trail. story, not just Unlike Ganey, Google it and click Linstead, 66, emfrom one Web site to phasizes that he another. retired from journalLike others of us ism, a step he who have left the believes he has Post, Morgan's colearned. Today, he umn on food has spends hours readbeen outsourced— ing at his local to her as a freelibrary, enjoys his lancer. She still unstructured time writes every week, and finds the freeas do I and others, dom gratifying. but we are paid by Still, he said he the article. The misses his colnewspaper gets our leagues on the copy work—at a bargain. desk, the camaRepps Hudson The changes at raderie most of us the Post and other love about this pronewspapers are so fession. significant and rapid "I find it difficult that no one knows to face going back" If they where the profession to the newsroom, is headed. Linstead said. "It are willing Who knows where feels so constrainmost newspapers to pay me ing." will be in five or 10 Linstead, too, to go away, years. Who knows if wonders what's hapthey will exist in pening to newspaI get the hint. print—probably—or pers that are shedwhat will be the qualding, in many cases, — Terry Ganey, ity of the reporting their most experiFormer and editing. enced hands. It is tempting to St. Louis-Post-Dispatch "Newspapers throw stones (after across the country reporter all, how can they are failing because ever do without us?) they are making it but there are still worse," he said. good journalists He reads the Post there—and some younger staffers for local news; anything else he gets from The New York Times Web site, a have been promoted, which can model many small and mid-sized bring new life to a daily news operation. papers seem to be adopting. I do know, as Ganey said, the At 51, another dedicated former Post copy editor, Babette Morgan, paper is no longer the one we hired has struggled some with not going to on to work for. That's why so many work after nearly 21 years in the of us have left and are now trying to find out what we can do now that our newsroom. A single parent with a 6-year-old experience and skills have been son, Morgan wants to find the right deemed of less value than saving combination of work that lets her money on our salaries. ■ have "the same schedule as he does." Repps Hudson, now a freelance writer, She wants to pick him up from retired from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch as a busischool, give him her time and atten- ness-page columnist in September but still tion—something she couldn't easily writes a column for the paper.

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

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A damned good editor

by Sue Ann Wood

George Killenberg

Continued from back cover

tor and, finally, executive editor, firmly guiding the news policy of the paper every step of the way. As mild-mannered in appearance and demeanor as Clark Kent, he never lost his temper, swore at anyone or criticized a staff member openly. If he had any criticism to make, he did it in the privacy of an office, not in the newsroom. Local news was his passion. He insisted on “localizing” national news stories by finding, if possible, an angle that would explain how the subject of the story would impact the St. Louis area. He came to work every day brimming with story ideas, often triggered by something he had noticed while driving to work or by something he had read in another overwhelming newspaper or magazine. His finger was numbers to object to the expertly on the pulse of the average bill that the hearing had to be moved to a Globe-Democrat reader. larger room. After the stormy session At his twice-daily meetings with his reached its close, committee members news editors, he might suggest a story quickly voted to kill the bill. that would evoke little enthusiasm from Something that irritated Killenberg the editors. That would cause him to say, was to see news stories that reduced testily, “Nobody’s going to like this story human beings to mere statistics, such as but the readers!” He was usually right. reports of the number of people killed on Killenberg often looked back longingly highways during holiday weekends or — George Killenberg the at the days when reporters on beats like a numerical tally of murder victims during police and courts never wrote their stoa rising crime rate. Former editor, ries but would phone in the facts to a He wanted stories to reflect the human St. Louis Globe-Democrat rewrite person who would ask pertinent loss of life and to demand of officials the questions to verify facts and look up backcauses and possible solutions to the probground material in the morgue. lems that caused it. The nation’s When reporters on beats or other out-of-office assign- extremely high total of highway deaths in the 1960s ments began writing and sending in stories by computer, appalled him, and he hated reading quotes from safety Killenberg thought the quality of most stories went down. experts who blamed most car crashes on driver error. He Some of the best stories in the paper were written by vet- thought the cause of many accidents was poorly designed eran staffers who once had been rewrite men and women. highways and automobiles, which then had no safety belts He encouraged enterprise by his reporters and often made or airbags. suggestions for improving a story. One day, he assigned me the task of doing research and One day, Bill Feustel, then the City Hall reporter, told Kil- writing a series of articles that would report the actual lenberg about a pending aldermanic bill that would weaken causes of most highway deaths and what could be done to the city zoning laws by permitting more single-family reduce their number. Dutifully, I began interviewing safety houses to be converted into previously illegal rooming experts in government and the insurance industry and read houses in residential neighborhoods. Killenberg suggested stacks of reports that soon revealed to me the little-known that Feustel call presidents of all the city neighborhood fact that fully half of all highway fatalities were the result of associations to get their opinions of the bill. Naturally, most drunken driving. of them were unaware of the bill or that it was soon to be the I went to Killenberg and told him I wanted to focus the subject of an aldermanic committee’s public hearing that series on drunken driving, the lack of effective laws and was scheduled on a winter evening when the bill’s sponsors enforcement and the need for court sentences that required obviously thought few members of the public would attend. treatment programs for alcoholics, who were the most perAfter the story in the Globe-Democrat ran, outraged sistent repeat offenders. neighborhood association members turned out in such While it wasn’t what he had originally wanted, he gave me

We put out a damned good newspaper.

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Not a fan of SJR

Photos courtesy of Sue Ann Wood

Killenberg and the author, Sue Ann Wood the go-ahead. The series, and the follow-up news stories and strong editorial-page demands for law reforms, brought the Globe-Democrat a prestigious Alfred Sloan Award for newspaper stories about highway safety. While Killenberg was city editor, the Globe-Democrat won a Pulitzer Prize for investigative stories on corruption in the St. Louis Pipefitters Union. Killenberg had turned over his office to Denny Walsh and Al Delugach, the prize-winning reporters, during the months they worked on the investigation. In addition to the Pulitzer, the Globe-Democrat won other awards, including a gold medal from the University of Missouri School of Journalism, and was the only newspaper in the country to be among the top 10 finalists for the coveted public service award from the Associated Press Managing Editors Association for five consecutive years, of which George was very proud. A devoted family man, Killenberg kept his private life carefully separate from his professional one. He never let his religion (Catholic) or political views (Democrat though the Globe-Democrat was Republican) influence his decisions, and he demanded that the news pages give fair and equal coverage to all local, state and national election candidates, regardless of which ones the editorial page was endorsing. His hiring policy greatly increased the number of women and minorities

