St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 31

ST, LOUIS POST-DISPATCH EVERYDAY SUNDAY, MAY 30, 1999 C9 www.postnet.com Pleasant glow accompanies sweeps hangover if Introduce Yourself to Our Complete Assisted Reproductive Technology Center at No Cost! Complimentary 30 Minute Consultation 1 In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) Donor Oocyte lntra-Cytoplasmtc Sperm Injection (IC8I) Tubal Reversals Gamete Intrn-Fallopian Transfer (GIFT) Sperm Aspiration Zygote Intra-Fallopian Transfer (ZIKT) Gender Preselection Intrauterine Insemination Men considering a vasectomy reversal may benefit from a consultation. Dl The May sweeps are over, and watching almost 60 hours of St Louis TV news has given me a bad case of been-there, seen-that Maybe it's true that there's nothing new under the sun. What else would account for tired old topics like the curse of cellulite, medicine for pets and even, heaven PenpiMton Ronald P. Wilboi M.D. Missouri Baptist Diagnostic Center 3009 N.

Halloa fir. Suite 359C St. Louis, MO 63131 636) CALL IVF or toll tree (877) IVF BABY www.ivfctrstl.org Accredited by the College of American Pathologists COLA help us, storm chasers, who had their five minutes of fame way back in the 'Twister" era, turning up yet again? At least nobody promised "Free money!" or Julius Hunter Let Us Entertain You! Se and buy some of Illinois' finest a more common here than St. Louisans realize. The topic was sensational, and Kendrick's delivery was emotional at times don't look the other way," she begged viewers), but the package still shed important light on a horrible situation.

(We could, however, have done without promos promising video so graphic that even the promos carried a parental advisory, and without Kendrick's introduction, in which she said the video was being shown because "I want you to see and hear for yourself what I found." The phrasing strongly implied that Channel 30 had originated the video, which actually was provided by the Humane Society.) Hot topics: Professional wrestling. As everyone reported on the death of a wrestler the night before the WWF visited St. Louis, Channel S's Matt Winer had a feature ready on hazards to copy-catting kids. Channel 11 's Rich Gould, meanwhile, dug out vintage tapes of "Wrestling at the Chase," but failed to put them in any context or even tell what year the shows aired. (It was also tacky to use a lead story on the wrestler's death to plug the later "Wrestling at the Chase" feature.) Lucky pennies.

Oddly, valuable coins were story topics for both Channels 2 and 4. Health and beauty. No new diet surfaced, but Channel 4's Jamie Allman explored herbs while colleague Marc, Cox reported on the use of human growth hormone to arrest aging. (That two-parter, showcasing a man who both takes and sells the compound, came off too much like a pitch for the product.) Stories on slimming swimsuits, bargain makeup and an exercise fad called "cardio-karate" also got air time. Channel 4's poor Al Wiman was stuck with reporting on dubious treatments for thigh-dimpling cellulite, while Channel 11 's Sandy Miller took a big-pic- i crafts and art at ir.rJiJLL:- the Artisans I i i Visitors Center.

Go 600 ft. below ground into an actual cod mine. nW' Visit the site of Illinois' fast public Mike Owens ture approach in a two-parter on the whole beauty question. Unfortunately, serious segments on how self-esteem may drop after seeing too many beautiful people in magazines and on TV were il-' lustrated with pictures of you guessed it gorgeous, half-dressed women. And the story was followed by the station's "Daily Web poll" asking, "Who is the sexiest female WB (network) star?" Anchor wit: After yet another piece on the "Star Wars" movie, Channel 4's Larry Conners asked co-anchor Julius Hunter whether he'd seen it yet.

Hunter explained that he'd been busy, then added, deadpan, "I'm happy just promoting it." (By the way, congratulations to Hunter on marking 25 years on the air.) After a Channel 30 feature on using lasers to "get rid of unwanted hair at an affordable price" showed a laser at work on a woman's armpits, anchor Patrick Emory quipped, "I don't know. I think I'll just continue to shave under my arms." Blink and you missed it: Channel 30 had bad luck with live "spe- Historic Jail and Museum, i 1 The Rend lake exhumed that exorcism feature this time around. A sweeps period, when ratings are used to set advertising rates, is traditionally an occasion for stations to do their best (or worst). The general lack of tackiness that has typified St Louis newscasts during recent sweeps is a good thing no one, surely, is clamoring for the return of exposes on topless maid service. What we all ought to be clamoring for, though, is more effort all around, including more investigative reporting and more stories that think outside the box of what worked before and what brought ratings for some other station.

