I Wonder

Do you think if I asked, would my employer "cut" my salary by increasing it 4 percent, like the proposed Dept. of Defense budget?

Et tu, Populus Quero?

I'll leave chastising John Edwards for having an adulterous affair with Rielle Hunter to others. Personally, I don't care that much. I think he did a very dumb thing while campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination and am disappointed for that reason. For everything else, it's none of my business.

But I do want to draw attention to the role of the National Enquirer in this, ahem, affair.

During the 1996 campaign, the National Enquirer broke the story that presidential candidate Bob Dole had a long-ago affair that began in 1968.

In 1999, Steve Coz, the National Enquirer's editor, said

any future extramarital exposé "depends a lot on the stance of that politician. If that politician is backed by Jerry Falwell and takes the family-values route, that gets pretty legitimate. But I don't see us pot-shotting extramarital affairs just because it's juicy copy."

Guess that policy must have died when Falwell did.

Childhood Memories

I remember when this photo first appeared in newspapers and news magazines. The iconic 1960s photo of a Vietnam War protester placing flowers in soldiers' gun barrels at a rally was taken by Bernie Boston. The retired newspaper photographer has died at age 74.

Boston's photograph, "Flower Power," was a runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize. He took the picture at a war protest in Washington on Oct. 22, 1967. He covered every president from Harry Truman to Bill Clinton.

It's a pity we don't have similar anti-war protests today. The war is out of sight, out of mind for far too many people. Heck, I produce a daily newscast and rarely include war news stories. How dramatically different than previous wars.

Stories I Love

I'm pleased to have been involved in a couple stories lately that have turned out to be bigger than originally thought. In fact, I was originally against airing one of them because it just didn't seem that important to me. Instead, it drew quite a response from viewers and will remain a story for several more days.

The other story just aired and has also caused quite a stir. I'm enjoying the feedback email we receive on these, which leads us to do follow-up stories providing additional information.

Neither story has been covered by any other outlet in town. We're not trumpeting them as "exclusives," but I do think both stories demonstrate strong efforts to be a better news operation.

And I truly appreciate all the feedback on the new KSPR. Keep it coming.

Be Careful What You Wish For

So after being struck down with a nasty cold going around the news room, I go to work today thinking it will be a fairly simple newscast. After all, we had a lot on the planner for today, including at least three reporter packages. After the five-thirty cast I believed I had a pretty good grasp of the rundown for the 10 p.m. cast, including a couple national stories.

At one point I said to no one in particular, "gee, I almost wish we had some breaking news tonight." Not too long after we began to hear scanner traffic on what appeared to be a robbery spree. One night side reporter (who really is the weekend weather guy), one photographer, two anchors, and me.

Along about 9 p.m. everything went crazy. Police were running all over town. Decided to send the live truck to the last robbery along with the night side guy (who stepped up and volunteered). That meant changing the rundown, especially since the reporter had already packaged what was to be the lead story. Then it got better, or worse, depending on your point of view.

A fourth robbery on East Sunshine, out near where I live. Send the live truck and reporter there, get on the phones gathering info, let the production staff know everything is changing less than an hour before air...including doing live promos.

Knowing he loves reporting, I called the Chatter guy who rushes toward the fourth robbery location. While on the phone with me he sees two police cruisers rushing away from that location, heading west. At the same time I hear scanner traffic indicating an arrest is imminent. Chatter dude does a U-turn and chases the police, swearing at drivers who won't get out of his way. I announce this to the newsroom and the entire production team lets out a laugh. Yes, we do have fun at our jobs!

If you watched the 10 p.m. cast Wednesday night you know the rest. The adrenaline rush hasn't stopped. This is what I love about the news biz! After the cast, Chatter guy informs us our intrepid weathercaster/reporter dude stole the SPD officer from a briefing for the competition in order for us to have a live interview! We're playing with the big dogs now!

What a night. What a crew. What a business.

And yes, several people reminded me what I'd wished for earlier in the evening.

When Did Matt Blunt Move?

At 9:30 p.m. CDT on Sunday, August 12, CNN had this posted, updated 37 minutes ago. (I've enlarged the relevant portion of the screen grab)




I didn't know the Blunts are Mormon.

CNN -- "The Most Trusted Name in News"

Things to Make You Go....Hmmmmmmmm

What's the matter with the Springfield News-Leader? OK, too broad a question. Let me be specific: Why is the writing so bad? Here are some examples from the May 28, 2007 edition:

Sarah Overstreet's column about Chuck Wooten:

At a long table, not even a desk, former state representative Chuck Wooten sits, the phone near his elbow ringing constantly.

A Bible and a book of funeral services for many religious faiths are an arm's length away.

Nearby on a coat rack is Wooten's suit jacket, which he will put on in 30 minutes to walk to the committal shelter to help with a funeral.

Sometimes, he reads from both the Bible and the book of funeral services, at a family's request.