on the staffs of the news and features departments, including the first woman reporter on the sports staff. He also promoted women, including me, to some top editorships that women never held before at the Globe-Democrat or at most metropolitan newspapers in the years before the mid-1980s. After his retirement, Killenberg became an Internet surfer, sending on to family members and friends articles about medical and political subjects that interested him most. Although his beloved wife Therese was in fragile health during the past few years, his health problems began to restrict his activities only recently. He had a happy celebration of his 90th birthday last March 30, surrounded by his wife, all five of his children and many of his 12 grandchildren. However, the death of his wife on Nov. 10 hit him hard. He had a setback that put him in the hospital and a rehabilitation unit for a short time. But he recovered in time to be back in his north county home by Christmas. One of his favorite things is to get together with other old Globe-Democrat employees and talk about their newsroom days. Asked how he would sum up his feelings about those days, he says, with quiet pride: “We put out a damned good newspaper.” ■ Sue Ann Wood was a reporter, city editor and managing editor of the St. Louis GlobeDemocrat until it first closed in 1984. She later became a St. Louis Post-Dispatch writer, editor and reader’s advocate.

eorge Killenberg didn't like his St. Louis GlobeDemocrat reporters contributing information to the St. Louis Journalism Review, which was established to scrutinize the media, mainly the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Globe-Democrat. One reporter at the GlobeDemocrat, the late Gus Lumpe, was one of the organizers of SJR in 1970, when the first issue explored the joint operating agreement of the Globe-Democrat and Post. Lumpe was later let go from the Globe-Democrat. And SJR was told by Killenberg it was not allowed to use its morgue. Killenberg, a Democrat at a Republican newspaper, was sensitive to complaints about the paper's angry editorials. He also was quick to complain when national publications, such as the Columbia Journalism Review, slighted the Globe-Democrat in any articles about St. Louis journalism. Editors at the Post respected Killenberg for his knowledge of the city, savvy news judgment and aggressive reporting. With a smaller and feisty staff, the Globe-Democrat was able to overtake the Post in daily circulation by more than 20,000 subscribers. This helped the Globe-Democrat's owner, the Newhouse chain, when it negotiated the shut down of the paper in 1984 and entered into a deal to share profits with the Post. For a time, the Post used Killenberg as a consultant. Roy Malone

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Ad/PR / Rick Stoff

ost readers of SJR probably agree that our news media comprise one of the crucial threads sustaining our democracy. The news media, in turn, rely on advertising revenues for sustenance. Current economic trends are hurting overall advertising spending and the surviving advertising dollars are fleeing the traditional print and broadcast media in search of ever-narrower niche markets. U.S. newspaper revenues for print advertising peaked at $48.7 billion in 2000, according to the Newspaper Association of America. Rising income from online ads has offset falling print income, resulting in $49.3 billion in total ad revenue in 2006. The statistics show that print ad dollars declined 1.7 percent in 2006 while online ads rose 31.5 percent, resulting in an overall decline of 0.32 percent.

revenues for print advertising peaked at $48.7 billion in 2000, according to the Newspaper Association of America.

RIck Stoff, a former St. Louis Globe Democrat reporter and editor, now practices public relations at his own firm, Stoff Communications

ZenithOptimedia of London issued a yearend forecast stating that global expenditures on Internet advertising will pass radio in 2008. Newspaper advertising, it projects, will fall from a 28.3-percent share of ad spending in 2007 to 27.6 percent in 2008 and 27.0 percent in 2009. "Newspaper expenditure is essentially stagnant, as readers and advertisers migrate to the Internet." Television will slip from 37.7 percent to 37.6 percent, according to ZenithOptimedia. The magazine share is expected to fall from 12.7 percent to 12.4 percent. Radio is forecast to fall from 8.2 percent last year to 7.9 percent in 2009. Internet advertising, meanwhile, will grow from 7.0 percent in 2007 to 8.7 percent in 2009. Another source of industry tracking information, the private equity firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson, has predicted that Internet advertising sales will pass those of newspapers in 2011 and become the largest segment of the business. "The alternative advertising and marketing segments produced the strongest gains in the 2001-2006 period, as intensified competition for consumers' time and attention amid a dizzying array of media choices prompted major brands to ratchet up their use of alternative media strategies," stated a VSS report. A company called Kubas Consultants surveyed 500 executives at daily newspapers and released a report in December. The conclusion: "There is generally a negative picture regarding newspaper advertising revenue expectations in 2008." The Kubas report states, "All classified categories are expected to further weaken in 2008." About 70 percent of newspaper executives said they would emphasize expansion of online services and ad sales this year. "Newspapers have almost no choice when it comes to pursuing online ad revenue. It's a way of recovering lost classified advertising, and online is the only clear area of upside revenue that a newspaper can identify."

Newspaper ads stagnant; online growing

Advertising predictions

U.S. newspaper

Online ads to grow

Industry leaders and analysts had predicted that the media would face hard times in 2007. Actual results, it turned out, may differ. One of the best-known industry prognosticators is Robert J. Coen of Universal McCann. Last month he forecast a 0.7-percent increase in total advertising revenues for 2007, down from a prediction of 4.8 percent made in December 2006. Coen recently projected 3.7 percent growth in advertising revenues for 2008, including a 16.5-percent increase for the Internet and a 1-percent decline for newspapers. Total expenditures in "measured advertising" rose 0.2 percent in the first three quarters of 2007, according to TNS Media Intelligence. Spending in local newspapers declined 5.1 percent and radio was down 1.8 percent. Network television fell 3.0 percent and spot TV went down 6.8 percent. Increases were tracked in Internet display advertising (17.2 percent), consumer magazines (6.4 percent) and cable television (4.7 percent). Market share of advertising dollars was lost by national and local TV, newspapers and radio in the first nine months of the year. Magazines and the Internet gained share. "The anemic growth rates in measured ad spending reflect a market that is under stress from cyclical business conditions and fundamental structural changes," said Jon Swallen, senior vice president of research at TNS, in a statement accompanying the report.

JANUARY 2008 ST LOUIS JOURNALISM REVIEW | 18

Lee Enterprises grows online ads An investor slide show posted on the Web site of Lee Enterprises, owner of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, boasted that its properties have posted the best online revenue growth in the industry. A chart continued on page 25

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sports & media / Joe Pollack

The Thursday night game provided an NFLinstituted blackout because Charter, despite its many shortcomings, has shown the courage to tell the NFL to shove it.

