The committee that paid money for “media” (not advertisements) to the St. Louis Argus and Gentry Trotter [Publisher-at-large of the St. Louis Evening Whirl]… is Citizens for a Better St. Louis.

Slay’s positive coverage in the media has been remarkable as of late, especially considering his role in the recent police department scandals. As a police board member, Slay excused Chief Joe Mokwa for his role in the towing scandal and never said a word about illegal practices which caused so much financial harm to many everyday working people — that is, not until the FBI and the U.S. Attorney got involved. Then Slay and the rest of the Board suddenly reconsidered their opinion. But still Mokwa was allowed to resign with a generous severance package. He even took his $5,000 badge with him.

Nothing seems to stick to St. Francis. Especially in the eyes of the editors of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The Post has had a hard time concealing its cheering for Mayor Slay’s re-election. Yesterday they incorrectly reported that his top challenger, State Sen. Maida Coleman, had decided not to run against him. And in recent weeks, their coverage of the election regularly began with leads like “Don’t look now Maida Coleman…” and “If State Sen. Maida Coleman does indeed jump into the mayor’s race, she may have hardly anyone left to endorse her” (Nevermind that most black elected officials in the city have refused to support Slay).

With the exception of the columns of Sylvester Brown, not a critical word of the Slay Administration and its many missteps, misdeeds, misdemeanors, and more can be found in the pages of the city’s only daily newspaper.

You would think that Slay had found a way to pay-to-play in the mainstream media the same way he has in the black press.

Maybe he has.

As the Missouri Legislature is about to reconvene next week, the mayor has prepared a list of his priorities, the things he will instruct city lobbyists to push for in Jefferson City this year. On the list: “Support for daily newspapers”.

Iowa-based Lee Enterprises, which owns the Post-Dispatch and 48 other daily newspapers across the country, has been losing money and cutting jobs all year long. Without some public money, the Post may fold as so many other daily newspapers have across the country.

In fact, the St. Louis Business Journal recently reported the company’s stock had dropped so low that it received a notice from the New York Stock Exchange that its stock had fallen below the exchange’s continued listing standard price and was nearing non-compliance with the NYSE’s market capitalization standard. At last check, the stock was selling below 36 cents a share.

In politics, I am always suspicious of starving politicians. People in powerful elected positions who have very little money in their pockets and are truly struggling to put food on their tables are faced with a daily ethical and moral dilemma. It’s dangerous for the community to have these people in power too long because it is a rare politician who can resist selling out their community in order to feed their children.

It would appear the owners of our only daily newspaper are facing a similar dilemma. Unfortunately, our community cannot elect a new daily paper every four years.

But the St. Louis Post-Dispatch gets the prize for reporting completely false information. The website of the city’s only daily newspaper reported that Coleman decided not to run for mayor, which was factually incorrect.

What Coleman said in a press conference at the Election Board was that because it appeared that Mayor Slay was illegally backing a stalking horse to run in the Democratic primary, she would instead battle him as an Independent in a heads up race in the general election in April.

After the paper was called out on their error, they soon amended the misleading headline.

To be reborn as the “Saint Louis Beacon,” this local news hub created by some former Post-Dispatch employees will focus on shining “the light on news that matters to our region.”

Together, we can pierce the darkness with quality reporting and thoughtful discussion. We can generate a Beacon that illuminates our region and shines outward to the world.

Even though “Platform” name has been in use for months now, Freivogel thought a name change would easier since the site is still in its test phases.

In a statement on the site, the editors wrote:

We’re taking this step to avoid any confusion that might result from the recent appearance of a new blog created for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorial page. We were surprised to discover that the blog’s name is The Platform and that the name appears in print announcements with a trademark symbol next to it.

In the statement, the editors stated that the new Web address will be stlbeacon.org, but if you stop by using the original address it will automatically take you to the new Beacon site.

To see the site at its current address, click here.

The honors were reported in the St. Louis Business Journal Wednesday.

