Deal under way to sell TV station WDAF

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. is in negotiations to sell Kansas City's WDAF-TV. Employees of WDAF, Channel 4, were told Friday morning that a sale was imminent. The announcement was made at a staff meeting called by general manager Stan Knott. Although News Corp. officials declined to comment, two sources familiar with the situation confirmed the existence of a deal to sell Channel 4 as well as stations in Birmingham, Ala.; Memphis, Tenn.; and Greensboro-High Point, N.C. Although the deal is still being worked out, the sources said the buyer is a consortium headed by New York businessman Luther R. Gatling, who runs a nonprofit credit counseling service. He is also the president of that city's chapter of One Hundred Black Men, a mentoring and community-service organization of which Murdoch has been a supporter. Gatling could not be reached for comment. Kansas City's oldest television station, WDAF was sold to Murdoch in 1997. It is the No. 1-rated station among adults ages 18 to 34 in the Kansas City market and is known for its news coverage, airing more than 40 hours a week. The deal, which could take several months to consummate, is not expected to affect the station's programming or WDAF's Fox network affiliation. However, it is significant, given the historically low rate of broadcast ownership by minorities. All such broadcast deals must have final approval of the Federal Communications Commission and the Justice Department. Until this week, Gatling's broadcasting experience was limited to media appearances as a personal-finance expert. He appears on New York's Fox station, which Murdoch also owns, and was known as "The Credit Doctor" on a Saturday-afternoon show on New York radio station WOR-AM. Murdoch might have two chief motives for selling: News Corp. needs to be in compliance with federal regulators in order to complete its pending purchase of the lucrative Chris-Craft Industries station group and one-half of the UPN network. Murdoch also is trying to buy the DirecTV satellite system from General Motors. He could use the cash from the stations' sale to fund his bidding war with DirecTV's rival, EchoStar Communications Corp. By law, broadcasters are prohibited from owning signals that reach more than 35 percent of the U.S. population. With the Chris-Craft stations, News Corp. would be at 40.7 percent. The sale of WDAF and the other three stations would lower that figure slightly, to 38 percent. The Republican chairman of the FCC, Michael Powell, has been outspoken about wanting to kill the ownership rule. But those hopes dimmed after a Democrat, Sen. Ernest Hollings of South Carolina, took over the Senate committee that oversees Powell's agency. According to a study last year by the U.S. Commerce Department, minorities own 3.8 percent of all TV and radio stations nationwide. That is less than a percentage point higher than the 1990 figure. By coincidence, WDAF employees first learned of the Gatling deal on Friday just hours before holding a retirement party for Winona Murray, who joined WDAF 36 years ago as its first African-American employee. You can reach Aaron Barnhart through the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com @ART CAPTION:Gatling @ART:Photo >>>

P.S.

Cow rustlers CowParade officials are offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person who stole Belle of the Ball from her spot on the Country Club Plaza early Wednesday. Unlike most of the area's fiberglass statues, Belle was handmade by artist Carroll Boylan out of cement and lumber. The statue was taken between midnight and 1:30 a.m. from Wyandotte Street and Ward Parkway, Kelly Taylor of the Plaza said. In other cities' CowParades, charges were filed against those caught stealing cows. Anybody with information can call the CowParade hot line at (913) 696-3888. - Tim Higgins/The Star Filling Anschutz's shoes KCTV, Channel 5, looked inside to fill the anchor chair vacated by Wendall Anschutz, who is retiring. Dave Helling, a veteran political reporter, will co-anchor the station's 10 p.m. newscast beginning Monday; Russell Kinsaul will join the 5 p.m. newscast. Helling joined KCTV two years ago as political reporter and weekend anchor. He previously held the same positions at WDAF, Channel 4. He is known for analyzing the claims made by political candidates in their television ads. Kinsaul, who also is the 6 p.m. news co-anchor, has been with KCTV since 1994. Both men will continue their reporting duties. - Aaron Barnhart/The Star Check's in the ... uh ... A Kansas City temporary employee has been arrested for allegedly cashing checks that were supposed to be refunds to Water Department customers. City Manager Bob Collins said Wednesday that the problem came to light when a customer complained about not receiving a refund as expected for a deposit. The amount of money involved was about $7,000. Collins said the employee, whose name was not released, had been on the job about three weeks. The city has changed its procedures to make sure temporary workers are better supervised and don't handle cash or checks. - Lynn Horsley/The Star @ART CAPTION:Helling @ART CREDIT:Photo courtesy of Carroll Boylan @ART CAPTION:Belle of the Ball, who is missing, stands 9 feet tall on her hind legs and weighs about 500 pounds. @ART CAPTION:A small pool in the neighborhood was a cool place for Elijah Scurggs, 3, to spend Wednesday evening. Martez Taylor, 5, waited for his turn at the pool on 22nd Street in Kansas City. @ART CREDIT:WHITNEY CURTIS/The Kansas City Star @ART:Photos (3, color) >>>