Joe Pollack is a former St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist

he Rams are drifting hopelessly, but at least they display no offense to anyone except their ever-dwindling fan base; the Cardinals are showing clues of struggling with the same disease of front-office dysfunction that plagues their football fellows up the street. All in all, it looks as if only the Blues and the Mizzou football team are showing improvement from their previous seasons. At least the cursing and gnashing of teeth and gnawing on beer bottles have lessened for hockey fans, except for the few (including a close friend) who gave up season tickets in disgust over the disaster that was 2006-2007. The Blues deserve some praise. The front office moves seem successful, Andy Murray's coaching looks good. Brad Boyes has proved himself a fine addition, and the departures have not shown major aftereffects. The "we'll do anything" television commercials sometimes have been fun, if as overblown as most advertising campaigns. However—and unfortunately, there's always a however—the radio broadcasts of the games send me scurrying for the on-off switch. Television is better, though I prefer to turn the volume low and continue reading, either looking up from time to time to see what's what or being prodded by a roar from the crowd. Radio is different. One must listen, and our announcers are so busy chit-chatting or discussing what they do when they're not at a game that I rarely know what's going on. I prefer to read about the game in the newspaper the next morning.

yards a carry in only two games, the last two losses against Green Bay and Pittsburgh. Two other games show him with an average of more than 3 yards a carry, in six games he averaged between 2 and 3 yards a carry, and against Seattle, while he had a total of 90 yards on 23 carries, his 53-yard run left him with an average of less than 2 yards a carry in 22 of them. Jackson has shown a "gimme the ball" attitude all season, but when he has the ball, he doesn't do very much with it. The Rams and their fans, however, have provided one benefit. By not selling out games, there have been enough blackouts that we have avoided some of the terrible announcing teams displayed by Fox, and the Thursday night game provided an NFL-instituted blackout because Charter, despite its many shortcomings, has shown the courage to tell the NFL to shove it. Speaking of the Rams, the illness of owner Georgia Frontiere may have more effect on the Rams and on St. Louis than any action by the team or its executives. A Bernie Miklasz column seemed only a step or two away from being an obituary, and her death would cause more problems than anyone can count, including the chance that St. Louis would lose another football team. Someone who comes in with enough money to buy the team would get instant NFL approval to move it—especially back to Los Angeles.

Rams, Cards struggling; not Blues, Mizzou

Rams need a running back With Marshall Faulk having retired, the big load of the Rams' ground game has fallen to Steven Jackson, and he just doesn't seem able to do it. Oh, he's in the top half of NFL running backs in terms of yards gained, but a look at his statistics shows he is not nearly consistent enough. In most games, Jackson has had one long run, but it has skewed the totals. For example, against Cincinnati, he gained 91 yards on 18 carries, but if you deduct a 54yard run, he was 17 for 37, barely more than 2 yards a carry. This has happened in almost every game, so that his season average of 4.3 yards a carry is misleading. Deducting his one long run from the totals, Jackson has averaged more than 4

Baseball remains king The baseball season has been over for two months, and spring training won't start for another month, yet when the St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports section listed its five most-read Web site sports stories of a previous week, all of them were related to baseball. The non-story about the investigation into drugs by the George Mitchell commission keeps getting top play and large amounts of space while columnists—both here and elsewhere— continue to pound out words about the future, the Hall of Fame voting, the record books and many other inane and arcane subjects. It's a non-issue. Records will not be expunged, the Hall of Fame will not expel any of its members. Users, whether actual or simply victims of the witch hunt, probably will not be voted into the Hall, continued on page 25

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Channels / Tripp Frohlichstein

The Press Club should allow anyone speaking there to be interviewed. A PR club could protect people it didn't want interviewed, but not a Press Club.

Tripp Frohlichstein owns Media Masters and consults with business, government and non-profit organizations. He will not comment on any television coverage if it involves his clients.

t might be time to change the name of the St. Louis Press Club to the PR Flack club. Joe Buck was being honored by the club in late November, and Cardinals Manager Tony La Russa, who that day had been sentenced in his drunk-driving case in Florida, was there. The problem was, the press was not allowed to talk to La Russa at the Press Club. Press Club representative Joan Quicksilver was in charge. Now, Quicksilver is an excellent public relations person. The problem is that her role as a PR person conflicted with the essence of the Press Club. The Press Club should allow anyone speaking there to be interviewed. A PR club could protect people it didn't want interviewed, but not a Press Club. A video posted on YouTube (http://youtube.com/watch?v=UmjPzGxxs G4) shows a determined Quicksilver preventing KTVI (Channel 2) reporter Theresa Woodard from talking to La Russa. A Press Club officer, who asked to remain anonymous, says the video does not tell the whole story. The officer says Quicksilver said they could have access to La Russa during the dinner but Channel 2 did not stay. “They got the stuff they wanted and left” says the officer. The officer also says that La Russa had said he did not want to talk with the press. Still, the officer says, they did have access to La Russa from 7-8:30 p.m., but no one took advantage of that. Anyone could have come up and talked to him. Channel 2 News Director Kingsley Smith says the news team at the event does not remember it that way. They were not told they could have access later in the evening, he says. Smith pointed out that the Press Club had given access to Channel 2 to interview Joe Buck but not La Russa. The officer says the Press Club raised $100,000 for scholarships. The officer also said: “The press hinders this organization. The various press organizations don't help us. The press in this town is so political—they only care about themselves. If it weren't for the PR people, young people wouldn't get the scholarships they are getting. "The press isn’t supporting us," the officer added. "If they (media) don't like what happened, get involved. If they have a complaint, they can join and make it better."

Press Club President Alice Handelman said of the request to interview La Russa, "That moment in time was inappropriate. They could go up to the dais during the evening, but the show was beginning. . .at no time would the Press Club deny the press access.'' The very name "Press Club" should mean access. A call to the Atlanta Press Club revealed that they "always allow" interviews with any speaker at a press club event. Lauri Strauss, executive director, said their goal is always to allow one-on-one time with speakers. Upon telling her about the St. Louis situation, she said that would not have happened in Atlanta. In the end, the Press Club should allow access to any speaker or participant in any activity, unless they are specified as "off the record" in advance. That was not the case here. That's why it might make more sense to split the club up into the Press Club and the PR Club. If a press club without support from the PR community won’t make it, then so be it.

