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Continued from page 3

The assignments from Larson's war-room meeting have been carried out. Ruth Ezell's live remote finally comes off, as does Leisa Zigman's remote from the airport. Al Frank's Union Station piece is used. Jeff Fowler's package on impeachment makes the cut.

Throwing together local reaction to breaking news so quickly creates predictable problems with the newscast's balance and tone. Randy Jackson's feature strikes a strong militaristic chord, with a lead-in noting that "local warriors are ready to take the fight to Saddam." The airport yields good footage of viewers "glued to screens," but there is no security upgrade. The man-on-the-street interview subjects are in favor of bombing or uninformed, and the experts interviewed -- Washington University's Victor Le Vine (on tape) and St. Louis University's Jean-Robert Leguey-Feilleux -- are both in favor of air strikes. Equally unhelpful is the fact that Leguey-Feilleux answers two questions put to him by Deanne Lane and Dan Gray with "Hard to tell."

You get the sense, in watching the 6 p.m. newscast end, that you've just seen a news tornado, impressive in its speed and power but appalling in its random and undirected path.

True to Larson's view of the 10 p.m. newscast as a wrap-up, Liza Singer fashions it in two distinct blocks, first touching on the breaking news of the day, then cleaning up local news. In her plan, the W-1W carolers and dynamite scare each get an airing.

Before leaving for the day, Larson comes over to Singer's desk to help her shape the lead, which she's dedicated to Iraq and a nod to the now-postponed impeachment. "Should that be the lead?" Larson asks. "'Impeachment put off'?"

They mull it over, and Larson reconsiders: It's back to Iraq. As he leaves, Larson also tells Singer that he's giving the newscast an extra 10 minutes. Singer uses it to better balance views of the day's events. Local anti-bombing protesters make the newscast. A local Muslim family's reaction is included.

The political implications that Larson wanted to emphasize get an airing with a studio appearance by KSDK political analyst David Harpool. Shortly before air time, Harpool arrives to talk about the day's events with Dan Gray and Karen Foss, in preparation for the newscast. Their conversation ranges widely from the utility of bombing Iraq to the political implications for Clinton, and the anchors exchange some strong and well-informed opinions about both topics with Harpool during the 15 minutes before air time.

It's exactly the kind of biting, lively conversation that would make good television. Unfortunately, it's allotted only two minutes on tonight's newscast.

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