Time Warner keeps the new channels coming

Like a shopper with a new gold card, Time Warner Cable just keeps loading up on new channels. (And who will be getting the bill?) Starting this Sunday, subscribers to Time Warner's basic cable service (channels 2-73) will get 10 new channels, including some previously offered only to customers with a digital box (channels 190 and up). Digital customers are getting five new channels as well. SoapNet, the all-soap-operas-all-the-time channel from Disney, signs on at Channel 65. (It's actually been there for a few weeks.) For those who can't live without their ABC soaps, SoapNet offers same-day repeats of "Port Charles" at 6:30 p.m., "All My Children" at 7, "One Life to Live" at 8 and "General Hospital" at 9. The four shows repeat again at 10:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. In between there are reruns of old daytime and nighttime soaps. On weekends, the strong-eyed can watch the entire week of their favorite soap as the episodes air back-to-back. Oxygen, or as we like to call it, "the O Channel" (for its best-known backer, Oprah Winfrey), arrives at Channel 73. Oxygen bills itself as "TV by and for women." In other words, it wants some of what Lifetime has: female viewers. Oxygen's schedule is a mix of old movies, "Xena: Warrior Princess" reruns and original shows. Its signature show is probably "Exhale," an easygoing interview program with Candice Bergen as host. Great American Country, a digital offering at Channel 237, will appeal to viewers who think Country Music Television doesn't play enough music videos. GAC even has a weekly countdown of viewers' favorite videos. Time Warner subscribers who didn't get American Movie Classics before now will, at Channel 72, while Turner Classic Movies will move off Time Warner's premium tier to Channel 71. Some channels are moving because Time Warner is phasing out the older set-top boxes that carried the AXS service. (If you're an ex-TCI customer in Johnson County, you weren't offered AXS.) Moving to basic from AXS, with new channel numbers in parentheses: ESPN Classic (35), Sci Fi (63), Golf Channel (66), Bravo (68), History Channel (69) and Disney Channel (70). No, you won't have to pay extra for the Disney Channel. Those of you who watch any of these channels on digital cable (for example, Bravo on Channel 237) should switch, too. Finally, four more Cinemax channels will be added on channels 328-331 for digital customers who subscribe to HBO's petite sister. Showtime has been criticized, perhaps unfairly, for not being HBO. Among the two pay-cable giants, HBO is known for sophisticated original dramas like "The Sopranos" and the more recent "Six Feet Under," while Showtime is still best known for its pornish "Red Shoe Diaries." Its originals, like "Rude Awakening" and "Beggars and Choosers," have been mediocre at best. That's starting to change. This week three well-received Showtime series return with new episodes. Most notable among them is "Resurrection Blvd.," Showtime's highly watchable drama about an ambitious Hispanic family, which returns for a second season at 9 p.m. Tuesday. The two others are "Soul Food" (9 p.m. Wednesdays), based on the movie of the same name, and sci-fi series "Stargate SG-1" (9 p.m. Fridays), starring Richard Dean Anderson, which began as a syndicated show before Showtime picked it up. In "Resurrection Blvd.," Tony Plana stars as Ricardo, the blunt-speaking patriarch of the Santiago clan, now widowed, who lives with his brother, sister-in-law and several children in their house in East L.A. Much of the action revolves around Tony's obsession with boxing; his own career fell short of glory, so he's gotten his three sons into the business and lives vicariously through them. But the women of the household also have dreams. Elizabeth Pena, who plays Tony's tough-talking sister-in-law Bibi, brings fresh energy to a role that could have slid into stereotype. Since Fox took over Pat Robertson's Family Channel three years ago, the network has tried gimmicks to bring in young viewers - everything from a "new" Captain Kangaroo to reruns of "Providence" - with little success. Now comes "State of Grace," a "dramedy" having its premiere at 8 tonight. "State of Grace" tells the story of two girls who become friends in a North Carolina town in the mid-1960s. Grace (played by Mae Whitman) is an outgoing Southern belle-to-be and a Catholic. Hannah (Alia Shawkat) is a recent transplant from Illinois, the shy and easily mortified daughter of a Jewish furniture maker. Like other coming-of-age shows, each episode is narrated by an adult looking back fondly on her childhood; here it's Hannah, as voiced by Frances McDormand. Jokes are scarce; there's not much "-medy" in this "dramedy." And there's far too much cigarette smoking on camera. Yes, I know people smoked back then. But Hollywood never replicates the past exactly - like most of us, it has a spotty memory. A show aimed at impressionable preteens should've forgotten tobacco even existed. You can reach Aaron Barnhart through the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com. @ART CAPTION:RuPaul (right) makes the first of a series of guest shots on "Port Charles" on July 4. He plays Madame Alicia; Lynn Herring plays Lucy Coe. SoapNet is one of the new channels on Time Warner Cable. @ART:Photo (color) @ART CREDIT:ABC >>>