Press Club not so press-friendly

JANUARY 2008 ST LOUIS JOURNALISM REVIEW | 20

Atta boy, Dave Once again, Channel 2 meteorologist Dave Murray served local viewers better than KSDK (Channel 5)’s Cindy Preszler or KMOV (Channel 4)’s Kent Ehrhardt. On Dec. 14, a major winter storm was predicted for St. Louis. Channel 2 led its 9 p.m. news with weather. During the segment, Murray not only talked about what was happening right then but told viewers what to expect through the next day in terms of snow totals. Preszler and Ehrhardt reported only the current situation. Both told viewers that to find out how much snow might fall, they would have to stay tuned for the weather segment. This is a disservice to viewers. When serious weather threatens, all the relevant information should be revealed as part of the lead story. When there is a big shooting, the reporter does not say to stay tuned later in the broadcast and you'll find out who was shot. Under regular weather conditions, I have no problem with weathercasters holding back some information to get us to stay tuned. But not when it is more serious weather.

KTVI blew it on Pujols rumors Channel 2 can say what it wants to defend its airing of what it acknowledged as "unsubstantiated rumors" that Albert Pujols would be named as one of the players taking steroids in the Mitchell Report.

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He wasn't. There is no defense. They blew it. A local newscast is not the place to report rumors. Previously, I was equally critical of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Sylvester Brown for using "unsubstantiated rumors" to blast Mayor Francis Slay for the demotion of Fire Chief Sherman George. In a fine Dan Caesar article in the Dec. 15 Post, Channel 2 News Director Kingsley Smith contends it was part of the "edgier" side of the station's news. Poppycock. It was just wrong. The other stations, says Caesar, were aware of the rumor but chose restraint. Smith should have simply admitted Channel 2 made a mistake and moved on. Channel 2 is doing a fine job of covering local news. Let's hope this is simply a single error in judgment. In the future, leave "unsubstantiated rumors" to the Internet.

No countdown at KETC KETC (Channel 9) could have served area families and partygoers better on New Year's Eve. The station was going to run a special, "Live From Grand Center" from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. That would have been great to usher in the New Year during the program. But after the writers' strike caused PBS to cancel a Garrison Keillor special, the station moved its special from 10 p.m. to midnight. I suggested it might be a service to viewers if the station could count us down to midnight by extending the show a few minutes. Public Relations Manager Terri Gates replied via e-mail, â&#x20AC;&#x153;No, we're going to stick with our published schedule. After "A Grand Night in St. Louis," we're re-airing our production from last spring, "Live From Grand Center." Gates also said, "We're aiming our broadcast at an audience that doesn't usually stay up until midnight and

that is more interested in the cultural features we'll be highlighting than in the usual, Dick Clark-style New Year's Eve countdown."

Channel 2 sold Now that Channel 2 has been sold by Fox to a private equity fund, what is the future there? After the sale, which should complete in the third quarter of this year, J. Taylor Crandall, a managing partner of Oak Hill Capital Partners, said, "We are very pleased to add this outstanding portfolio of FOX affiliated television stations to the Oak Hill portfolio. These stations, like our existing local TV television stations, have a strong commitment to providing quality news and serving the local community." Let's hope Oak Hill means it. Channel 2 has been improving its product continued on page 25

TV ratings Channel 5's news release touting its success in the November Nielsen ratings period includes this quote: "Whether you're talking morning news, early evening or late news in St. Louis, people overwhelmingly chose NewsChannel 5," says Lynn Beall, president and general manager of KSDK. Well, not exactly. While the station did win most time periods Monday through Friday, it lost to Channel 4 both at noon and the key 10 p.m. slot. On a Monday-through-Sunday basis, Channel 4 says its 10 p.m. lead over Channel 5 was 1.6 points (a ratings point equals 12,444 homes). Meanwhile, Channel 2, which had been coming on strong, has fallen back a bit. While still growing a tad in the morning, it has declined slightly in other time periods compared to last November. Channel 5 has regained its lead in the early morning newscasts, which it had partially ceded to Channel 2 earlier this year. One interesting observation at 10 p.m. is that combined, Channels 4 and 5 lost a ratings point total of 4.4. Channel 2 apparently picked up all of those news viewers, as its new 10 p.m. news gets a 4.3 rating. The share represents the number of homes tuned in to a particular channel at a particular time compared to all homes watching television. So if a total of 100 people are watching TV at 6 p.m. and 15 are watching Channel 200, the share for Channel 200 is 15. The midday numbers compare Channel 2's hour at 11 a.m. with Channel 5's hour at noon and Channel 4's halfhour at noon.

M-F 6-6:30 p.m.

Nov. 2006 rtg/s

Nov. 2007 rtg/sh

+/-

Channel 2

5.0/8

4.6/8

-8%/0%

Channel 4

10.9/18

8.7/15

-20%/-17%

Channel 5

14.9/24

13.2/22

-11%/-8%

Channel 11

3.6/6

5.7/10

58%/67%

Channel 30

3.0/5

2.8/5

-7%/0%

Channel 46

0.9/1

0.5/1

-44%/0%

M-F 10-10:30 p.m.

Nov. 2006 rtg/s

Nov. 2007 rtg/sh

+/-

Channel 2

4.7/7 (non-news)

4.3/7

-9%/0%

Channel 4

16.5/25

14.3/22

-13%/-12%

Channel 5

15.2/23

13.0/21

-14%/-9%

Channel 11

3.1/5

5.2/8

68%/60%

Channel 30

2.3/4

2.2/3

-4%/-25%

Channel 46

0.7/1

0.3/1

-57%/0%

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am/fm / Joe Sonderman

Radio was once the leading form of discovering new music. It has been replaced by digital downloads and can't compete with the diversity of satellite or online radio.

