For 30 minutes every week, TV viewers in the Ozarks and throughout Missouri can listen to proponents and opponents present their viewpoints of issues being faced at the state government level. “Jeff City Journal,” a half-hour weekly show, is produced for Missouri’s public television stations, and Missy Shelton Belote, senior governmental affairs producer for Springfield-based public radio station KSMU-FM and Ozarks Public Television, serves as moderator for the show. “We felt that there was a need … for an in-depth discussion of issues that legislators are discussing in Jefferson City,” Belote said. “You have the news coverage of what happens in Jefferson City (and) there’s limited television coverage of that, so we thought it would be really a public service to provide a weekly 30-minute program, discussion format, where people on different sides of an issue could come in and really talk about their differences.” Each of Missouri’s four public television stations – KOZK, KETC, KCPT and KMOS – are paying for production of “Jeff City Journal,” said Arlen Diamond, director of broadcast services for KSMU and Ozarks Public Television. He said the show will cost an estimated $30,000 to produce for the legislative season, which adjourns in May. “The program’s doing real well over in St. Louis, and it’s building an audience in Kansas City,” Diamond said. “They kind of look at the other programs that run in the time periods that they run this, and they feel like it’s been very successful. And it’s a very young program, so it’s got nowhere to go but an increased audience.” Thus far, issues addressed by participants on “Jeff City Journal” have been priorities for both the Missouri House of Representatives and Senate, workers’ compensation legislation, Gov. Matt Blunt’s State of the State address, transportation and anti-meth legislation. Many of those issues will be revisited, but other topics will include education funding, social issues such as legislation restricting abortions, and the state’s budget. “When the House finishes its work on the budget, I anticipate inviting the chairman of the House Budget Committee and the ranking Democrat on to talk about their work,” Belote said. While different viewpoints on each issue always are included in the program’s format, Belote said participation isn’t limited to legislators, in recognition that issues don’t always come down to Republican versus Democrat views. “In some cases, it may be rural versus urban. For example, with our transportation program that we did, we had two Republicans, one from suburban St. Louis and one from rural southwest Missouri, as well as the director of the (Missouri) Department of Transportation,” Belote said. “So we don’t feel like every time we have to have a Republican and a Democrat on. We kind of think, ‘Who is best to talk about this issue, and who can we have on that would represent a wide range of viewpoints?’” The TV program is a good fit for Belote’s work on behalf of KSMU. “There are such interesting discussions that happen every day on the House and Senate floors. People have their jobs; they have their families,”Belote said. “They have their own lives. They can’t sit around on the Internet and listen, or come to the Capitol and listen to that. But if we can provide them with a 30-minute condensed version of the high points from that debate, the passionate, interesting nuance discussions, that usually talk about why this is important to real people outside the Capitol building, then I think that’s a tremendous service that we can provide.” “Jeff City Journal” is filmed in Jefferson City at Department of Elementary and Secondary Education studio space. Belote added that participants have been eager to be part of the show. “We’ve had very few problems getting people to come on. People are anxious to come on and talk about why they feel a certain way about a piece of legislation or a certain issue,” Belote said. “And once they realize … that voters in their districts will see it – it’s not just a Springfield program, it’s not just a St. Louis program, but it’s (aired) statewide – that’s very appealing to legislators.” As the show continues, Belote said there likely will be changes made to its format. “Right now, we have limited opportunity to add … footage from the House chamber. If I’m talking about the State of the State, for example, that week, we were able to get some footage … and we played little clips and then asked our guests to respond to the comments the governor made in those clips,” Belote said. “It would be great if we could advance to the point where we could go out into the field and interview legislators about various topics, because we can only have, really, comfortably, three guests … so I think just adding more elements, being able to go out more into the field is something that we would envision.” Eventually, she said, it is hoped that the show will have its own e-mail address and contact information, which could be posted during the show, along with an invitation for viewer questions, comments or topic suggestions. “We do, in an informal way, already get feedback from our viewers, and we are very sensitive to that,” she said. “People have stopped me in the halls of the Capitol, people that I’ve never met before … I’ve heard nothing but great things.” As the moderator of the show, Belote is neutral on issues, but not to the point that people are allowed to make statements without being challenged about where their information came from. “I would do that on either side, Repub-lican, Democrat, on either side of an issue,” she said. Showtimes for the program vary by station. “Jeff City Journal” airs at 7 p.m. Fridays and 12:30 p.m. Sundays on Ozarks Public Television. [[In-content Ad]]
