LETTERS: RIVALRY NOT ON TV, RADIO

To the editor:

On Dec. 28 the University of Missouri and the University of Illinois staged their annual "Braggin' Rights" men's basketball game in St. Louis. Residents of Cape Girardeau who had any interest in the contest were unhappily out of luck. The game was broadcast by the Missouri Sports Network, and patrons of cable television service just north and south of Cape Girardeau were able to view the game via independent station KPLR out of St. Louis (a station TCI says it doesn't have room to carry in Cape Girardeau). No local TV stations elected to pick up the game. (KBSI offered us instead "Caesar's Palace 30th Anniversary Celebration.")

If geographical memory serves me correctly, Cape Girardeau is located in Missouri, and Illinois is only a bridge away. The annual basketball game between these states' major public universities, often ranked among the top 25 teams, is considered by those knowledgeable about sports to be a significant border clash. It is routinely sold out. One might suppose that local sports fans would also have some interest in the game. Yet such an assumption is apparently beyond the comprehension of local media players. It appears to me that a lot of University of Arkansas and University of Kentucky is televised locally. But as for Mizzou, the state's largest public university? Not often, except on ESPN.

And television isn't the only culprit. Adding insult to injury for those missing televised coverage of the game, it wasn't even carried on any local radio station, as far as I'm aware. Both stations KAPE (which doesn't seem to mind pre-empting Mizzou basketball games for other assorted events) and KZIM were broadcasting the Notre Dame-Kelly boys basketball game at the University High tournament. It is quite understandable that tournament games of local high school teams receive special attention. But, really, is it necessary for two local radio stations to broadcast the same game simultaneously? Might not one of the stations also consider the desires of local college fans as well?

There has been quite a bit of negative opinion expressed lately regarding the tiff between TCI and KFVS-TV. Such controversy only serves to highlight the sometimes pathetic state of local electronic media in general. It strikes me that a growing number of our citizens probably wouldn't mind if several local media organizations were either significantly modified or even replaced.

JIM FLETCHER

Cape Girardeau