Joe Sonderman is a traffic producer and anchor for Total Traffic, and reporter and on-air personality for KLOU (103.3 FM).

he radio personality one day may be as rare as a buggy maker or telegrapher. Citing research that says listeners want to hear their favorite personalities, even if they are merely voice-tracked, Clear Channel is eliminating live bodies during the mid-day shifts across the country. The real reason for the move is probably because it also eliminates those pesky salaries. But programmers are also struggling to compete with the iPod, which just plays music without interruption. Don't be surprised when the other chains follow. Already, live shifts during the overnight and weekend hours are rare. Do the listeners care? They probably think it's a blessing because corporate radio trained them to accept it. An entire generation has grown up without hearing compelling content or listener interaction between the songs. What they have heard is banal chatter or mindless liner card readers. On KSD (93.7 FM). you can now hear morning driver Craig Cornett from 5:30 a.m.-noon, although the last three hours will probably be voice-tracked. Billy Greenwood will be on the air from noon7 p.m., voice-tracking outside the heart of drive time. KLOU (103.3 FM) went "jockless," with no personalities for the entire week after Christmas. Did anyone notice? You can now hear Julie Buck from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., but most of her show will be voice tracked. Paul Arca will be on from 4-9 p.m. Dodie Rahlmann moves back to 9 p.m.-3 a.m. The Smash Morning Show’s hours have not changed. At hit music station KSLZ (107.7 FM), Taylor J will be on 11 a.m.-2 p.m. The talented Curt Copeland extends his shift to include 2-7 p.m., and Haze now handles 7 p.m.-2 a.m. On KMJM (104.9 FM), Darrell Eason will handle 9 a.m.-1 p.m., and Tony Scott will be on from 1-7 p.m. The shifts will be voice tracked for the most part outside of 3-6 p.m. While budget cuts are probably the main reason for the switch, some research is indicating that the traditional day parts are no longer relevant, since far fewer people work the old 9 to 5. Radio executives are also aware that listeners no longer buy into the hype. Phrases like “Number One Hit Music Station,” or “The Best Variety” are just so much noise to the listener. Music stations are in trouble unless they do something unique to bond with the listeners.

Downsizing radio personalities

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Today's listeners are much more sophisticated. They know that if a personality is on the air for seven hours, the show is probably voice tracked. Personalities are the only thing keeping radio from giving it all up to the iPod and the Internet. The younger demos won't know what they are missing.

Music on the radio Corporate stations seem not to understand why people are listening less. They continue to cut personnel and add commercials while playing the same safe scientifically tested Billy Joel, Elton John and Journey records. Radio is boring. When we were growing up, the stations were also playing the same music. What they did between records is what kept us tuned in. A lack of independent stations is snuffing out compelling content. Radio was once the leading form of discovering new music. It has been replaced by digital downloads and can't compete with the diversity of satellite or online radio. If you want variety, online or satellite is the way to go. The amount of music paid for online is up by 100 percent in one year. Radio is technologically inferior, and HD2 radio is a bust. When television arrived, people predicted radio would die. But the industry redefined itself and not only survived, but thrived. The experts predicted AM radio would die when FM emerged. But the AM stations redefined their product to provide news and talk. The challenges from technology are even more daunting today, and radio will have to change again. It's becoming more difficult to report on local music radio because it is quickly becoming irrelevant. Listeners are now bombarded by choices tailored to their needs and wants. A bar is a good place to gauge people's reaction to music. (The Top 40 format was born when two radio executives noticed people in a bar kept playing the same songs over and over on a jukebox) For years, a little bar on The Hill played KLOU (103.3 FM) or KHIT (96.3 FM) at top volume. So I was surprised to hear some pretty compelling programming coming out of the speakers recently. They were playing awesome '70s hits not heard in years. The bar had turned to satellite radio. The bartender summed it up when he said, "because they don't play the same old s**t." According to Inside Radio, summer

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ratings of Persons Using Radio (PUR) numbers declined to their lowest level since Arbitron began keeping statistics in the fall of 1998. The article reported that radio usage is dropping among all age groups, except for Baby Boomers. The steepest declines are among teens and young adults. The most significant statistic is that all the technology out there is also cutting into the highly coveted 25-54 demographic. Among female listeners, only the 50-54 and 65+ demos did not drop. Men 45-64 are actually listening more. It won't be long until only the elderly will still use terrestrial radio. This 45-year-old listener bought satellite radio recently. Since then, I have turned on local radio only for news and traffic. And I've been disappointed in some of those instances. During that Saturday afternoon snowstorm in December, I tuned to KMOX (1120 AM) only to hear someone droning on about elderly law. In the past, KMOX would have been airing calls from listeners and broadcasting road conditions. It wasn't happening. A flip over to KTRS (550 AM) found it continuing some home improvement show with mostly silly banter. I blame the hosts for being so self-centered. Some think their little show is too important to let important information get in the way. Could we put aside the winter planting tips just for a few minutes when a storm is coming? I had to go to the satellite traffic channel and the Weather Channel to find out what was going on in St. Louis. No wonder we are losing listeners.

Same as it ever was Continued from page 10

pendent in 1884. "… If the people of the United States who are in favor of sound morality follow our advice, they certainly will not bestow the honors of the presidency upon Grover Cleveland. His election would argue a low state of morals among the people, and be a burning shame and never-to-beforgotten disgrace to the nation."

What to do So, what goes around comes around, it appears. The problem is not so much that we keep replaying the same themes, which we do. It is, rather that governments, and those responsible for administering them, naturally behave in self-interested patterns, which are developed to protect their interests, priorities and desires. They tend to be suspicious of

change and new ideas. And newspapers keep doing what they're supposed to do: watch-dogging, interpreting and agenda-setting. This is why it is important—in this day of government efforts to keep information secret, to prosecute employees who leak information, and to punish journalists who tell government secrets—that newspapers and the media keep at it. As some in government try to reset the clocks to 1950s McCarthyism or to 1960s imperialism, newspapers and their editorial writers must keep up the long, tedious battle on behalf of the public interest. The important, and troubling, lesson of history is that sometimes it does repeat. ■ Steve Hallock is an assistant professor of journalism at Point Park University in Pittsburgh. He is a former newspaper editor, columnist and editorial writer.

Yet another sports station Ratings of sports stations in town add up to a tiny blip. So, naturally, we need another! As of the first of the year, “The Talk Monster” KRFT (1190 AM) switched from talk to ESPN Radio. The programming includes "Mike and Mike in the Morning," "The Herd with Colin Cowherd" and "The Mike Tirico Show." Some might recall that 1190 AM had dropped sports talk for politics not too long ago. Big League Broadcasting owns KRFT and allsports KFNS (590 AM). Meanwhile sports talker KSLG (1380 AM) drops ESPN radio for Fox Sports and the new name TEAM 1380 "St. Louis Sports Insiders." The station will remain local from 7 a.m.-6 p.m. None of these stations attracts significant ratings—their signals are horrible, particularly 1380 AM and 1190 AM. ■

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Radio History/Frank Absher

KFUO used its allotted time to begin the religiously oriented portion of the KMOX show, including Christmas carols by the St. Peter's choir and a full communion service, right up to the stroke of midnight.

