At a charity fund raising event recently, my wife won four tickets to a Cardinal baseball game.

The $55.00 (each) face value tickets were for seats five rows behind the Cardinals’ dugout. I have been lucky enough to sit in some good seats at the “new” Busch Stadium, the “old” Busch stadium, and even the “first” Busch stadium, but these were excellent seats.

The game was a 12:15 game on Thursday, April 3. It was cold and rainy, but I took a day’s vacation so we could attend.

Barb had four tickets, but only our son-in-law was off work that day, so the three of us headed to St. Louis. (I know that it is now legal to stand outside the stadium and sell tickets, but they were free, so I wasn’t worried about getting my money back on the unused ticket.)

As I said, it was cold and raining, so we wanted to park close. I chose the Stadium Garage East, right across the street from the stadium. Price: $20.00

We hadn’t had lunch, so after we found our seats, we decided to grab a bite to eat. We had three cheeseburger baskets from the Hardee’s in the stadium, and three large soft drinks. Price: $48.75

Also purchased were a small hot chocolate ($2.50), a bag of peanuts ($4.00) and one 16-oz. A.B. product ($7.75). Price: $14.25.

We sat in the cold and drizzle and saw a winner as the Cardinals defeated the Colorado Rockies. And the best part: Barb’s “free” tickets only cost me $83.00!

OK, am I the only one troubled by this story from the Associated Press?

GREENSBURG, Pa. (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday she made a mistake in claiming that she came under hostile fire in Bosnia 12 years ago, as rival Barack Obama’s campaign continued to challenge her credibility.

In a recent speech and interviews, the New York senator described a harrowing scene in Tuzla, Bosnia, in which she and her daughter, Chelsea, had to run for cover as soon as they landed for a visit in 1996. But video footage of the day showed a peaceful reception in which a young girl greeted the first lady on the tarmac.

In case you missed it, here it is in a nutshell: Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton claimed in a recent speech and interviews that when she and daughter Chelsea visited Bosnia in 1996, “I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base.”

Imagine the horrors: the First Lady and First daughter fly to war-torn Bosnia and are greeted by sniper fire and have to run for their lives! There’s just one little problem: It didn’t happen!

Clinton started back-peddling when journalists checked the files. Instead of being greeted by sniper fire as claimed, Mrs. Clinton and daughter were greeted peacefully on the tarmac by a young girl. I doubt the young girl was heavily armed.

Now I know that campaigning is a long and arduous task. I also expect momentary glitches in memory from time to time. So, when journalists challenged Clinton on her account of the day, I expected her to say that she had confused the Bosnian trip with another trip during which she was greeted with sniper fire. There’s just one little problem: It didn’t happen!

So now Presidential candidates can make up harrowing stories of near death, and when disproved can just apologize and say that they “misspoke.”

I guess we can’t blame Hillary - she learned from one of the best. Remember that her husband “misspoke” when he looked you straight in the eye and claimed “I never had sex with that woman, Monica Lewinsky.”

You can call it a “misspeak” if you want. I’ll just call it a lie.

Last week we editorialized against the City of Alton’s attempt to pass an ordinance that would require private clubs to obtain a liquor license. I opined that a new ordinance did not seem necessary to control a small number of private clubs in a city of thirty thousand residents.

The proposed ordinance would affect private clubs that serve alcohol to members or guests, and it seemed to me that the ordinance must be much ado about nothing. A couple of buddies playing cards and sharing a case of beer, or a group of ladies having wine with a monthly luncheon shouldn’t require a liquor license.

In my way of thinking, a “private club” was a bunch of like-minded individuals that share a common interest, be it fishing, antique cars, quilting or yes, motorcycles. If they pool their funds and rent a storefront to hold their meetings (rather than meeting at someone’s home), that’s fine by me. If everybody wants to chip in and buy a pony keg for after the meeting, there are DUI laws in place if they over imbibe.

I still feel that way.