"A lot of the funeral directors know me, and a lot of times they'll call out here ... they'll ask me to say a few words and I will," says Wooten, now cemetery program representative for the cemetery. His job is to advocate for the cemetery with legislators, the Veterans Affairs department and anyone else who will listen.

Uh, what cemetery would that be, Sarah? Obviously, you are referring to a veterans cemetery. Springfield has two. Three paragraphs later (the EIGHTH graf of the story) Sarah finally tells us which of the two veterans' cemeteries in Springfield she means:

If it weren't for Wooten, who was a Republican state representative from Springfield at the time when state leaders began talking about how quickly our veterans cemeteries would be full, our Missouri Veterans Cemetery wouldn't rest on 58 acres of gentle, rolling hills of grass with young trees lining its paved roads, surrounded by mature trees that lay in the countryside around it long before it was even an fleeting idea in someone's mind.

The cemetery should have been fully identified upon first reference. Bad writing, compounded further by this:

Wooten introduced legislation to push the impetus for a cemetery here, among other Missouri sites. He thought it was on track. Then, one night as Wooten was in the capital about 10 p.m., then-Rep. Jim Montgomery, D-Cabool, stopped by to have a talk. "Chuck, I'm pulling Springfield out of the bill." Montgomery wanted a cemetery in Cabool.

Wooten took to the mattresses, marshaling everyone he could to lobby citizens, veterans and state leaders to choose Springfield as one of the sites for five proposed vet burial grounds.

"Wooten took to the mattresses?" What in blazes does that mean? I'm not a native Ozarkian, so perhaps this is some colloquialism I've yet to hear. But I doubt it.

I hope Sarah forgot to delete a word in the following quote:

"It's so beautiful that a lot of weekends I'll just come down out and drive through it," he says.

"Come down out and drive?" Another Ozark colloquialism? Or just poor editing? With Sarah, probably the latter.

Here's another story from the May 28 edition, "Water feature to be built at Smith Park." Springfield has a Smith Park, located at 1536 E. Division Street. According to the Springfield-Greene County Park Board web site, the park has:

1 lighted softball field, 2 lighted tennis courts, outdoor basketball courts, restrooms, horseshoes, drinking fountain, children's & adolescent's play equipment, open play area, picnic tables & grills, open shelters

So reading the above headline one might believe a "water feature" will soon be added to that list. One would be confused, then, reading the first graf of the story:

The Board of Aldermen agreed 4-2 this past week to spend up to $115,000 to pay for a new water feature for the Howard Smith Community Park.

"Board of Aldermen?" Springfield has a city council, not aldermen. The News-Leader did not include a dateline, nor does it ever identify the community to which the story refers. My best guess is Branson because of the second graf:

The water feature will be similar to those at Silver Dollar City and Celebration City, but on a smaller scale with 6 sprayers on a 30-foot-by20-foot concrete pad.

Is this really acceptable to the News-Leader? I'd be happy to identify the reporter who wrote this, but said reporter is not identified. Maybe "Larry Little's" (sic) friend Tony Messenger will convince the News-Leader's news room to quit printing/posting stories anonymously. Can't wait for THAT editorial.

Here's one from last Tuesday's (May 22, 2007) edition, filed in the "newspapers in education" section: Tips on saving money.

Allow me to quote the whole article:

Did you Know?

Did I know what? That article has kept me awake all week wondering what I'm supposed to know. And when will the News-Leader tell me?

Perhaps "they" don't want me to know, so "they" are keeping it a secret.

Paranoid? Me?

Something's Fishy About Sex Offender Story

The News-Leader ran a story on Wednesday, with a follow-up on Thursday, about a Missouri State University professor with a history of pedophilia. The News-Leader also provides a PDF of the MSU news release regarding the questioning of Greenwood Lab School parents by a student working on a class assignment.

The student involved, Ryan Cooper, has a history of, as Ron Davis puts it, "stirring it up."

He sued the university in 2003, claiming his conservative group, Young Americans for Freedom, was being discriminated against because of its "political and religious viewpoints."

Cooper is executive director of Missouri State Conservatives. In his Facebook profile he lists his political views as "very conservative," though he has insisted that he's more of a Libertarian than a Republican.

Cooper says he didn't intend for the professor's past to become public knowledge, and that he did not mention the professor's name when talking to parents. But Cooper does acknowledge that he found the professor's "name on a list and decided to talk to parents about the issue of having a sex offender on campus."

In Thursday's article, MSU administrators said there are possibly two students who are registered sex offenders. Why then did the university assume Cooper was referring to the professor as being the sex offender?

In the news release, "Nietzel said he assumed the person's questions relate to Dr. Michael Hendrix...." What led to that assumption?

I spent less than an hour going through the Missouri Sex Offender Registry kept by the Missouri Highway Patrol. Three persons list 901 S. National (MSU's address) as their "school address." Two others (in addition to Hendrix) list MSU as their work address. This means there are possibly six registered sex offenders at MSU, twice the number indicated in the News-Leader article. It is also entirely possible that not all six are still at MSU.

