Channel 30 continues to lag behind other stations in ratings.

July is considered a minor ratings month. Viewing habits are different than during November, February and even May ratings periods. The sun is up later and the weather is better than any of those other months.

Still, the folks at Nielsen single it out during the summer.

There are almost no surprises I can find with KSDK (Channel 5) continuing to win in all evening and nighttime newscast time periods, KMOV (Channel 4) is second and KTVI (Channel 2) is third. KDNL (Channel 30), lamely competing at 10 p.m. only, is fifth in the time period.

At noon, Channel 4 and Channel 5 are virtually tied. In the early morning news, Channel 5 continues to dominate.

Channel 2 appears to be making the right move focusing its nighttime, efforts from the 9 to 10 p.m. period. They'll let Channels 4 and 5 duke it out at 10 p.m. Someday, although I'm not sure if it will be in my lifetime, Channel 30 may enter the late news competitive mix as well.

Channel 2 will be able to provide the most comprehensive news in the later evening with 25 more minutes available to them compared to the other stations.

Given Channel 2's much improved news since the arrival of the station news director Brad Remington, they have the potential to be a valuable information source for St. Louis at night.

Channel 5 has to be hoping for a good season for the Rams. Even though they don't carry any games, they signed Kurt Warner to provide postgame comments on Monday (assuming no Monday Night Football) and Tuesday evenings, along with special reports throughout the season.

Also Malcolm Briggs signed a contract extension through 2003. I point this out because Briggs has been with Channel 5 since 1990. He toils in the shadow of Mike Bush but just keeps chugging along with solid sports reporting and anchoring. When Channel 5 spokesperson Lisa Bedian pointed out he had been with the station for 10 years, I was astonished. I didn't realize he'd been with them so long. Briggs also appears as part of Rams radio broadcasts as well as the St. Louis University Billikens.

Even though he isn't "the star," he deserves a great deal of credit for, being a reliable back-up to Mike Bush.

I caught the last few minutes of Channel 30's pregame show airing just prior to the final Rams' preseason game on Aug. 24. It was enough. Channel 30 sportscasters Rick Powers and Dennis Evans were sitting on chairs in front of a full screen, out-of-focus, black and white slowly moving picture. Whose idea was that? It was distracting and hard to watch. Sitting in the middle of all this was a big Domino's Pizza logo which became so annoying, I decided to call Pizza Hut. At the end of the show, a pizza was delivered on the set. I got the feeling the Channel 30 advertising department squeezed every dollar out of Domino's that they could. It was a bit much.

Lots of weather problems on our local stations in July. The month was cool with a great deal of rain and many storms.

Take Julius Hunter showing his lack of weather knowledge, on the radio (filling in on KMOX) on July 28. Although there had been severe thunderstorm warnings, all had expired by 6:30 a.m. Yet at 6:30 (and again at least once an hour later), Hunter referred to the weather outside KMOX and "throughout the area" as severe. It was simply wrong and a disservice to listeners. There was a flash flood warning in effect for a small part of Madison County in Illinois. He did not specifically refer to that, however. He needs to leave the weather to the pros.

That same morning on Channel 30, the weather segment at 7:10 gave no indication whatsoever it was even raining simply suggesting a chance of thunderstorms later in the day. It was a prerecorded segment. Channel 30 news director Jeff Alan says "there were unusual and personal circumstances regarding staffing that led to the system not being updated."

Part of the problem is Channel 30 only has two meteorologists to cover seven days a week. Memo to Channel 30 owners--beef up the staff! Until that happens, when bad weather strikes in the morning, unless Ric Kearby is on the air, turn to Channels 2, 4 or 5.

While we are talking weather, Channel 5 needs to do something with weekend morning weathercaster Amy O'Keefe. She lacks seriousness in her reading ability and carries little credibility. She has a lot to learn. On one recent weathercast, she stood right in front of St. Louis as she showed the Channel 5 "futurecast" animation and talked about how the weather would affect us. A few seconds later, she said there would be only a little sun today. A few seconds after that, she told us there would be "lots of sun today." Huh?

In late August, more bad weather moved into the St. Louis area. The night of the "Survivor" finale, Channel 4 really messed up visually (to their credit, the station did digitally record the program so viewers didn't miss any of the show). The station was still running its information in the lower third of the screen. The warnings "crawled" across the screen into the map on the lower left side. The station's crawl was higher than any other station. It covered up information from the show. It also happened during Letterman's Top Ten, ruining at least one of the jokes.

Let me repeat this idea. Listen up Channel 4 and the other stations as well. There is an easy solution to this problem since putting the information on screen is important. Simply reduce the size of the screen electronically (just as ESPN does every thirty minutes and CNN Headline News does all the time) and put the information below the picture, not over it. This will help viewers who can then enjoy the full picture on their show and at the same time provide vital weather information. This is a technically easy solution to accomplish. One technical professional told me the cost-$0.

The same night, Channel 4, while being first (they say) with tornado warnings that evening (at least they bragged about it on the air) didn't do so well with a severe thunderstorm watch. Channels 2, 5 and 30 all had the watch on some 15 or more minutes ahead of Channel 4.

What made this watch even wackier was that each station posted different counties affected by the watch. One station had no Illinois counties while the others (including Channel 4 when it finally realized there was a warning) all had different Illinois counties represented. Doesn't give you much faith, does it?

Finally, KMOX uses the Weather Channel for its radio forecasts. But lately, and often, the long range (sometimes even short range) forecast is different from the one provided on the Weather Channel. This confuses viewers and listeners who don't know what to think. KMOX and the Weather Channel ought to get their act together.

Watching aerial footage of highway accidents at the end of July showed how valuable Channel 4's helicopter equipment is. While the Channel 2 and 5 video was shaky, Channel 4's pictures were as solid as a rock. If you know it's important to see from the air, Channel 4's the way to go--until the other stations upgrade their equipment.

Jamie Allman is one of the area's best, if not the best, television reporter on the air right now. So why does Channel 4 have to cheapen him with those promos for his nightly report? He looks cheesy, mysterious, maybe even criminal in those shots of him walking along with his sunglasses on. His reports are of high enough quality that the station shouldn't sensationalize him in its promos.

Channel 30 on Aug. 24 ran a story about mold growing at Lambert Field. The station ran a sound clip from an OSHA employee saying, "We have received some information from some employees." What a wasted quote. The reporter can say that. Instead, use the time for a soundbite that adds to the story. Using an interviewee to say something a reporter can say (and in fact even wasted time to repeat it in this story) isn't the best way to serve viewers. Elements like that (employees calling in) belong in the narration. Let a spokesperson contribute something more substantial. If the person adds nothing material, don't use them on the air.

It's good to see Julius Hunter back on the air and looking well after being hospitalized.

Channel 5's Kay Quinn is still at the top of her game.

New mom for the second time Jill Farmer is back doing her consumer reporting thing on Channel 2. She was missed.

I hope Karen Foss anchors forever. She's as good, no, excellent, as always.

In the last issue of the St. Louis Journalism Review, editing made it appear as if I thought (soon to be at) Channel 30 anchor Rick Edlund's working with gubernatorial candidate Jim Talent lessened Edlund's credibility. That is not the case. That reference was supposed to refer only to his appearance in those law firm ads.