Frank Absher is a St. Louis radio historian. St. Louis radio history is available online at www.stlradio.com

reezing temperatures at the end of December in St. Louis are to be expected. But even though the mercury dropped to 33 degrees the night of Christmas Eve 1925, a group of engineers had no qualms about trekking to the middle of a farm field in the far-western suburb of Kirkwood for a special nighttime event. That was the night KMOX, St. Louis' "superstation" signed on. The inaugural broadcast, which began at 7 p.m. and lasted well past midnight, focused the spotlight on those who had worked to make the station a reality, and it meant an unusually large contingent of engineers was at the station's new transmitter building. Telephone engineer Ray Elmore recalled just how rural the setting was at the transmitter site: "At the time the location of the two original towers on Geyer Road north of Manchester was a big cow pasture grown up in weeds and brush, and there were no circuits out there. It'll be hard for people who live there now to realize just what I'm talking about. Kirkwood didn't extend beyond Manchester Road north at all…. They had us standing by in case there was trouble on the circuits. And we were standing outside of this little building they had there out in that cow pasture on Christmas Eve." The "little building" to which Elmore referred was actually an 11-room stucco structure that housed the huge transmitting equipment for the station. In an on-air interview at KMOX some 50 years later, Elmore remembered that windy night, but he also remembered a sense among the crew of engineers that the transmitter was part of something very special. For KMOX ownership and management, that inaugural broadcast was noteworthy. Three nights of dress rehearsals were scheduled at the studios in the Mayfair Hotel. Station Music Director Elizabeth Cuney was in charge of coordinating several large ensembles, which were to appear on the program, including the Little Symphony, the vested choir of St. Peter's Episcopal Church and Gene Rodermich's Jazz Orchestra. It was even more of a challenge because of the limited floor space available—the station had only two studios at the time, and there was a large assemblage of dignitaries who were all planning to speak over the air. Studies showed that the station would achieve maximum coverage by broadcast-

ing the event at night, and radio fans across the nation were alerted in advance. An article in the Christian Science Monitor dubbed the coming Christmas Eve broadcast a Christmas gift to the nation. It said: "'The Voice of St. Louis', as it already is known due to the fact that it has been heralded throughout the country by the big civic and industrial enterprises, will perform a territorial service in the main and a national service incidentally in making millions better acquainted with St. Louis and the greater southwest trade territory of which St. Louis is logically the gateway." Who better to extol the virtues of St. Louis than Mayor Victor Miller? He began the speakers' portion of the broadcast by describing KMOX as "our candle on a candlestick through which we shall reach the farther-most corners of this great country of ours and advise them of our ambition, our achievements and our desire for service." The speakers droned on with representatives from each corporate member of the Voice of St. Louis, Inc. being given mike time. At 10:15 p.m., KMOX relinquished the airwaves for 15 minutes to a St. Louis station that had had already been on the air for two years—KFUO. It shared a frequency with KSD and was owned by the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. KFUO used its allotted time to begin the religiously oriented portion of the KMOX show. This included Christmas carols by the St. Peter's choir and then a broadcast of a full communion service, right up to the stroke of midnight. Christmas Day 1925 officially dawned on KMOX with the music of the Gene Rodermich Jazz Orchestra. This was followed with more sharing of time with existing stations, WIL and WSBF. Of all the civic and corporate leaders who addressed the vast, unseen audience over KMOX that night, the man who represented one of the city's newspapers seemed to have the best grasp of the potential of this radio station. The St. Louis Globe-Democrat was one of the Voice of St. Louis shareholders. Globe-Democrat President and Editor E. Lansing Ray said of the station,"… we hope to reflect the advantages of a great city and its market— the commercial, industrial, the civic and the cultural assets of St. Louis . . . . Think, then, of the Voice of St. Louis as a community gift." ■

1925: KMOX becomes the Voice of St. Louis

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Sports & Media Continued from page 19

though Commissioner Bud Selig probably will despite permitting all the bad actors to act badly while he insisted the sky was not falling. Donald Fehr and the players' union share culpability, but there are too many hands trying to lift the rug and wield the brooms to sweep messy details under it. The Cardinals are not quite in free fall this off-season, but it looks as if predictions of Bill DeWitt stripping the team of high-salaried players and proclaiming a rebuilding program will come to pass, though the second part has not yet been announced. David Eckstein, Jim Edmonds and So Taguchi are gone, little effort has been made on the admittedly thin free agent market, and the farm system is almost in shambles.

Poor John Mozeliak has the title of general manager but probably is the lowest-paid GM in baseball, a feat DeWitt accomplished by promoting Mozeliak from his post as assistant. Getting a more experienced performer for the vital role would have been expensive, and DeWitt seems to operate the way other family members did when they owned the Browns, though ticket prices are rising again for 2008. It also was interesting to hear a KSDK interview with Edmonds, who spoke with great affection for Walt Jocketty, but didn't mention either Mozeliak or Manager Tony La Russa.

'Rah for Mizzou Nice to see the Tigers in a bowl game, but the second Oklahoma game proved that its soft schedule did not properly prepare the team for a foe as

good as the Sooners. The basketball team is facing the same sort of dilemma, but today's coaching strategy is to find weak opponents and then run up the scores. With colleges giving performance bonuses to coaches based on rankings and victories, athletic directors (who also may be riding the bonus bronco) will keep scheduling patsies. Speaking of the second Oklahoma game, the Post had seven or eight people traveling to San Antonio and writing about it. But the sports editor should remind the writers not to duplicate a colleague's use of quotes or statistics, and should order the copy desk to delete when used. Reading the same quotes or statistics again and again causes me to question why the budget is being strained to provide no additional news. ■

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shows that online advertising accounted for 12 percent of classified advertising and 6.5 percent of total advertising revenue in fiscal 2007. As a result, Lee's total advertising revenues fell 1.1 percent for the year compared to an industry average decline of 5.6 percent. But wait—there’s more. Even the online media, along with those in print and broadcast, face another trend— the growth in spending on non-advertising marketing. In November, Advertising Age noted that "word of

mouth" activities have grown from a $76-million field in 2001 to one now worth $1 billion. There is now a Word of Mouth Marketing Association that defines the practice as "a pre-existing phenomenon that marketers are only now learning how to harness." Types of WOM include buzz, viral, community, grassroots and cause marketing, product seeding, conversation creation and brand blogging. Goals are making customers happier and encouraging them to tell their friends "about the good qualities of a product or service." ■

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and spending money to do so. Sometimes private equity groups purchase organizations purely for profit. This group should continue to spend money to improve Channel 2 because that will attract more viewers, which means the station can charge more for commercial time. Let's also hope Oak Hill keeps successful (and viewer friendly) General Manager Spencer Koch.