Cooper implies he found Hendrix's name only. That could mean he had an ulterior motive. Could it be that Cooper once took a class with Hendrix and didn't like something about it and this is his way of "paying back?" Because Hendrix teaches biomedical sciences and Cooper appears to be a journalism major, this seems highly unlikely.

Is MSU throwing Hendrix under the bus to distract from the other registered sex offenders on campus? Probably not. But why not fully disclose all known registered sex offenders? Why just Hendrix?

And finally, why didn't the News-Leader do what I did and check the sex offender registry list? They could also have pointed out that six registrants list Ozarks Technical Community College as their school address.

There is more to this story. We have all the information we need about Dr. Hendrix. We should have more about the other parties involved.

Radio Rabble-Rouser Rights, er, Writes Column

The triple-name radio talker despised by Curbstone Critic wrote a column for the latest (March 28-April 10) edition of Springfield's Community Free Press. The immigrant is also an advertiser, which leads me to wonder which came first...the ad or the column? Would the station only advertise if the CFP agreed to print the column?

Like the radio show, the column is full of self-aggrandizing bluster and no substance. Didn't know the CFP was this hard up for material. Pity.

FLASH! News-Leader Sensationalizes!

Check the headline from today's top story:

SIDE NOTE: The headline in the print version is "Greene County home values soar", which is also the hed on the web page for the story. I guess "Home values soar in Greene County" filled more space...giving the page a block look.

The subhead declares "Average sale prices jump 40 percent in assessment." Reading no further one might think Greene County is bucking the national trend of a drop in home values. In fact, it would seem that, as the News-Leader declares, home values are soaring, increasing by 40 percent. Property owners might find that disturbing since it means a substantial increase in property taxes.

The third graf says "60 percent of the 115,000 real estate parcels in the county increased in value." Wow! As a new property owner I'm rather concerned about how I'm going to pay those extra taxes. My salary hasn't increased 40 percent this year. And considering we just bought the house last summer and haven't made any improvements, we either got a great bargain, or we're about to be royally ripped off.

But wait! There's more!

According to the Springfield Board of Realtors, the average home sale price in Greene County jumped 40 percent from 1998 to 2006 — from $101,249 to $142,176.

Wait a minute. What's this? That 40 percent increase is from 1998 to 2006...an EIGHT YEAR PERIOD. And then:

More recently, the average home sold for $127,271 in 2004 and $139,558 in 2005 — an almost 10 percent rise.

In 2006, the average selling price rose again, although more slowly, to $142,176 — a 1.9 percent increase.

(emphasis mine)

What's this? The average selling price (or home value) increased only ONE-POINT-NINE PERCENT in 2006. Let's see, 1.9% most recent year, versus average of 5% per year for the past 8 years. Does that really sound like "Greene County home values soar?" According to the math I learned in public school, 1.9 is less than half of 5. So while the average home value did increase last year, the increase was LESS THAN HALF of the average annual increase for the past 8 years. And it is LESS THAN ONE FIFTH of the increase of the previous year.

I'd be OK with the headline if it was used last year. . .a 10 percent increase may be classified as soaring. But 1.9 percent? C'mon!

So why'd the News-Leader do this? What was the motivation to sensationalize this story? And did I really need that jolt this morning?

Time & Newsweek Think You're Stupid

How else to explain these covers:


Time has an extremely readable article on the Talibanization of western Pakistan. Given that nation's critical importance to the "war on terror," this is an important and fascinating article. Time put the article on the cover for every edition except the U.S. version. Why?

Newsweek did something similar in September:

Registran:

In other words, while it might be nice to learn about how American policy is failing in the country that actually attacked us on September 11, the mainstream glossies seem to think we’re more interested in lesbians who photograph celebrities and the Kansas Board of Education.

And it's not just news magazines. FOX "News" remains fixated on Anna Nicole Smith. Host John Gibson went so far as to accuse reporters who focused instead on the Iraq War of “news-guy snobbery”.

Rush Limbaugh just called 72% of Americans "blithering idiots" for thinking something’s wrong about the firing of eight U.S. attorneys.

Maybe this is why House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) does not know how to pronounce Tuskegee Airmen properly.

During his short speech to those in attendance, Boehner six times mispronounced the group’s name as the “Tusk-E-gee,” eliciting audible groans from the front to the back of the Capitol Rotunda. One woman standing in front of me leaned to her companion and whispered, “This is so embarrassing, and he’s from my state.”

Perhaps making matters worse, almost all of Boehner’s speech focused on the general accomplishments of American forces in World War II, paying little direct respect to those in the room.

As if to remove any doubt about the verbal kerfuffle, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell took the stage and began his speech by pronouncing the group’s name correctly, while making a clear, if passing, glance in Boehner’s direction. Immediately afterward, the entire crowd broke into applause at the correction.

Dumbing down of America, indeed.