The Internet driving machine; BMW Films Web site makes the most of ultimate product placement

Turns out the feel-good movie of the summer isn't in movie theaters. It's in your computer. "Hire," a series of six-minute shorts by some of the world's top movie directors, was produced for the Internet site BMW Films (www.bmwfilms .com). Yes, the car company. Each short features actor Clive Owen, star of the acclaimed British film "Croupier" and, in the opinion of his growing legion of fans, the next James Bond. The films are everything savvy surfers have come not to expect from Internet video. They're exciting and elegantly crafted. But most remarkable, given the limitations of digital video, is that they are a full-screen feast for the eyes and ears. Short on plot exposition and long on car chases, the films bear the unmistakable marks of their directors. John Frankenheimer's "Ambush," for instance, is a tense thrill ride from start to finish, not unlike Frankenheimer's 1998 film "Ronin." From Ang Lee, "Chosen" is an artful ballet of skidding vehicles that blends the director's love of both choreography and action. In "Star," released earlier this month, Guy Ritchie directs wife Madonna in a comedy that runs about as long as two of her MTV videos. She plays an intolerable diva who is humbled by a joyride with Owen in a BMW 530i. The German automaker says each director was given complete creative control. But the clear intent, unspoken or not, is to show the Beemer displaying grace under pressure. "The BMW brand is in there as a character, but these aren't really commercials," said Steve Golin, whose multimedia company Anonymous Content worked with producer David Fincher ("Seven") on the "Hire" series. "We think it's the way lots of things will go in the future. More product placement than advertising." Owen is the "hire" in the series title, a skilled mercenary driver who seems to specialize in risky assignments. While he is certainly a smooth operator behind the wheel (very Bond!), it is always the Ultimate Driving Machine that saves the day. In "Ambush," for example, he eludes a van of kidnappers in a 130 mph night chase over an obstacle-laden highway. Click over to the BMW Films Web site and you'll learn that Owen's escape was made possible by the car's Dynamic Stability Control and Xenon low-beam headlights. Downloading each film takes about 10 minutes on a high-speed Internet line; it takes hours on a regular phone line. BMW's special Film Player, which you must download first, displays a letterbox roughly four inches high by 11 inches wide. That's much larger than the popular Internet formats, yet the BMW Film Player's video is remarkably fluid, and its audio is CD-quality. Click on "Director's Commentaries" for the full DVD experience. You'll hear Lee explain "Chosen's" chase scene while it happens. The "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" director also makes a startling confession: He drives a 6-year-old minivan. If you don't have the computer setup to watch the films, BMW has begun buying infomercial time on the Bravo and Speedvision channels to show off the "Hire" series. On "Star," you'll hear Ritchie refer to Owen as "a James Bond type." He's not alone. Harry Knowles, who runs the popular Ain't It Cool News movie site, posted a message last month pleading with MGM, producer of the James Bond films, to dump Pierce Brosnan and sign the 36-year-old British actor, who is currently filming "Gosford Park" with Robert Altman. "Clive Owen is the future of James Bond," Knowles declared. Movie editor Robert W. Butler contributed to this story. You can reach Aaron Barnhart through the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com. >>>

You don't need to know this 'Jack'

