Just Fair Ratings For Fair Coverage

* Reference 1

St. Louis Post - Dispatch (Pre-1997 Fulltext); St. Louis, Mo.; Jul 12, 1996; Tripp Frohlichstein Some Tapes For Use In This Column Were Provided By Media Pulse.

Sub Title: [FIVE STAR LIFT Edition]
Column Name: TRIPP FROHLICHSTEIN
Start Page: 10.E
Abstract:
FAIR Saint Louis coverage earned fair ratings for Channel 30 and fairly good ones for Channel 4.

Channel 30's July 3 special previewing the fair was well put-together, but it exaggerated in promising to show viewers things no other TV station ever had. In fact, the information it presented was probably useful only to those who moved to town in the last 11 1/2 months and missed previous years' fair reports on every station in town.

Channel 5's John Pertzborn did a funny story last Friday on people who showed up for the fair even though there was no fair that day. The best part was watching Pertzborn, on a golf cart, drive by people to break the news to them.

Full Text: Copyright Pulitzer Publishing Company Jul 12, 1996

FAIR Saint Louis coverage earned fair ratings for Channel 30 and fairly good ones for Channel 4.

Channel 30's July 3 special previewing the fair was well put-together, but it exaggerated in promising to show viewers things no other TV station ever had. In fact, the information it presented was probably useful only to those who moved to town in the last 11 1/2 months and missed previous years' fair reports on every station in town.

The special, with Don Marsh and Leslie Lyles as hosts, placed third in its time slot, with roughly 40,000 households tuned in.

Channel 4 then picked up the action for the weekend. Here, too, coverage echoed that of previous years, but viewers showed interest.

On Saturday, the VP Parade won the 6:30 to 8 p.m. time period as it attracted viewers in nearly 100,000 homes.

Sunday night's 8 to 10 p.m. fair special pulled in 140,000 homes. But as always, the number zoomed to nearly 190,000 for the last half hour, when the fireworks finale airs without commercial interruption.

The fair special came in second to the NBC movie rerun "Virus" on Channel 5.

Channel 5's John Pertzborn did a funny story last Friday on people who showed up for the fair even though there was no fair that day. The best part was watching Pertzborn, on a golf cart, drive by people to break the news to them.

Channel 11 had a good story on the same theme.

Channel 11's loss of reporter Kim Covington might be Channel 5's gain.

Covington is talking with Channel 5 about a reporting position. She is no longer on the air at Channel 11.

Covington has labored for years on Channel 11, consistently producing excellent stories. Unfortunately, Channel 11's total news viewership is small compared to that of the major-network affiliates, so her work went largely unnoticed.

Meanwhile, Channel 11 has hired Victoria Recano as a reporter. This is her first broadcasting job; she'll mainly do entertainment and feature stories.

Mike Bush and Frank Cusumano of Channel 5 ("Your Olympic Station") will cover the Games from Atlanta with live reports daily at 5, 6 and 10 p.m. The Olympics begin on NBC with the opening ceremonies next Friday. Channel 5 will begin reporting on Thursday.

Joe Young and Jim Tuxbury will go along as cameramen. Assistant news director Mike Shipley will act as the primary producer.

They aren't the only ones from Channel 5 to head south. Producer Deborah Seidel and photographer Dan Eyrich have been tabbed to be part of the NBC crew there.

Craig Kuhl, executive director of Prime Sports (to be renamed Fox Sports Net this fall) has clarified the agreement between Prime and the Blues.

Based on the initial release from the Blues, which said only that Prime had the rights to 65 games, I wrote that it was unfair that people without cable would see few games.

But Kuhl notes that a package of games will be offered to broadcast stations. Right now, Prime doesn't know how many games will make up the package or how much stations might have to pay for the rights, Kuhl said, adding that discussions with stations should begin soon.

Let's hope Prime's offer is attractive to at least one station. Last year, Channel 11 carried 40 regular season games and seven post-season games.

How hot? "Look at this current temperature in Oklahoma City, 107 degrees," Channel 30's Steve Jerve said in his 5 p.m. weathercast last Friday. "They broke their all-time record for this date of 108 by five degrees." Surely Jerve can't be one of us who went into journalism because there was no math requirement.

Tripp Frohlichstein writes every Friday about local television. Write to him in care of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 200 South Bemiston Avenue, Clayton, Mo. 63105, fax him at 822-8889 or e-mail him at TR3@AOL.com