Reporter becomes the story Eric Zorn of the Chicago Tribune reports that in Chicago the story of reporter Amy Jacobson attracted more "attention … sanctimony … and armchair sociology" than any other local story in 2007. He writes, "Jacobson, a veteran reporter for NBC-Ch. 5, accepted a last-minute invitation July 6 to a back-yard gathering in Plainfield, at the home of

Craig Stebic, whose wife, Lisa, had vanished April 30. "Jacobson says she was on her way to take her kids swimming in Chicago when she got the invitation. Sensing an opportunity to get better access to the reclusive man at the center of the mystery, she drove them to Plainfield instead. When a crew from CBS-Ch. 2 videotaped her in a bikini top 'partying' near Stebic's backyard pool, Jacobson lost her job and became the focus of an intense debate about journalism ethics, sexism and even parenting." Jacobson says she has interviewed with local TV news outlets in St. Louis, Tampa, Phoenix and Los Angeles.

Say that again, please Sometimes the politically correct thing gets overdone. At 6 p.m., Dec. 17, after the big snowstorm, Channel 5 weatherman (or is it weatherperson?) John Fuller repeatedly talked

about "snowpersons"… as in Frosty the Snowperson. Channel 5 sportscaster Katie Felts said after the report on baseball and steroids was released, "There's a large portion of the Mitchell Report donated to Roger Clemens." Donated? Is it deductible?

Channel 4, Charter at odds It has been some time since Channel 4's parent company BELO pulled its high-definition signal from Charter. The issue is over payment to carry the signal. Channel 4's Director of Operations Jim Rothschild says, "We are continuing our discussions with Charter and remain hopeful that we will reach an agreement soon." Charter spokeswoman Anita Lamont says, "Discussion is taking place. We remain hopeful that reason will prevail, an agreement will be reached and that it is fair, most importantly for Charter's St. Louis customers." ■

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Sources say...

KTVI's screw-up Kingsley Smith, news director at KTVI (Channel 2) has moved to a larger market, taking the job of news director at Fox 29 in Philadelphia. He will be remembered here as the man who found it hard to admit blame when Channel 2 ran with a rumor that Cardinal star Albert Pujols was on the Mitchell committee's list of baseball players who had used steroids. The story was flat wrong. But Smith did a tap dance saying the station's affiliation with the Fox network allowed it "a certain sense of edginess and aggressiveness" that its competitors didn't have. Other news outlets were also aware of the rumor but did not run it because it couldn't be verified. The bad info came from a list posted by WNBC-TV in New York and CNBC's Web site. A salute goes to Dan Caesar, columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports page who writes about broadcast coverage of sports. He reported that the Riverfront Times put the false rumor on its Web site and that KTVI "went full bore with the story…. the coverage was intense" with reporters sent to Pujols' restaurant and to Busch Stadium for interviews. Smith said KTVI tried to caution viewers that the Pujols report was only what others were saying. But Caesar quoted him as saying that today's competitive environment calls on stations to be more combative and aggressive and "there was a time and place when stations would have been reluctant to put something on the air" like this. While bragging that KTVI’s ratings were improving, he seemed not to care that his scoop was inaccurate. Goodbye Kingsley. Caesar came to the Post in 1988, and then-sports editor Bob Pastin approved his weekly sports media column. "I gave it a try, and I've been doing it ever since," Caesar said. Too bad no one else at the paper provides similar criticism of local television, radio and other media reporting. And too bad the other media do not critique the newspaper.

An inconvenient death It was quite jolting to see Benazir Bhuttto's face on the cover of Parade magazine in the Jan. 6 St. Louis PostDispatch. And her quote: "I am what the terrorists most fear." Bhutto had been assassinated 10 days earlier (Dec. 27) in Pakistan while campaigning for a return to power as prime minister in an upcoming election. Running a profile on someone who

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dies before readers see it is an inherent hazard in print publishing. It's always a gamble, especially for magazines like Parade, which goes to press about three weeks before the magazine is distributed. The story by respected writer Gail Sheehy was based on an interview in late November with Bhutto discussing her possible death by suicide bombers. She had survived an earlier attack that killed 170 of her supporters.

Post focuses on red-light cameras The December SJR cover story, "Cameras: Safety measure or cash cow?" seems to have generated some attention at the Post and in the Missouri Legislature. Or maybe it's just a coincidence. The Post ran an article Dec. 31 that Rep. Chuck Portwood, R-Ballwin, filed a bill to improve state regulation of red-light cameras at intersections so they better address public safety issues and have camera fines go to school districts rather than municipal treasuries. The Post followed with an editorial supporting Portwood's bill, which would also require cities to post warning signs to motorists that red-light cameras are ahead.

Cassilly on Emily Pulitzer Bob Cassilly, founder of the City Museum, was among those asked by the Riverfront Times what his New Year's resolution for the city would be. He was quoted: "I would have Emily Pulitzer redeem herself by buying back the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and reselling it to a real newspaper—or selling it to Christine Bertelson. If she did that, I'd start buying the paper again."

Post puts ad on front page Since Lee Enterprises bought the Post, readers have seen many changes, most of them aimed at cutting costs. Then came those pesky ads pasted to the bottom of the front page, sort of like a large Post-It note. You could peel them off. Now the other shoe has dropped. On Dec. 19, readers saw at the bottom of the front page a two-column yellow ad for Lumiere Place, the new casino and hotel near the riverfront. Staffers were alerted to this first-ever front-page ad by editor Arnie Robbins. He said some other newspapers were doing it, but the Post would not be doing it that much. ■

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people people people people people people people people people people people

Media Notes MEDIA AWARDS St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial page cartoonist R.J. Matson had two of his cartoons listed in Time Magazine's Top 10cartoon list for 2007. The first place award went to Matson's "Cheney 300,'' a cartoon of Dick Cheney pictured as a Spartan warrior leading 300 others, "the only ones still willing to defend the Bush Administration.'' It was a take-off on the comic book-linked movie "300'' and was published free-lance in the New York Observer. The other cartoon, published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and called "Thomas Goes To China,'' was about poisonous products from China that were recalled and being hauled on a "Toxic Railway.'' Media Hall of Famers The University of Missouri–St. Louis and the Mercantile Library have named 22 media professionals who will be inducted for 2008 into the St. Louis Media Halls of Fame, June 7. They are: Print Marquis Childs* Richard Dudman Greg Freeman* Charles L. Klotzer Joe Pollack Melba Sweets* Advertising/PR Wally Armbruster* Charles Claggett Sr.* Charles Claggett Jr. Marty Hendin* Bob Kochan Archie Lee* Ted Simmons Radio Dan Kelly* John Oelke Jack Sampson Television Betsey Bruce Fred Burrows*