These may be the dog days of June, but you wouldn't know it from the TV listings. There's a lot on that's new and interesting this week. Best of all, none of these shows involves communing with rats: "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" was a TV show that inspired a CD-ROM and Internet play-along. "You Don't Know Jack," a frenetic new game show, is just the opposite. It's a TV show based on a popular CD-ROM and online game. It airs at 7 p.m. Wednesday on ABC (Channel 9) and then moves to 7:30 p.m. next week. The show, which tries to turn every question into a mini-comedy routine, is produced by, among others, the former head honcho at "Late Night With David Letterman," the head writer of "Dennis Miller Live," the guy behind "Win Ben Stein's Money" and the production company Carsey-Werner-Mandabach, which brought you "That '70s Show" and "3rd Rock." And it has 14 writers. For all that, it should be a lot funnier than it is. That's not to say "You Don't Know Jack" doesn't have its moments. The host, "Troy Stevens," aka Paul Reubens (aka Pee-Wee Herman), is lovably obnoxious. Questions range from the conceptual ("What is the name of the first person to buzz in?") to the usual (scads of celebrity and TV references). Among the many distractions are a mariachi band and track star Carl Lewis. This may also be the first game show in history that vaporizes losing contestants. One show about high school ends this week and another begins. We say goodbye to "American High," the remarkable documentary series about 10 real-life high school students during 10 months in their real lives. Fox began airing episodes of "American High" last summer, then canceled it. PBS came to the rescue and has aired the whole season. To fill the time that was supposed to be for commercials, PBS added behind-the-scenes shorts narrated by series creator R.J. Cutler. They're almost as fascinating as the episodes themselves. In the finale airing at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday on KCPT, Channel 19, the seniors look forward to graduation, though it's not clear all will make it. If you missed any episodes, KCPT will re-air "American High" beginning in July; if you'd like to see more episodes, write a letter; PBS hasn't decided whether to order a second season. "Go Fish," meanwhile, is a fictional show about a fictional high school. It's a comedy without a laugh track that stars Andy Dick ("NewsRadio") as a maniacal drama teacher and Kieran Culkin (Macaulay's kid brother) as a freshman with delusions of greatness. This is a must-see show ... if you consider Dick a comedic genius. It airs at 7 p.m. Wednesdays on Channel 41. About the only memory I have of Martin Short's low-rated talk show last year was seeing the former "SCTV" player put on a fat suit and prostethic chin and play Jiminy Glick, a cheerfully inept Hollywood reporter-type who bumbled hilariously through interviews. Short's show is gone, but his blobby alter ego is back as "Primetime Glick." The spoofy talk show airs at 9:30 p.m. Wednesday on Comedy Central, after the fifth season premiere of "South Park." With a bow to Martin Mull's classic "Fernwood 2Night," Short has a fake bandleader, played by Michael McKean, who jams on the harp. There also are fake commercials (including a spot-on send-up of PBS-style Britcoms). The guests, however, are real, and what guests: Steve Martin, Billy Crystal, Dennis Miller and Jerry Seinfeld for starters. Fellow "SCTV" alumni Eugene Levy, Dave Thomas and Andrea Martin also will pop up during the first season. (Speaking of "SCTV," chopped-up repeats of the cult classic are airing Tuesday through Friday mornings at 12:35 a.m. on NBC, Channel 41.) The channel formerly known as BET Movies is now Black Starz! and commemorates the switch with the television premiere of "A Huey P. Newton Story," 8 tonight. The movie, directed by Spike Lee, is a one-man play created by and starring Roger Guenveur Smith as the Black Panther leader. Ten years ago, "Rugrats" premiered on Nickelodeon. Coincidentally, the first "Rugrats" repeat aired later that same day. Celebrate either event with an all-new hourlong episode at 7 p.m. Saturday on Nick. You can reach Aaron Barnhart through the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com @ART CAPTION:Paul Reubens @ART CREDIT:NBC @ART CAPTION:Kieran Culkin (clockwise from top left), Katherine Ellis, Kyle Sabihy and Taylor Handley star in NBC's "Go Fish." @ART:Photos (2, color) >>>

KCTV general manager, 9 other employees accept buyout

On the last day that employees of KCTV, Channel 5, could accept early-retirement offers, several did - including the station's general manager, John Rose. Rose, 55, will retire June 30, taking advantage of a special voluntary buyout offer from Meredith Corp. of Des Moines, Iowa. Others who announced their departures Friday were sports anchor/reporter Jack Harry and features reporter Steve Dawson. Peter Barrett, KCTV's program director, said 10 Channel 5 employees, on- and off-camera, were taking the buyout. The station had announced earlier that longtime news anchor Wendall Anschutz and "Call for Action" reporter Stan Cramer would also take early retirement. Rose started in television in 1970 as a sales representative at WDAF, Channel 4, and worked his way up the Taft Broadcasting chain at stations in Philadelphia, Washington and Cincinnati before joining Meredith in 1989. "John's dedication and contributions to KCTV have led the station to the success it enjoys today," Cary Jones, president of Meredith's broadcast group, said in a statement. "We will miss his vision and his leadership, but we wish him and his wife, Karen, a long and healthy retirement." A successor has not been named. Rose serves as president of the Missouri Broadcasters Association and on the boards of the Kansas City Advertising Club Foundation and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City. - You can reach Aaron Barnhart through the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com. @ART CAPTION:Rose @ART:Photo (color) >>>