Steward helms St. Louis-Based company that specializes in systems integration, working within the commercial, government and telecom sectors. In 2007, the privately held company reported $2.5 billion in revenue.

Rep. Clay chairs the House subcommittee on information policy, census and national archives, which maintains information and privacy standards and oversees the census bureau.

This is the 45th anniversary of Ebony’s “Power 150″ list. It will appear in the May issue of the magazine which will be on newsstands nationwide Monday.

Coincidence or not?

Platform Editor Margaret Wolf Freivogel weighed in Monday that the timing seemed “odd.”

“We’ve been operating under that name for a number of months,” she said, later adding, “You’d have to see what’s going on in the mind with the corporate headquarters.”

Because of the kerfuffle, Freivogel said the site will be changing its name to avoid confusion and a possible copyright drama. The Post-Dispatch has placed a trademark symbol near their blog’s name. While it’s unlikely that they have the trademark, Freivogel said it may demonstrate their intent.

“We’re just getting started and we’re at a point that we can change things pretty easy,” she said, adding she is “flattered that they like it.”

Freivogel said the non-profit site picked the name platform because of the word’s multiple meanings, referring to the technology platform of the internet, a platform for people to speak out on and Post-Dispatch Publisher Joseph Pulitzer’s platform statement, which was an “inspiration” to the site’s creators.

“But we feel like whether it was deliberate or not this is causing confusion about who we area. It makes it difficult for people to find us,” she said.

As for the site itself, Freivogel said it’s going well. They have a beta site up for people to peruse and give feedback on. They’ve already started posting original content and hope for the site to become a place for people to get information and voice their own opinions about St. Louis.

Check out the test site here.

Local blogger Steve Patterson, still recovering from a stroke on Feb. 1, will make a mini-comeback 7 p.m. tonight on the Collateral Damage show on KDHX 88.1 FM.

Patterson is behind the blog www.urbanreviewstl.com and is still in rehabilitation in Mt. Vernon.

He will be on the phone, live, talking about his recovery and his comeback online despite only being able to use his right hand to type.

He’s updated his site so far, writing, “I know that in time people will again see me walking around taking pictures of bad development practices.”

Cheer him on and listen in tonight on the radio.

You’re sitting in your chair, Big Gulp in one hand, the remote in the other ready to relax by watching nobodies warble their way on the American Idol, but when you turn your TV on something isn’t right. The signal isn’t going through.

Did the network mess up? Did someone knock out a power transistor? Is your TV broke?

The answer is no! It’s just you have antennas and the world is no longer about analog. Everything is going digital in 2009, whether you’re ready or not.

All television networks and stations are switching over to digital Feb. 17 next year and US Senator Claire McCaskill wants to make sure Missouri residents are ready for the switch.

McCaskill’s staff will be hosting “Kitchen Table Talks” in St. Louis City and County to help answer the questions of residents about the transition.

They will give Missouri residents information about the resources provided by the government to help citizens make the switch to digital television or DTV.

Once the transition is in effect next Feb. all analog televisions not connected to cable, satellite or a digital converter box will go dark. More than 400,000 Missouri residents still use analog televisions with only basic, free channels.

“We need to get the word out about how the government can help,” McCaskill said in a recent a press release.

To help with the transition the government is sponsoring a voucher program where citizens will receive two $40 vouchers to purchase converter boxes for analog TV sets.

The converters tend to cost between $40 and $60.

For more information or to receive a voucher call 1-888-DTV-2009 or visit dtv2009.gov.

Below is the schedule for McCaskill’s Kitchen Table Talks.

Thursday, March 20
Noon-2 p.m., Bridgeton Community/Senior Center, 4201 Fee Fee Rd., Bridgeton, Mo.

Monday, March 24
Noon-2 p.m., Winter Garden Apartments, 5708 Kingsbury, St. Louis, Mo. 63112

Friday, March 27
10 a.m.-Noon, North County Senior Towne, 528 Northwest Plaza (St. Charles Rock Rd. and North Lindbergh), St. Ann, Mo.