However, we have heard from more than a few readers that brought to my attention a much larger concern in Alton. Apparently there are some in town that want to form a “private club” in order to skirt state and local liquor ordinances. The idea is to form a “private club” to restrict entrance and sell or supply alcohol without having the necessary licenses and insurance required by state law. I don’t agree with that.

So, at the risk of contradicting my own editorial, I guess we need a new definition for the term “private club”. If the “club” is really a front for a private tavern, it needs to have the same licenses and insurance as any other tavern.

This year I am celebrating my 29th year in the newspaper business, but recently I have figured out that I could be a local TV news producer.

Now, I don’t really know a lot about television other than watching it. As a kid I was on “Cookie and the Captain” when Jim Bolen roamed the halls of Channel 4, and I was on “Captain 11″ when Harry Fender showed Three Stooges shorts from the upper floors of the Chase Park Plaza.
More recently, and for the past 8 years or so I have been a panelist on MetroTalk on LCTV, but for the most part I’m a print guy (though I’ve been told I have a face for radio).

So what qualifies me to be a TV news producer? It would be easy, and I’ll bet you could do it too! Want proof? Here’s what I’ve observed lately on our St. Louis television news broadcasts:

“Welcome to Your 1stSource NEWS. Our Top news story tonight, ‘Highway 40 finally closes’. Let’s go to Len Zoom for a Live 1stSource NEWS report:”

“Thanks, Chuck. I’m standing here on the closed section of Highway 40, and as you can see behind me there is no traffic. If this stretch of highway was open, I couldn’t be standing here now, I am sure. This section of highway would be full of commuters trying to get home from work. I’ve been here several hours, and MODOT reports no problems on this section of the closed highway. I’m Len Zoom for Your 1stSource NEWS.”

“Great report, Len. Gosh, I’ll bet it’s cold out there! That wind seems brutal. Try to get warm and we’ll check back with you later. Now let’s check with Dawn Light for a 1stSource NEWS look at the other major highways.”

“Chuck, we’re getting reports from MODOT that due to the closing of Highway 40, there is more traffic on all other area highways. As you can see behind me, rush hour really brought out the traffic on Highway 44. I can see a string of red taillights for miles! Add to that the cold temperatures and the strong, gusty winds, I’m having trouble holding onto my hat. For a look from the 1stSource NEWS SkyBird Traffic copter, let’s check with Capt. Tom Lands.”

“Thanks, Dawn. I’m flying over the closed section of Highway 40, and it’s almost spooky down there. Usually it would be bumper to bumper down there this time of night. I’ve checked the other area roadways, and it appears traffic is heavier than usual on the other interstates and feeder routes. All I could see on Interstates 55 and 70 was a long string of headlights heading out of the city. Now, let’s send it back to Chuck in the 1st Source NEWSroom.”

“Thanks for that team coverage 1stSource NEWS report. We’ll check back with all of you later in the newscast. Now to check the impact the weather is having on the Highway 40 closing, let’s check with Meteorologist Sunny Deigh with the 1stSource NEWS Lookout Forecast. Is the weather causing any problems for those displaced Highway 40 drivers, Sunny?”

You get my drift, right? I can be a TV news producer. I could sit in my warm cozy office with six TV screens and decide, “This Highway 40 closing is gonna be a big pain in the butt to commuters. I’ll send Len and Dawn to stand on the shoulder of the road. Maybe it will be windy so we can laugh at Dawn trying to hold on to her hat! I’ll get Capt. Lands to do a live flyover and show how dark it is on the closed section of the highway. And he can say something about the miles and miles of head and taillights on the other interstates. And the weather has an impact on everything! And, I’ll bet Sunny can do a weather map with little road barricades to show where the highway is closed!”

It couldn’t be that simple could it? Then I saw the TV news last night during the snowstorm. How many 1stSource NEWS reporters did you count standing in the snowstorm reporting that “the snow is really coming down out here now, Chuck.”?