It's last call for Stan Cramer

It's hard to say what exactly made Stan Cramer stand out. Certainly not his neutral-toned suits or bland Midwestern features. For a guy who feasted on hapless bureaucrats, he could've passed for one himself. What may have set him apart was simply the fact that he was there. For nearly 20 years as the "Call for Action" man on KCTV, Channel 5, Cramer was the one guy in town consumers knew they could pick up the phone and call in the hopes of seeing their grievances fixed on the 10 o'clock news. Now, after dozens of awards and thousands of thank-you notes from grateful viewers, one of Kansas City's best-known TV personalities is signing off for good tonight. The 56-year-old Cramer accepted an early-retirement buyout from Meredith Corp., which is trying to cut costs at the 12 TV stations it owns. KCTV anchor Wendall Anschutz also is taking the golden parachute. Channel 5 is planning a short retrospective of Cramer's career on today's 10 p.m. newscast. The tribute will be repeated on weekend newscasts. His replacement has not been named. Often imitated, "Call for Action" specialized in the ambush interview. Cramer and camera would appear suddenly at the home or business of the alleged miscreant - repairmen accused of shoddy work, contractors charged with swindling clients - and coolly ask them when, in effect, they stopped beating their wives. The smarter ones shrugged their shoulders and walked away. Then there was the guy at a TV-repair shop in 1994 who ambushed Cramer, tearing his shirt and breaking the camera. The man later told police he was "sick and tired of Stan Cramer getting in (his) face all the time." "He's an aggressive guy and an aggressive reporter," said KCTV news director Don North. "It's not every reporter who's good at that kind of thing. The reality, though, is that most of his stories are not like that." Ask Cramer and he'll tell you one of his favorite stories was an unusual intervention he did in 1985. "This was a mother and father who had been falsely accused of abusing the child," Cramer said. "The mother had been told (by a social worker) to file an abuse complaint against herself to get her son transferred to another school. He had Tourette's. We were able to arrange an emergency hearing in juvenile court. The next day the boy was released (to his parents)." He has a little plaque hanging in his office to remember it. It says, "To Stan Cramer, who answered my call for help." Arriving from Nebraska's Creighton University 36 years ago, Cramer began at KCTV as a reporter, then became the station's community affairs director. When the "Call for Action" craze swept the TV-news industry in the early 1980s, Cramer established a consumer hot line for KCTV. At first it consisted of phone lines manned by 25 to 30 volunteers. Then the station's general manager, Phil Jones, decided to turn the service into a newscast segment. "He said, 'Stan, you can make anything of this you want,' " Cramer recalled. In the mid-1990s, North made "Call for Action" a nightly staple on Channel 5 newscasts so that viewers would "build an allegiance to it," North said. That they have, and "Call for Action" has grown larger and more influential around Channel 5 as well as Kansas City. "My job gave me a unique opportunity to have power - the power of television - to help resolve problems for people," Cramer said. "The feeling you get from getting someone a refund or their due is so much more than just doing a television story." Without a doubt, Cramer's career high point came in 1995 when Channel 5 aired footage of then-Kansas City school superintendent Walter Marks - who had taken medical leave for a bad back - lifting heavy boxes and lumber while supposedly recuperating in Florida. The school board fired Marks three months later. Cramer's report won numerous awards, includ- ing a prestigious honor from Investigative Reporters and Editors. Other Cramer reports drew fire from his targets, who filed lawsuits against KCTV and complained that "Call for Action" had unfairly maligned them and their businesses. One subject he absolutely will not discuss on the record is the agreement KCTV reached last year with a former female producer of "Call for Action" who charged Cramer with sexual harassment and discrimination. Another employee told The Star last year that she also had complained about an incident involving Cramer. Still, Cramer remained popular with viewers right to the end, helping keep KCTV's 10 p.m. newscast a competitive second to KMBC in the ratings. As for his future plans, Cramer said he's going to "take a couple of months off" and figure them out. "It's entirely possible I'll get back in the television consumer reporting business, or radio," he said. "But I don't plan not to work. I will work. One thing I do enjoy doing is helping people." You can reach Aaron Barnhart through the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com @ART CAPTION:Stan Cramer checks out of KCTV today @ART:Photo (color) @ART CREDIT:KCTV >>>

P.S.

Signing off KCTV news anchor Wendall Anschutz has decided to accept an early retirement offer, the station announced Tuesday. Anschutz, 63, who was due to retire in two years, was offered the buyout package by Meredith Corp., the Des Moines, Iowa, company that owns Channel 5. Meredith is offering early retirement to 170 of its 2,700 full-time employees. Last week, consumer reporter Stan Cramer said he would accept the buyout. Anschutz's last day will be June 28 - just shy of 35 years with KCTV. - Aaron Barnhart/The Star Open for business Ruby McIntyre of Ruby's Cafe will continue to serve peach cobbler and homemade ice cream until her restaurant's 50th anniversary this fall, thanks to the customers. The soul food cafe at 1506 Brooklyn Ave. closed unexpectedly last week after hard rains brought down part of the roof. McIntyre's business hung in limbo until loyal customers came to the rescue. Daniel Bray of Lafarge Corp. has hired crews to make temporary repairs to the roof. Bray, a Ruby's regular, will pay for the work. J.R. Barnes of Comprehensive Packaging and Supply, another regular, has offered to supply some of the materials. Barnes said, "She's showed love to so many people and so many kids in this city. It's time for the public to give something back." - Sophia Maines/The Star Hope springs southeast Hope House, an emergency shelter for battered women and children, breaks ground Thursday for its Lee's Summit campus. The agency, based in Independence for 16 years, is adding a facility in Lee's Summit. The 55-bed shelter will have three buildings and provide individual and group therapy, day care and other services to clients living there and in the community, said Vicki Winter, public relations manager. Hope House board member Nancy Kauffman DuVall and Lee's Summit Mayor Karen Messerli are leading a $4 million campaign to build and operate the shelter. The agency already has raised $3.5 million for the project, Winter said. Women needing assistance can call Hope House's hot line at (816) 461-HOPE (461-4673). - Russ Pulley/The Star @ART CAPTION:Take a bow- In her Dapper Dancers class at the Blue Valley Recreation Activity Center in Overland Park, Marilynn Luttrell teaches 3-year-olds the basics of tap dance and ballet. At the end of class Tuesday, she showed Alexa Summers of Overland Park how to curtsy in a tutu. @ART CREDIT:GARVEY SCOTT/The Kansas City Star @ART CAPTION:Anschutz @ART:Photos (2, color) >>>

