urbanSTL

well, the negative publicity continues. I'm not sure how the amount of car thefts in downtown st. louis stacks up against cities of similar size, but i don't think that was the point of the story. is it really that bad? i don't know, but the same day that the rankings for most dangerous cities came out, i was driving home thinking about how unfair it was... i was about a block from my loft and it was around 4 in the afternoon when i witnessed some thief trying to drive off in a neon he stole. he lost control of the car and nailed another parked car and then hopped out and started running like the wind. we really need some vigilante justice.

^Thanks for the explanation. The problem people here have is that we see all these stories and there is usually no mention of any other crime happening anywhere else, and they seem to often make it out as anyone that ventures into the big bad city is going to become a victim. 11,000 crimes in 4 years is a lot, but how many people more people are coming down and not being victimized? And how many people that were victims left stuff laying out in plain view? I'm not trying to make excuses, but I've never had a problem and I've lived in the city for 20 years.



Now I was surprised to see how many were in structured parking. I think that really is an issue. Seems like something more could definitely be done there. I may hate these reports, but they do make me think a little sometimes.

OK, first, do we need for the first 10 minutes of the local news to highlight nothing other than homicides, assaults, car accidents and anything resembling death? That's 1/3 of the local broadcast.



OK, off that and on to the story. 11,000 car break-ins since 2002 in downtown? I can see where that could be newsworthy if the numbers are accurate. Maybe bringing it to the public attention will make the city and some garage owners try and do more to prevent these things from happening. BUT, do you have to use sound bites like the guy who said, "I will try and stay out of downtown as much as possible from now on?" I mean the city is obviously turining itself around and you would hope the news would do everything they can to help show the continued progress. Why not talk about the fact that our downtown like most other metropolitan downtowns has its share of petty crime? Here are the numbers and here is what the city is doing to help prevent further break-ins. But instead, KMOV has to play the slant of giving the naysayers even more ammo of why not to come down and spend some time in the city. It's all just so negative and it does not have to be reported that way. Maybe part two tomorrow will speak more to this, we'll see. Don't have a problem necessarily with the story, just the way the story was reported.

Has anyone been in that Gentry's Landing garage?



I work two blocks from it and was AMAZED at its size. It's six stories underground and three blocks long. Just gigantic.



I was afraid we would get thrown out on our visit to the garage.... but we drove around inside there for a good half-hour and saw only one security guard on a golf cart.



Our expert said the garage did not meet the minimum for foot-candles of light required in a parking garage (which we double-checked with a light meter) and as we saw, the security cameras are only good when someone is keeping an eye on them.



I think people want to know this kind of stuff when they're choosing a garage and paying $10 to park for a ballgame.

It's sweeps month (or is it sensationalism month) in TV land.



I just hate to see any "negative" press on downtown when it is in an upswing. I think there are far more DANGEROUS parts of the city and worse crimes taking place in other areas than our new downtown. We ae finally getting St. Louis' suburbanites to come downtown and see it.



But again, it is SWEEPS month and this crap sells. That is the only reason. period. It is just too bad that it is at downtown's expense and right after such a "bogus" report of "most dangerous".



I like KMOV, but this is some type of a report I would expect on KTVI or KSDK. Too bad.

One more thing and then I'll shut up...



If you're interested in our process -- how we worked the numbers -- here's a link.



http://www.beloblog.com/KMOV_Blogs/n4idailybriefing/



If you want to see what our map of downtown looked like after we did our analysis of the numbers... here ya go.

I was "at the least" happy to see them point it that it was "like any other downtown" (the problem of car break-ins I mean).



I understand news coverage of negative or "fear fest" as I call it roots some people to the TV. I think this is more of a cultural thing though. I was in Ireland recently, and the news was nothing but positive.



What I don't get is WHY can't the news focus on the positive side of downtown more than the negative? Why can't we have a feature on the Hill, South city. Loft district, etc..... the beauty of it all?



YES...... There are issues some people have in DT. They (mostly) are underprivileged and see opulence around them and want to "take" some of what they can't get. Why focus only on the negative?

What do ya know. One of the hotspots is where the bums hang out in Lucas Park. Go figure.

Downtown2007 wrote:What do ya know. One of the hotspots is where the bums hang out in Lucas Park. Go figure.

And tomorrow we ask police why they're not doing more about that.