A few weeks ago a business associate (OK, my barber) and I tried to predict the futures of the presidential candidates. We each agreed on the successes of Obama and Clinton for the Democratic nod. They are in it to stay, and it’s their Democratic nomination to win or lose. Will it come down to the young, handsome, inexperienced Senator from Illinois, or the “my husband couldn’t get it done, but I can” Senator from the Empire State?
We agreed that John Edwards would stay close to the top. And he did, finishing third in the last three primaries. Problem is, they were distant third place finishes, and today Edwards “suspended his run” for the Democratic nomination. Suspended for how long? ‘Dunno. He didn’t endorse Clinton or Obama, so if he doesn’t like the outcome of the convention, maybe he’ll run as an independent.

Rudy Giuliani bowed out as well today from the Republican race. The former mayor of New York who generated as much dislike as like in the turbulent days following 9/11, just couldn’t tie together a cohesive campaign and pulled out before “Super Tuesday.” Don’t feel bad for him, though. He said in his going away speech that he had put several “lucrative” business deals on hold while running for the nomination, so he won’t be living in a cardboard box in Central Park.

The candidate that I missed completely was John McCain. I opined that in all the calls for “change” in Washington, John McCain seemed to represent more of the traditional presidential candidate. I thought he’d be gone before February 5th. Boy, was I wrong. McCain just keeps getting stronger and absolutely kicked butt in Florida. A poll released today even shows McCain beating Clinton or Obama if the election were held today. Maybe voters don’t really want change, but take comfort in real world experience. We’ll know Tuesday.

‘See why I don’t bet on horses?

We’ve just completed another busy holiday season. From Thanksgiving in November to New Year’s Day in January, the time seems to fly by if you enjoy the family and festivities, or drag out unmercifully if you loathe them.

Which brings me to my latest topic: Is anyone really offended if they are wished a “Merry Christmas”?

Let’s establish at the outset that I consider myself a Christian. I was raised as a Baptist. We attended church at least three times a week. My brother is a Baptist minister. My great-grandfather was a “preacher” (as they called them then) in a Penecostal church. My brother-in-law is a church organist. I have a first cousin that is a missionary church planner. Religion was born and bred into me. But now, as much as the Christians of the world complain, Christmas has become less of a religious celebration and more about the secular holiday of gift giving and festive decorations and parties.

Which brings me back to my question: Is anyone really offended if they are wished a “Merry Christmas”?

If you consider yourself a practitioner of another religion or consider yourself an agnostic or a heretic, are you really offended if the clerk checking out your purchases at the mall says “I put your receipt in the bag, and Merry Christmas”? And if you are offended, does it make it any better if the clerk says “Happy Holidays” instead? After all, you are standing in a store festooned in green and red, with Santa Clauses and snowmen all around. To which happy holiday is the clerk referring, Independence Day?

How about “Season’s Greetings”? Just what season are we greeting, the winter solstice? Maybe I’d better get started addressing my vernal equinox cards.

Wishing someone a “Merry Christmas” has almost become like saying “have a nice day.” Now, some religions teach that if you indeed have a “nice day” it is because God gave that day to you. Does that mean we should no longer wish anyone a “nice day” because some people don’t believe in God-given nice days?

So, I will continue to wish the world a Merry Christmas. If, like some, you attach a religious significance to that wish, that is your choice. If you choose not to recognize the Christmas Day holiday in any significance, be it religious or secular, then “have a nice day”. That is, if you aren’t offended by that.

The abbreviation IHSA is probably familiar to you if you have school age children or are a high school sports fan. The Illinois High School Association is the body that sanctions and oversees sports in our schools. Recently much has been made of a lawsuit (and now counter-lawsuit) involving the IHSA, the Illinois Press Association (IPA) and several newspapers in the state.

In the interest of full disclosure, The Telegraph is a member of the IPA, but is not one of the newspapers specifically named in the lawsuit.

I’m not a lawyer, but the gist of the lawsuit is that the IHSA wants to limit the way newspapers cover high school championship games, specifically limiting newspaper photographers from taking pictures of high school athletes during the championship games.