Through intense media coverage, McVeigh got a 'public podium'

Timothy McVeigh looked up and slowly nodded at each of 10 witnesses gazing at him through an observation window at his feet. They were reporters, and as he recognized their presence, "there was almost a sense of pride," said one witness. He might not have entertained journalists around the clock the way another famous federal inmate, John Brown, once did. But since his arrest six years ago in connection with the Oklahoma City bombing, McVeigh has been the center of a news story that has generated frequent and intense media interest. This fact did not escape U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, who pleaded with the press "not (to) become Timothy McVeigh's co-conspirators" and give him one last "public podium." McVeigh got one anyway at his execution, held not at the fabled hour of one minute after midnight, but shortly after 7 a.m. on a Monday, when millions of Americans were sure to follow it on TV. When they tuned in, they saw a swarm of reporters and cameras that greatly outnumbered those who had come to hold vigil. In Terre Haute, more than 1,000 press passes were issued. Death-penalty supporters and protesters outside numbered fewer than 200. In Oklahoma City, Brian Espe, a survivor of the blast, told NBC's Katie Couric, "I'm really bothered by all the media attention (McVeigh) has gotten when we should be remembering the 168 people who died right behind me." Other survivors expressed similar outrage. But what was the press to do? Stay away? Ardent death-penalty opponent Sister Helen Prejean, made famous in the movie "Dead Man Walking," told MSNBC's Forrest Sawyer, "In a perverse way, it gives Timothy McVeigh all of this unbelievable attention by doing this to him through violence, which is precisely the way he made his point." Contrasting McVeigh with his co-conspirator, Terry Nichols - who is serving a life sentence without parole - Prejean said: "Nobody wrote a book about Terry Nichols. Nobody's even saying his name." Overall, TV coverage of the execution was workmanlike. Viewers followed the goings-on inside the penitentiary through colorful graphics. They heard from survivors and, afterward, witnesses. Only ABC's "Good Morning America" did something exceptional by using the minutes of McVeigh's execution to broadcast a moving tribute to those who died in the explosion. The names, ages and photographs of the 168 victims quietly scrolled across the screen. Then several of the rescuers and survivors read from "impact statements" they had submitted at McVeigh's sentencing - testimonies to the human suffering that went on at the federal building. On a day otherwise dominated by Terre Haute's brick, concrete and barbed wire, MSNBC captured, at 6:45 a.m., a lovely, pristine picture of the Oklahoma City memorial and reflecting pool. Minutes later, TV crews started cluttering up the view. The lowlight came on NBC's "Today" show, as Tom Brokaw sat down with Matt Lauer to remember what it was like doing the nightly news six years ago in Oklahoma City. Brokaw declared that McVeigh "obviously wanted to be captured" because he had been pulled over for speeding while fleeing the crime scene. In fact, McVeigh was a notorious leadfoot who had been ticketed several times before the bombing. Brokaw also stated his hope that "history will show that this was the act of one man" (tell that to the Nichols jury), and he added that McVeigh's story "is a cautionary tale for all of us." Exactly how? Fox News Channel stuck to its usual no-frills coverage, though it had the advantage of a reporter (Shepard Smith) who was one of the 10 media witnesses to the execution. CBS's coverage seemed a mile away from the action, though Jane Clayson in Terre Haute gamely tried to interview whomever she could. On Sunday, CBS's "60 Minutes" rebroadcast a 1998 segment in which Jack Kevorkian was shown on videotape giving a patient a lethal injection. Mike Wallace pointedly noted that Kevorkian, now in prison, "has been prevented from meeting with reporters. Timothy McVeigh, on the other hand, was allowed to meet with several reporters during his time in prison." But Kevorkian is still with us and hopes to be able to talk to the media soon. When he does, you can bet the reporters and cameras will be lined up to greet him. You can reach Aaron Barnhart through the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com. >>>