Allan Cohen Dan Dierdorf Jerry Kleiman* Fred Porterfield *Deceased MEDIA Gateway Media Literacy Partners The organization incorporated as a nonprofit Missouri corporation and has elected the following members to its board of directors: Harriette Arkin, consultant, Ladue School District; Tom Atwood, freelance producer, Edwardsville, Ill.; Edie Barnard, Midwest Center for Media Literacy; Melinda C. Bier, University of Missouri–St. Louis; Ruth Block, Cooperating School Districts; Steve Brawley, ARCHS; Jessica Z. Brown, founder; Ron Carr, artist, Webster University; Tom Cornell, Ferguson-Florissant School District; Marteana Davidson, Ladue School District; Larry Grieshaber, Maryville University; Harriet Kopolow, National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse-St. Louis Area; Amy Kosberg, graduate student, Webster University (Secretary); Lynne Lang, BJC HealthCare; Chris Miller, Washington University Skandalaris Center; Patrick D. Murphy, Southern Illinois University–Edwardsville; Jill Schroeder, Lindenwood University; and Art Silverblatt, Webster University (Vice-President) Ad/PR Falk Harrison Creative Danielle Waltz joined the agency as assistant art director. Gelle-Leon Marketing Communications Matt Polizzi was added as an assistant account executive. Kochan & Co. Advertising Emily Hartman was hired as creative production coordinator; Dawn McCausland, as account coordinator. Musen & Steinbach Marketing Communications Leslie Deckard and Diana Thompson joined the agency as account executives. Stern Brothers The company added Kimberly Brandt as marketing and public relations manager.

Salsman PR, LLC Iris Salsman has founded a new communications company. INVITATIONS WU Literary Calendar This literary calendar is compiled by the Center for Humanities at Washington University and is published with the center’s permission. All events are free unless otherwise indicated. Author events are followed by signings. Monday, Jan. 21 Main Street Book Club will meet to discuss "History of Love" by Nichole Krauss—7 p.m., Main Street Book, 307 S. Main St., St. Charles; (636) 949-0105 The Tuesday Night Writers’ Critique Group will meet to read and critique each others’ writing—7 p.m., Barnes & Noble Crestwood, 9618 Warson Road. For information, contact 3w6kgd64@dea.spamcon.org. River Styx Reading Series features poets Mary Ann Kelly, Robert Nazarene, Loy Ledbetter and Marie Chewe-Eliot—7:30 p.m., Duff’s Restaurant, 392 N. Euclid; Admission is $5; (314) 361-0522 Tuesday, Jan. 22 Kingshighway Book Group will discuss "Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norell" by Susanna Clarke—6:45 p.m., St. Louis Public Library–Kinghighway Branch, 2260 South Vandeventer; (314) 771-5450. St. Louis Poetry Center presents Poetry @ the Point, featuring Gaye Gambell-Peterson, Gail Eisenhart and Alice Azure—7:30 p.m., the Focal Point, 2720 Sutton; (636) 225-5423 Wednesday, Jan. 23 The Bookies will discuss "Thread of Grace" by Mary Russell—2 p.m., St. Louis County Library-Oak Bend Branch, 842 S. Holmes, 822-0051 Thursday, Jan. 24 WU Writing Program will present poet Erin Belieu, who will read from her work—8 p.m., Hurst Lounge, Rm. 201, Duncker Hall, Danforth Campus; 935-5190. The Schlafly Book Discussion Group will discuss "A Brief History of the Dead" by Kevin Brockmeier—7 pm, St. Louis Public Library–Schlafly Branch, 225 N. Euclid; (314) 367-4120. Saturday, Jan. 26 St. Louis Public Library Book Discussion group will discuss "Guns, Germs and Steel" by Jared Diamond— 1 p.m., St. Louis Public Library–Buder Branch, 4401 Hampton; (314) 3522900.

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A damned good editor by Sue Ann Wood

eorge A. Killenberg looks back, at age 90, with quiet pride at the newspaper to which he devoted 43 years of his life—the St. Louis Globe-Democrat. He retired as its executive editor in 1984, just before the paper began its two-year decline into oblivion. Born and raised in the St. Louis area, young George was tops in his class at parochial grade school and at McBride High School, which he attended on a scholarship. The Great Depression had arrived, and he had no hope that his family could afford to send him to college. While in high school, he earned some money by providing the scores of popular softball games at city parks to the daily newspapers. When he delivered them to the paper’s sports editors, he would also sit down at a typewriter and write stories about the games. One day in an elevator at the St. Louis Star-Times, something happened that changed his life. On the elevator with him was a man who was director of sports information at St. Louis University, which in those days had a full sports program, including a football team competing with other college teams. He asked George if he was going to college, and George said his family couldn’t afford it. The man said he was about to take another job and would be glad to recommend George to replace him. The pay, he said, would include free tuition to attend SLU. Of course, George jumped at the chance and got the job, which paid $15 a week plus free tuition, tickets to football games and tokens to ride the streetcar to and from the campus. So, George, the recent high school grad, ran the sports information office while enrolled as a part-time freshman. Later, when a new university presi-

George Killenberg in the newsroom dent dropped the SLU football program and eliminated the sports information director’s salary, George quit and worked for a time in public relations, which led to his getting a job in 1941 at the GlobeDemocrat as a reporter. Meanwhile, one of George’s friends had told him about a pretty redhead “with really great legs” he thought that George should meet. George eagerly agreed, and, in June 1943, he and Therese Murphy began their long and very happy marriage. He served in the Army during World War II, returning to his Globe-Democrat job and back to SLU as a part-time student, eventually earning a Bachelor of Science degree and a master’s degree in American history. He was the day assistant city editor to whom I reported for duty on my first day at the Globe-Democrat in 1955 as a cityside reporter. I was one of only two women in the newsroom on the 5th floor of the building that now houses the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, at what was then the northeast corner of 12th and Franklin streets, now Tucker and Martin Luther King, Jr. As the years passed, Killenberg became city editor, managing edi-

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