Channel 5 holds lead over Channel 4.

The February ratings for St. Louis newscasts provide a significant illustration for how tough it is to beat KSDK (Channel 5). Despite the Olympics ratings boost provided to KMOV (Channel 4), Channel 5 still managed to finish on top in the ratings for the late news. It also clobbered the competition at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. (Although the numbers are not listed here, suffice it to say Channel 5 also dominates in the early morning news beating second place Channel 4 from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. by some 77,000 homes.) Combine that with Channel 4's upcoming loss of Trish Brown and there has to be some concern at the station.

Channel 4 has been making significant inroads on Channel 5 in recent months, especially at 10 p.m. Observers, including me, assumed that the Olympics would bring Channel 4 the number one spot (at least for February). It didn't. Channel 4, though, is under new and more news-focused management. Don't count the station out yet.

There is industry speculation though, that either Larry Conners or Julius Hunter should go. In all the years they have teamed together, Channel 4 has been mired in second place. To put them over the top, some say, it's time to make a significant move.

The question is, who? Hunter is important to the station because, in part, of his relationship to the African-American community. He is also one of this city's longest-running news anchors. However, Hunter suffers from reading problems and too many "in" ad-libs.

Larry Conners has much going for him too. Besides longevity on local television, he is the reason many tune in to Channel 4. His approach is one that makes him quite "watchable."

Nevertheless, Channel 4's new owners, the Belo Corporation, might have to bite the bullet at some point in the near future if the current line-up can't vault it past Channel 5.

Doing that is easier said than done. The wrong move could be a disaster causing Channel 4's audience to plummet. Readers may recall several years ago when KTVI (Channel 2) brought in the so-called "gang-of-four." The two anchors, weathercaster and sportscaster were supposed to set St. Louis on its ear. But it was the gang of four that viewers sent packing.

Anyway, by comparison, Channels 2 and 30 (KDNL) were not even on the viewers' radar this past February. Although Channel 2 often points out it is more interested in the demographics (younger viewers), the number of all viewers watching it keeps dropping. This could translate into getting less for advertisements during the news, something that will not make Fox happy.

I would be more concerned if it were not for the station's general manager Spencer Koch. He seems to have a sense of how to run the station properly and, given time, should pull it through.

In fact, in a move that could be good news for viewers, Dave Cohen has been named news director of Channel 30. Cohen most recently worked for Fleishman-Hillard, where he was senior vice president and director of video services. Before joining Fleishman in 1991, Cohen worked for ABC News for 18 years.

Cohen has an excellent news sense about him and will be a welcome addition to the St. Louis news scene. He replaces Rick Brown who never really seemed to be able to put together an acceptable product for the St. Louis audience. Could this mean talent and content changes at Channel 30? Bet on it.

One other interesting item is the success of Seinfeld at 10 p.m. In February, more people watched Seinfeld on KPLR (Channel 11) than Channel 2 news and Channel 30 news combined.

Listed are the Monday-Friday Nielsen numbers representing the rating/share of each station during the February sweeps (which, due to the Olympics, many advertisers ignore anyway as an aberration).

Channel 5's news release trumpeting its first place finish quoted general manager Ardyth Diercks as saying, "Our entire team worked tirelessly to meet and beat the challenges the highly-promoted CBS Olympic broadcasts presented to our late news dominance."

At least two Channel 5 staffers I talked to said they slept normally during the period. The American Heritage Dictionary defines tireless as "not yielding to fatigue." An overstatement perhaps? Further, while Diercks, quote implies an extra effort during the Olympics, news director Tim Larson's quote in the same release does not. "Our daily focus is to consistently deliver the news of the day every day, not just during the sweeps."

I'll miss Trish Brown. When she started, I never thought I would say that. The Channel 4 meteorologist and umbrella give-awayer is moving with her husband to Nebraska later this year.

Brown has come a long way. She lacked credibility when she started, relying instead on looks and character. Additionally, her accuracy was, compared with the other folks in town, questionable. But she grew as both a forecaster and a performer. She will end her stint at Channel 4 as a solid meteorologist and personality.

I predict that if she decides to continue forecasting, her future is bright and sunny (four-degree guarantee included).

Rumors on the street say Channel 4 general manager Allan Cohen is looking at both Channel 5's John Fuller and Channel 2's Dave Murray (although word is Murray's contract may make that difficult).

However, given the past success, it might make more sense to find another female meteorologist for the newsroom team.

Seen in the Internet trade publication about television Shoptalk in early February: "PHOTO JOURNALISTS KSDK, the number one news team in St. Louis is looking for two photojournalists. Our photography team wants to make a difference in the community we live in. We realize that our role in society as journalists is a valuable one - serving the people by keeping them informed. If you have journalistic ideals and want to work hard, give us a call. A resume tape with solid photography and editing is required, but we are looking for much more than that. Tell us what you can offer us. Must have the ability to work as a team with a reporter to determine the content of a news story from inception to broadcast. Must have a solid track record of maintaining and operating assigned equipment and the safe operation of news vehicles. Prefer 5-10 years of experience & college degree. Send resume and tape to: Chuck Maulden, Director of Photography, KSDK, 1000 Market Street, St. Louis, MO 63101."

I am especially impressed that Channel 5 is telling prospective employees its interest in the community and that photographers do more than just get nice pictures. Assuming the station means it, that bodes well for their news future. Some of the best journalists I worked with when I was at Channel 4 were actually the ones behind the camera taking the pictures.

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but you have to look at it. On a mid-March newscast, Channel 5's Jennifer Blome read a story about a house fire. She said that witnesses reported the flames coming through the roof. Had the writer of that story looked at the video, it was quite apparent the flames had come through the roof - the "witness" was superfluous.

You had to wonder if anyone was paying attention at Channel 30 one Saturday night in early March. The station, for the entire week, had promoted a specific episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation scheduled to air around 10:30 p.m. But the episode that did air was not the same one the station promoted. That happens.

To make matters worse, at 10:50 p.m., in the middle of the show, the station aired the same incorrect promo again, promising that it would air the episode tonight at 10:30 (20 minutes earlier).

Nielsen Ratings for February

Noon-12:30 p.m.                                        Points/Shares

Channel 2                                                    3/9
Channel 4                                                    7/21
Channel 5                                                    8/25
Channel 30(*)                                                3/9

5-5:30 p.m.

Channel 2                                                    5/9
Channel 4                                                   12/22
Channel 5                                                   17/33
Channel 30                                                   3/5

6-6:30 p.m.

Channel 2                                                    4/7
Channel 4                                                   13/22
Channel 5                                                   17/30
Channel 30(*)                                                4/7

9-9:30 p.m.

Channel 2                                                    6/8
Channel 4                                                   18/27
Channel 5                                                   18/27
Channel 9                                                    3/4
Channel 11                                                   4/6
Channel 30                                                   9/13

10-10:30 p.m. (non-Olympic nights)

Channel 2                                                    4/7
Channel 4                                                   13/21
Channel 5                                                   19/31
Channel 11(**)                                              10/16
Channel 30                                                   5/8

10-10:30 p.m. (includes extended Olympic broadcast nights. Channel 4
late news starting after 10 p.m.)

Channel 2                                                    5/8
Channel 4                                                   15/25
Channel 5                                                   17/27
Channel 11(**)                                              10/16
Channel 30                                                   4/7

* non-news

** Seinfeld

A rating point equals roughly 11,200 viewers. A share represents the
percentage of viewers watching a given station compared to all
viewers at that time.

Tripp Frohlichstein owns Media Masters and consults with organizations on how to conduct successful interviews with the media. Frohlichstein will not comment on any television coverage if it involves any of his clients