Fear not this 'Factor' but do avoid it

"Fear Factor," the NBC series that premieres at 7 tonight on Channel 41, is basically "Jackass" with a jackpot. Do something hideously stupid that no thinking person would do and win big prizes (if your idea of a big prize is $50,000 before taxes). NBC has been running those "Fear Factor" promos nonstop - you know, the one where 400 rats swarm over a female contestant, people jump from one semi-truck to the next, etc. According to NBC, you'll also see a contestant "lie still while covered in live snakes," as if there were any other way to act around live snakes, and you'll see two contestants dragged by horses down a muddy street. Remember the good old days of "Guinness World Records" and the guy who drank more ketchup than anyone else? Can we get that back? Please? Well, it's no "Network," but "The Beast," ABC's summer series about a fictional 24-hour news channel, projects a very curious fantasy about journalism that - in this journalist's opinion, at least - makes it highly watchable. "The Beast," which premieres at 9 p.m. Wednesday on Channel 9, imagines a network where editorial meetings are aired live on the Web; where journalists are encouraged to lard up their stories with personal biases; and where executions are broadcast live and in deathly color. And it's pretty much held together by the force of Frank Langella, who cherry-picks from Howard Beale, Citizen Kane and "The Truman Show's" Christof to create his character, Jackson Burns. Burns is a hands-on media mogul who exhorts his charges to do stories "from the heart." "I want them to see us struggle with the truth the way they struggle with the truth," Jackson says about his viewers. But unlike "The West Wing," where that kind of earnestness has turned into script poison, Jackson converts it into fire and fuel, then feeds it to "The Beast." That is, television. I'll admit it: I am not a student of the soap operas. I cannot deconstruct the telenovela, although thanks to the Internet, I do know how to mix a "Mar-Timmy." But I think I know why many young people today watch the soaps. They think they're hilarious. None of that nauseating Rosie O'Donnell fan worship. Not for today's smarter soaper. The campier the show, the weirder the scripts, the dumber the actors, all the better. That would explain what MTV had in mind with "Spyder Games," the daily soap it launched last week. "Spyder Games," which airs at 2 p.m. (with repeats at 10 p.m.), has all the icons of the genre: the small town, the dynastic family, the endless opportunities for mate-swapping and back-stabbing. It is conventional as can be, right down to the overlit video quality, the glycerin teardrops and the hokey eavesdropping scenes. What's different is that no one of consequence on "Spyder Games" is over the age of 30. This show makes "Dawson's Creek" look geriatric. What MTV is doing is obvious - it's hijacking the next generation of soap watchers from the networks. And smothering them in the kind of sexual gymnastics that makes MTV's other steamy series, "Undressed," seem practically tepid. For those of you unhappy because you heard KCPT had chickened out of showing a film that's critical of Wal-Mart, one word: Relax. "Store Wars: When Wal-Mart Comes to Town" is a documentary chronicling the story of a small Virginia town whose citizens do battle with the discount chain. The people who are trying to keep Wal-Mart from building stores near their homes in Lee's Summit and Overland Park think their neighbors should see the film. So do I. But "Store Wars" was only an optional offering to PBS stations, many of which aren't going to air it. Channel 19 decided to delay the airdate because it has a pledge drive going on this weekend. KCPT's Cynthia Smith said the film will air locally sometime in August. If you can't wait that long, then call up a friend in Johnson County who has cable. "Store Wars" is airing at 9 tonight on Topeka's public station, KTWU (repeating overnight at 1 and 4 a.m.). For those of you who missed Spike Lee's wicked satire of the TV business, "Bamboozled," which played only briefly in local theaters, you can watch it on inDemand pay-per-view during June. - You can reach Aaron Barnhart at www.tvbarn.com @ART CAPTION:Contestants perform risky stunts for prizes on NBC's "Fear Factor." @ART:Photo (color) @ART CREDIT:NBC >>>

KCTV stands to lose veterans; Cramer, Anschutz get buyout offers

Kansas City's CBS affiliate, KCTV, Channel 5, announced Wednesday that veteran consumer reporter Stan Cramer had accepted an early-retirement offer and would leave the station June 15. And there may be another shoe waiting to drop: KCTV's senior anchor, Wendall Anschutz, says he is also considering a retirement offer from Meredith Corp., the Des Moines, Iowa, company that owns KCTV. Anschutz's departure would not be a surprise. He is 63 and halfway through what he has long said will be his last five-year contract. Anschutz was scheduled to pare back all but his duties on the 5 p.m. newscast beginning in August. But the loss of Cramer was sudden and unexpected. If it is coupled with Anschutz's retirement, the face of Channel 5 and the Kansas City media landscape will change significantly. Meredith has offered early retirement to 170 of its 2,700 full-time employees. Only those employees age 55 or older and with 10 years of service as of June 30 are eligible. Besides 12 TV stations, Meredith publishes Better Homes and Gardens and more than 120 other magazines and specialty publications. Three members of KCTV's engineering department have taken up Meredith on its offer, said program director Peter Barrett. Eight members of the newsroom, including Cramer and Anschutz, qualify for the buyout. The deadline to accept is June 15. Because employees sometimes have a change of heart, the retirements will not be finalized until the deadline passes. Cramer's decision, however, appears to be final. Management announced it to the newsroom Tuesday and issued a news release Wednesday. "It was an opportunity I absolutely could not ignore," Cramer, 56, said Wednesday. He reportedly will receive two weeks' pay for every year of service. Cramer has been at KCTV 36 years. In the midst of an advertising slowdown, many media companies, including The Kansas City Star's owner, Knight Ridder, have offered employees buyout plans. Cramer started at KCTV as a cub reporter before being named community affairs director. His "Call for Action" consumer segment evolved out of the public-affairs programming that was under Cramer's purview. Anschutz, who has been at Channel 5 since 1966, was anchor on the 5, 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts before giving up the 6 p.m. job two years ago. He said Wednesday that Meredith's retirement package was very attractive but that he was reluctant to accept it. "I'm torn, both financially and emotionally," said Anschutz, who stands to make about a year and a half's salary through the buyout. "It's a good deal for the government, but I'm not sure how good a deal it is for me," Anschutz joked. - You can reach Aaron Barnhart through the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com. @ART CAPTION:Cramer; Anschutz @ART:Photos (2, color) >>>