The bone of contention for the IHSA is that some newspapers sell reprints of staff photos to the families, etc. of high school athletes. The IHSA has an agreement with Visual Impact Photography, Inc., that grants them exclusive rights to the championship photos, with all re-publication and sales rights. So, let the lawsuits fly.

The IHSA claims it receives no financial incentives from Visual Impact, only video and photo considerations. OK, so far. If the IHSA wants to contract with a photo company for their special photos, so be it. My question, and that of the IPA, is what gives IHSA the right to say who else can photograph a high school championship game?

Professional sports, such as the NFL, MLB, etc. are commercial enterprises and own and control the photo rights to their games. If a Telegraph photographer applies for and obtains press credentials for a Rams game, we are prohibited from using the pictures for anything other than our news coverage – i.e. the newspaper or our Telegraph website. We can’t sell reprints of the Tory Holt touchdown picture, or make up T-shirts of the “Rams win the Super Bowl” page “without the express written permission of the NFL.” You hear that legal disclaimer during every game, either in the stands or on the TV or radio.

Basically, the IHSA wants the same right to control who receives photo credentials and what is done with the photos. Here’s the rub: the IHSA only exists because of public schools that we pay local and state taxes to support. If public high schools (and their sports programs) didn’t exist, neither would the IHSA. And, unlike professional players, high school athletes are amateurs and are not compensated for their performance on the field. So, if Grandma Jones wants a picture of her little “Bubba” during the game, IHSA wants her to contact Visual Impact and pay whatever they choose to charge.

What’s next? Will the IHSA decide to restrict credentials for print reporters as well? “Sorry, Telegraph, you can’t have admission to the game. If you publish a story, the IHSA will sue. If you want a story about the Alton-Chatham game, pay the IHSA contracted scribe for our approved version. And, by the way, if you want a picture for your Sports page that will be an additional charge.” Will the story be written the same for The Telegraph and the Chatham paper? Will an out-of-town photographer know whom to shoot and when?

And what about mom and dad with a digital camera? If they take a picture of Bubba at the big game and put it on a T-shirt for everyone in the family, will they be served with a lawsuit from IHSA for not using their contracted photography service?

We can argue about 1st Amendment Rights, and that is a valid discussion here. But mostly we’re concerned about an organization that exists because we support its members, dictating what our readers can expect from their local papers.

Stay tuned. The lawyers are in charge now,

In a Washington Post story Friday, now being reported by the Associated Press, our beloved FEMA did it to us again. (The story is filed under Associated Press- Washington on this website, and will be printed in Saturday’s Telegraph.)

You remember FEMA. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is the government (that is, our tax) supported agency that is responsible for first responding and dealing with major catastrophes in the United States. No doubt you get all warm and fuzzy when you think about how well this group of bureaucratic bunglers dealt with the devastation after Hurricane Katrina. I’m sure all the residents along the Gulf Coast give thanks every night for the stellar job FEMA did in the evacuation, feeding, housing, and protection of the displaced.

Yeah, right.

You remember the mess, right? “Gosh, if they had just called us sooner, we would have responded,” FEMA officials offered, only somewhat apologetically. Apparently, no one with FEMA has a television that carries The Weather Channel. “We didn’t know it was going to be that bad.”

The emergency response after Katrina was not the first FEMA misstep. Similar problems were evident after hurricanes in Florida in the early 90’s, and numerous tornadoes and natural disasters since. And I’m sure many readers remember our great flood of 1993 – didn’t you feel better knowing that FEMA was here to help us?

Quick, can you think of any major disaster where FEMA responded and made every thing easier? It appears what this agency does best is mires all emergency aid in red tape and slows the response time of every other agency. FEMA’s motto: “When an emergency happens everything stops.”

Now the latest as reported by the Washington Post and the AP. Vice Adm. Harvey E. Johnson, deputy director FEMA administrator, hastily called a news conference Tuesday afternoon to report FEMA’s handling of the catastrophic fires in southern California. Reporters in this devastated region were given 15 minutes notice of the briefing. Reporters who couldn’t make it to the briefing in the allotted 15 minutes, (“Hello, L.A. Times? Can you get somebody to San Diego in the next 15 minutes to hear Adm. Harvey?”) were given a dial-in number for listen-in only access.