I'm not suggesting that St Louis TV reporters didn't work hard on the stories we saw during May. Many of them probably have the same between-the-eyes headache I do right now. And even some of the most familiar stones felt fresh when skilled reporters got their hands on them. Herewith, a recap of the peaks and pits, the smarts and sillys of May sweeps. Best for last Some of the finest work of the month turned up in the last few days.

Channel 4's Kara Kaswell cial events" this month. After digging for the axle of the World's Fair Ferris wheel and coming up with a battered bedpan, the station dispatched reporter Allison Seymour to emcee live LASIK eye surgery to correct nearsightedness. Unfortunately, the surgeon worked so fast that when the procedure was joined in progress, it was all but over, except for a lot of talk about "oozing." And about that Ferris wheel: Yes, the story was fun to make fun of over-hyped, stretched out way too long and pinned to an essentially pointless quest. (If they'd found the darned axle, what would they have done with it anyway?) But can you really argue with showcasing St. Louis history and an enduring local legend? Paul Brown, whose heart was obviously in the effort, did a terrific job, and the package as a whole gets an for enterprise.

By the numbers: Viewership was down almost across the board at 10 p.m. in May, with only Channel 30 showing a gain. I'll have the full numbers in Thursday's column. Shooting lomplex I features trap, sporting days, archery range and more. Rend Lake Resort offers lakeside lodging, cabins, boat docks, restaurant and meeting 90 miles from St Louis! (Take 64 East to 57 South) 1 Rend Lake Golf Course is one of the finest in ibe onn in nana Midwest, featuring dw vui-rrig lodqinq, dining or visit our website www.fctb.com ft.

IS 7 uiiu iiramiinj iuuiiiius. Illinok 01 Franklin County Tourism Bureau was outstanding in a follow-up report on an area firm that con tinues to bilk residents with travel-time share scheme that doesn't pay off. ave on the best selection of bedroom sets Channel S's Randy Jackson reported from Long Beach on tne important "syner gy between Boeing and TWA, tied to new jets the aerospace Memorial ivery Day! firm is building for the airline. Channel 30's Andy Banker brought remarkable life to a fa miliar topic: how to avoid tele marketers and others who invade privacy to sell products. The two part report was especially strong the first night, which focused on firms that leave handbills on doors.

Channel 2's Jill Farmer warned of an auto-repair shop uj c- that steered at least one custom er to hundreds of dollars of ap scgu mmmrn rnmm) parently unnecessary work. The only problem with the investigation was its limited range. Also strong was Farmer's earlier report on a bait-and-switch scam involving carpet-cleaning cou pons. More good stuff: After six months off the air, Channel 5's Mike Owens returned with an almost-perfect two-parter on HMOs, pegged to a man who was refused a heart test and suffered for it. The battle be It's our "lest Price" Guarantee! tween patients and HMOs isn't a new topic by any means, but it's a vital one, and Owens produced a package that was both balanced and hard-hitting.

(Owens legal problems, in case you missed the announcement, were resolved when he paid a $75 fine for violating the in rif XlV'tf MONICO WALL UNIT $699 MULE 47 CHEST $799ARMOIRE pictured above. HONEY CREEK $899 DRESSER $399 MIRROR pictured to the left. open-container law. He had been arrested after an incident at a casino.) Channel 4's Anne Steffens delved into the struggle between small hog farmers, packers and supermarkets in the two-part report "Losing the Farm." What could be more important to St. Louisans than whether the price of pork steaks soars? Channel 4's Lisa Brown investigated serious problems with Mini-500 kit-built helicopters like the one in which traffic reporter Allen Barklage was killed.

Channel 30's Dawn Kendrick reported in depth on dog fighting, talking with insiders about the horrific "sport" that may be TKIiT' l. i il 5 I Interest for 12 MONTHS." Memorial Week Offer good through approved credit. Channel 24 joins UPN; 'Star Trek: Voyager' returns KNLC (Channel 24) launches its new affiliation with the United Paramount Network (UPN) on Monday with a marathon of five "Star Trek: Voyager" episodes from 2 to 7 p.m. UPN (and had been absent from St Louis since January 1998, when Channel 30 and the fledgling network parted ways. The five episodes include No.

100, "Timeless," at 2 p.m., followed by the last three episodes of the 1998-99 season, plus an episode from February. "Voyager" will air twice weekly, at 8 p.m. Wednesdays, and 6 p.m. Saturdays, during the summer. 8 0 0 TJ urn mmMmm.