I didn't see the news story, but really, people here should stop acting so indignant every time the media comes out with a story that doesn't line up with an individual's rose colored glasses. St. Louis city has the highest crime rate in the country. Think about that. That's higher than Camden, Compton, East St. Louis for crying out loud! I don't care HOW you cut the numbers, that's embarassing by any stretch.



Car thefts have gotten so bad that Rockstar games is going to set the next Grand Theft Auto game in the city.



And yes, things are picking up downtown, and yes, these stories do more to hurt the image than help spur improvements, but that doesn't take away from the fact that crime happens most often (per capita) in the city. Does it happen mostly to people who know each other? Yes. But whenever I worked downtown, I was always relieved to come back to my car and see that a window hadn't been smashed out or the car itself stolen.



I think the media has to balance the good with the bad, and after the insane high after the Cards game, it was sadly only natural the media would swing back onto the bad. Such is the awy of the media. I don't like it, but sometimes, constructive criticism is a positive thing for a city intent on rebounding.

Steve - thanks for posting here.



It's never fun to see the city in a negative light (unless of course you don't live in the 'city', but elsewhere like Kirkwood or Clayton . . . or St. Charles). However, there is a serious crime problem here - there would be a serious crime probably if we were one of the safest metro areas. I'm going to say that it's a positive that these things are being pointed out. Crime is something that exists in every town and city, but it seems that our city and police are not doing a good job. I just wish that the news would report the obvious shortfalls of the current situation. It doesn't take an investigation to find that we have fewer officers on the street, that black parts of the city see little investment, that our schools are broken (uneducated people without a job are more likely to commit a crime) etc. etc. etc. etc. I would love to see these things covered until they change.

Steve Chamraz wrote:One more thing and then I'll shut up...



If you're interested in our process -- how we worked the numbers -- here's a link.



http://www.beloblog.com/KMOV_Blogs/n4idailybriefing/



If you want to see what our map of downtown looked like after we did our analysis of the numbers... here ya go.

Welcome to the group.

Can you answer why Channel 4 can't have a positive spin of the city? It will certainly differentiate it from the competition and I am sure there are people who would want to watch that more than the BLAH we hear about. It is really depressing. (How about the 10:15-10:30 pm Happy News Hour)

Oh BTW.... you will also get a lot of accolade from this forum

Positive spin on downtown... let's see...



Well, we just did a couple weeks of stories about the Cardinals showing a vibrant, booming downtown. That was followed by coverage of the $800 million or so Ballpark Village. Tonight, we featured Vin de Set, a great new restaurant on the edge of Lafayette Square in a rehabbed warehouse building. I know we've done stories about the loft boom, as well.



As for tonight's piece... we weren't looking to do a story that put a bad spin on the city. We wanted to point out a problem so people may feel the urge to do something about it. For example...



If it's a family from west county coming down for the game -- they may want to be picky about the garage they choose to patronize.



If it's the garage owners -- they may want to make their facilities safer.



If it's the police/city -- they may want to make sure the people who come downtown have a good, safe experience while they're here.



This board is obviously full of people who really want to see downtown succeed. I would hope you would use this information to seek change from those who have the power to create change.

These stories were the result of a couple hundred man-hours of work and cost us thousands of dollars to produce. It was not something that a reporter turned in a day based off of a press release.



When a television station puts those resources into a story, they expect a return on their investment. So, of course a story like this will run in a "sweeps" period. Why hide a lantern under a basket? The upside is... a larger group of people are watching TV during "sweeps" so a story like this can reach a bigger audience, having a greater impact.



One day, "sweeps" months will be eliminated and you'll see stories like this run year-round. Until then, television stations will continue to funnel their big projects into these important months.



And we're not "riding the wave" as you suggest. This is a project we began in June and completed just last week.

Steve Chamraz wrote:Positive spin on downtown... let's see...



Well, we just did a couple weeks of stories about the Cardinals showing a vibrant, booming downtown. That was followed by coverage of the $800 million or so Ballpark Village. Tonight, we featured Vin de Set, a great new restaurant on the edge of Lafayette Square in a rehabbed warehouse building. I know we've done stories about the loft boom, as well.



As for tonight's piece... we weren't looking to do a story that put a bad spin on the city. We wanted to point out a problem so people may feel the urge to do something about it. For example...



If it's a family from west county coming down for the game -- they may want to be picky about the garage they choose to patronize.



