Offers by Joplin city officials to serve as mediators in the showdown between Nexstar Broadcasting, owner of KSNF and operator of KODE (and de facto owner of both) and Cable One have been rejected, at least at this point.
The city news section of www.joplin.org , the city's website, said, "The city is concerned about this issue and has made a standing offer to both companies to assist in this situation as a facilitator and/or provide a neutral environment in which to meet for discussions. The two parties have not accepted the city's offer at this time."
The website indicates that Cable One has a 10-year permit to operate a cable service in Joplin, which was renewed in March 2004. The city can review "signal quality, customer service and general operations of the cable company," the website says, "but does not have authority to require specific programming or channels."
Other companies are not excluded from establishing cable franchises in Joplin, the website said.
"The city finds this situation unfortunate, and hopes that this issue can be resolved to provide the citizens of Joplin a quality service from both companies," the website release concluded.
KODE and KSNF were removed from Cable One at midnight Dec. 31 at the request of Nexstar after the cable company refused Nexstar's demand to pay 30 cents per month per customer to carry the two local stations.
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In a situation that may already be having ramifications for area tourism, Chicago Business is reporting that sales of the Precious Moments line of collectibles have dropped significantly over the past three years.
In 2001, Precious Moments accounted for 39 percent of the sales of its parent company Enesco. That figure had fallen to 25 percent by the end of 2004, and was a major reason for the financial problems Enesco has been facing.
Paula Manley, formerly chief financial officer at Follett Higher Education Group, a supplier to college bookstores, will take over as Enesco's CFO as of Jan. 24, the Chicago business article said.
The article indicates her job will be cut out for her. It quotes Pam Danziger, president of market research consultant Unity Marketing, Inc., as saying, "The whole bottom has dropped out of their core business. People don't want clutter anymore and what is Precious Moments but clutter?"
Enesco posted a net loss of $4.5 million during the nine months ending Sept. 30, 2004, according to the article.
The article also indicates Enesco has been impacted negatively by a drop in the sales of its Cherished Teddies line and by the increasing popularity of on-line buying of collectibles from eBay.
The Precious Moments line of collectibles was created by artist and former Carthage resident Sam Butcher. His Precious Moments Chapel has been a tourism attraction for this area for the past two decades. It remains to be seen how or if the drop in figurine sales will affect attendance.
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Thanks to you readers, The Turner Report has set records the past three days for visitors with today ranking as the biggest day ever (and there is still some time left as I write this).
Many people are reaching this blog through bookmarks or by typing in the address, but as always many reach it through search engine results when they are looking for information on one particular subject or another.
It probably won't surprise you to know that many people have come to The Turner Report while researching the standoff between Cable One and Nexstar. That, however, is only the number two attraction. More people are still coming to this site to find out more about former KODE anchor Malorie Maddox, who appears to be quite popular. I have no idea whether those people are from this area trying to find out where she is now or if they are from her new home in Omaha, Neb., trying to find out about what she did in the past, but they are finding this site.
Other people have reached this site during the past week by typing in the following words in the search field:
-Edward Meerwald
-KOAM TV school closings
-Dr. Mark Mitchell, Neosho superintendent
-Large meth bust in Springfield