So, we have a high-ranking (and paid) government official conducting a news conference with no news reporters. That’s not a problem. FEMA planted its own staff members in the news conference to ask softball questions to Vice Adm. Harvey. That’s bad enough, but the staffers did not disclose that they were FEMA employees and plants by the agency!

So as fire and brimstone was raining upon the residents of southern California, some government big wig is staging a phony news conference with questions that allow him to heap praises upon his own operation! “‘I’m very happy with FEMA’s response,’ Johnson said in a reply to one query from a person who was an agency employee,”

I’ll bet Napoleon would have loved that type of press conference after Waterloo.

When challenged with the evidence of deceit, Vice Adm. Harvey stated, “…we made an error in judgment.” See Napoleon. ‘Bet he wished he had that one back, too.

In Tuesday’s edition of “The Business Edge”, our publication published in cooperation with the Growth Association of Southwestern Illinois, GASI President Monica Bristow penned her column after a recent “Talk Back!” comment about her organization. The writer opined that “the Growth Association is nothing but a social organization.”
President Bristow replied with “It’s obviously someone’s opinion that doesn’t know anything about the Growth Association.”
I wholeheartedly agree with Monica. I have been involved with the Growth Association since the early 1990’s, when I was the Advertising Director for The Telegraph. When I was named Publisher of the newspaper in 1998 I was asked to serve on the board of directors and have continued to do so, including serving as chairman of the organization in 2006. Some programs of the GA seem, indeed, to be social events. We host monthly “Business After Hours” networking (social, if you will) events that allow our sponsors to showcase their programs and services. We host networking breakfasts, quarterly membership meetings and special events such as our “For Women by Women” conferences.
All of these events have social aspects to them. Isn’t that how business is done? When we alleviate the interpersonal relationships with our customers and acquaintances we become no better than a faceless order taker on the phone or internet. The above named events are intended to allow a “meet and greet”, establish a relationship, and hopefully create new and network with former customers. If this Talk Back! writer only attends for the hors d’oeuvres and a drink, then they are missing a fantastic opportunity to work the room.
The Talk Back! writer also fails to mention many other missions of the Growth Association. They serve functions in Economic Development, Business Retention, Small Business development and acts as the member communities’ liaison to the Illinois Chamber of Commerce and government bodies in Springfield. Few, if any, new businesses come to the River Bend without some contact or service from someone from the Growth Association.
This Talk Back! Writer might want to reevaluate their opinion of the Growth Association. They should get involved. Use the services, meet the staff, meet other members and work the contacts. They might get so busy with business they won’t have time to complain to Talk Back!

I suspect everyone in the newspaper (or for that matter any news media) business has heard this complaint. Readers that don’t see their favorite team on the cover of Sports will complain that The Telegraph always covers Alton, or Marquette, or Civic Memorial, or Roxana, or Carrollton, or Edwardsville, or that The Telegraph never covers Alton, or Marquette, or Civic Memorial, or Roxana, or Carrollton, or Edwardsville. We are also criticized that we only cover Democrats, or only cover Republicans. Likewise, if we publish a story about a criminal arrest, we are criticized if we do publish a mug shot or if we don’t. It’s part of the news business to be criticized.

I often comment that we rarely get complimentary calls. No one calls to say “hey, you did a great job covering this or that,” but, we gets lots of “you didn’t run my event, grandson’s picture, team photo”, etc. We understand. The most important item in that day’s newspaper is the item that reader is interested in. And if it’s not the feature, then the reader feels shortchanged. The problem is, every item can’t be a feature, we can’t be at every event or every game, or every crime every minute of the time. We do our best with the staffing we have.

To this proud grandmother: do you have a photo of your granddaughter in the dress? Call the newsroom and ask how to submit it for publication. We use reader submitted photos (like the Marquette court you refer to) on many occasions. We’ll take a look.

Thanks for reading.