If it's the garage owners -- they may want to make their facilities safer.



If it's the police/city -- they may want to make sure the people who come downtown have a good, safe experience while they're here.



This board is obviously full of people who really want to see downtown succeed. I would hope you would use this information to seek change from those who have the power to create change.

Unfortunately by wanting to point out a problem you did it in a way that will keep some people from setting foot in downtown unless absolutely necessary. Just look at small things like the music bed that was used for the piece. That jarring, echoing, booming sound was meant to incite fear, danger and risk. So the tone was set early then carried on throughout the spot. I just don't undersand why you wouldn't want to infuse a small bit of positive support. Instead of interviewing someone who says they will avoid downtown at all costs, find someone who agrees that there is a problem but loves living in the city and is hoping that measures are being taken to help the problem. You CAN do an investigative report without the scare tactics.

Having been one of the three or four dozen people Steve talked to before his station aired the story, I have to say that I found him to be open-minded and fair about the material he included. Too often, reporters show up for interviews with un-shakeable theories.



Not Steve. He asked good questions, listened to the answers, and changed his mind about some things.



He had already noticed that downtown's changing population had colored the crime stats: the presence of new businesses and, especially, residents have shifted some of the auto crime from streets to the big parking garages. More eyes on the streets have changed things.



If his second story highlights two things (1) the difficulty and frustration of policing crimes that judges do not consider important enough for jail, and (2) the fact that most cars parked downtown never have problems, while some cars parked in suburban malls do -- then, I can live with it.



PS The circuit attorney's website lets its readers track cases through the courts. How many people hand-wringing about this kind of story took the time to figure out which circuit judges up for retention on Tuesday's ballot routinely let car clouters walk out of court?

St. Louis has the highest crime rate per capita. Let's make that distiction. Not that it is "better". If St. Louis city could stretch the lines of city limits to match those of Cambdenton, NJ (260 sq miles), KC, MO (319 sq miles), or Detroit, MI (138.8 sq miles) the city would NOT have a crime rate to what many would feel is "bad". It isn't rocket science / nor "comparable) when you look at St. Louis (61.9 sq miles) and calculate it's crime against other cities. SO would we be saying St. Louis has the "highest crime" or a "crime problem" if we had the square mileage in comparison to other cities? Probably not. Think about that for a minute. St. Louis city, unfortunately has a very HIGH per person capita. This allows crime reports / statistics to show higher crime rates per person than any other city. NOT that St. Louis had more murders or non-violent crimes that Chicago, Detroit, L.A. or Miami. It doesn't. Yes, St. Louis city has crime issues, but maybe St. Louis would have a better police department doing a better job if St. Louis had a larger area providing a better and larger police department through larger funding.

Who knows, but important to note when comparing crime in St. Louis. Not ignoring it - but recognizing that St. Louis could have one of the nations lowest crime rates in the nation if we stretched out our boundaries to levels of comparable crime ridden cities. It is like comparing apples to oranges when I hear city to city comparisons in crime rate statistics (because they are done on a level of "per capita").





Steve:

If it's a family from west county coming down for the game -- they may want to be picky about the garage they choose to patronize.

The problem is ... they won't come downtown. Maybe for a game. But any further patronizing to downtown may become to "scary". They will leave right away after a game because they saw a report on KMOV about downtown's crime. Futhermore, Suburbanites, unfortunately, think the Central West End is downtown, Lafayette Square and Soulard is downtown, and midtown is downtown.

Steve - just want to reiterate that I appreciate you posting on this site and I hope that you continue to do so. There are some strong opinions here, but most are very fair. We'll all benefit from your input and perspective.

A comment to Steve: I hate the "sound effects" on the report. Just report the facts. We can understand the gravity of the situation. Tell your boss ASAP--thnx!

publiceye wrote:Having been one of the three or four dozen people Steve talked to before his station aired the story, I have to say that I found him to be open-minded and fair about the material he included. Too often, reporters show up for interviews with un-shakeable theories.



Not Steve. He asked good questions, listened to the answers, and changed his mind about some things.

I actually don't doubt that. How many other reporters have ever taken the time to come here and have a discussion. Steve gets some points in my book for that. I still think it comes down to station management wanting to do things like this.



I think the biggest issue we have with this is that it just gets old having to constantly defend the city against this stuff. We all know there are some issues to address, but we don't want people to pick up unfounded fears.