Disney's 'Jett' prepares for takeoff

Parents have so much on their minds these days. So in case you've forgotten whether you have (a) cable television or (b) children, here's a simple test: Who is Jett Jackson? If you know the answer, congratulations! You have both kids and cable. Jett Jackson is a fictional character appealingly played by Lee Thompson Young in the Disney Channel series by the same name. On Friday a special "Jett Jackson: The Movie" will have its premiere at 6 p.m. and repeat three times over the weekend. At 16, Jett is the most recognized teen in the land, thanks to Silverstone, a super-hero character he plays on TV. Problem is, the real-life Jett - I mean, the real-life fictional Jett - yearns to give up the celebrity lifestyle and be a normal kid again. But in a twist reminiscent of "Galaxy Quest," a strange accident turns Jett into his alter ego, and he finds himself chasing the mad scientist from the TV series for real - uh, I mean for "real." (Don't worry, your kids have got this all figured out.) This is well-done, squeaky-clean entertainment, although perhaps too exciting for the littlest ones. In light of complaints by minority groups against the big networks, it's worth mentioning that "Jett Jackson" is ethnically diverse, too. There's no denying that Kristin Chenoweth has a startlingly clear voice that's well-suited for the stage. But whether the Tony Award-winning actress is ready for a non-singing role on the small screen is another matter. For months, NBC has been sitting on episodes of "Kristin," the self-titled comedy starring Chenoweth that was supposed to debut this winter. Then it got pushed to the spring. It's finally airing at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday on NBC (Channel 41). Multiple delays are usually not a good sign for a show; nor is the fact that NBC is burning off these episodes in the summer. My suspicions were confirmed on viewing the show's pilot episode. "Kristin" is about a small-town girl who comes to New York to realize her dream of making it in show business, but first she must take a job working for a man wow, I'm getting sleepy just describing it. "Making the Band," the reality series that showed us how to build a boy band from the ground up, burns through its second season with back-to-back episodes at 7 p.m. Friday on ABC (Channel 9). I say "burns through" because the band, named O-Town for their home base of Orlando, have not exactly burned up the Nielsen ratings for ABC. After the season opener fared poorly, these episodes were yanked and saved for summer. So low is O-Town's stock around ABC that they weren't even included in "Walt Disney World Summer Jam Concert," held practically in the group's back yard. The concert, featuring Sugar Ray, Shaggy, Dream, BBMak and the ubiquitous Baha Men ("Who Let the Dogs Out"), airs 6 p.m. Sunday on Channel 9. That's not to say O-Town has been a total washout. Its debut album went platinum last year, and the second single, "All or Nothing," has been a staple on "TRL," the daily countdown show and screamfest on MTV. Like Jett Jackson, O-Town is a big fish in the small pond of cable TV. Have you found yourself checking the lineups on the TV Guide Channel (it used to be called the Prevue Channel) and asking yourself, "Haven't I seen her somewhere before?" No, I'm not talking about Cleo, the tarot card reader who seems to be everywhere. TV Guide Channel has begun airing 15-minute programs on the top half of its screen. One of them, "The Screening Room," is the kind of movie preview show where non-journalists throw softball questions at film stars. That's where you might have spotted the familiar face of Debbie Matenopoulos. She was the Generation X-er who was a co-host of "The View" until someone at ABC realized, We can do better than this, and replaced Matenopoulos with Lisa Ling. Now Matenopoulos is co-host of "The Screening Room." Well, TV Guide Channel can do better than this, too. Matenopoulos can't read a prompter to save her perfect skin. Sloppy diction is OK over at MTV, where Barbara Walters discovered her. But now Matenopoulos has to compete with a rolling TV log - and frankly, the log is more interesting. You can reach Aaron Barnhart at www.tvbarn.com. @ART CAPTION:Stage actor Kristin Chenowith takes on TV in "Kristin" starting Tuesday. @ART:Photo (color) @ART CREDIT:NBC >>> CORRECTION: Because of a schedule change by NBC, the new series "Kristin" will air at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday on Channel 41, not 8:30 p.m. as reported in today's FYI section. The FYI section is printed in advance.