* Gov. Pritzker is making several stops in southern Illinois today…
Daily Public Schedule: Wednesday, December 8, 2021
What: Gov. Pritzker to announce the widening of Interstate 57 through Southern Illinois, funded by the historic Rebuild Illinois capital plan.
Where: Benton Municipal Airport, 1 Airport Road, Benton
When: 9:30 a.m.
Watch live: https://www.Illinois.gov/LiveVideo
Note: Parking is available in the lot south of the Benton Municipal Airport Terminal at the end of Airport Road. See map below.*
What: Gov. Pritzker to announce funding for new wastewater infrastructure in the Village of Alto Pass.
Where: Alto Pass Community Center and Village Hall, 23 Elm Street, Alto Pass
When: 11:30 a.m.
Watch live: https://www.Illinois.gov/LiveVideo
What: Gov. Pritzker to join labor leaders to tour the Carbondale Warming Center and help unload donations ahead of the holidays.
Where: Carbondale Warming Center, 608 East College Street, Carbondale
When: 12:30 p.m.
Note: No additional media availability.
What: Gov. Pritzker to attend the groundbreaking of the new Walker’s Bluff Resort and gaming expansion in Southern Illinois.
Where: Lot southeast of Tasting Room at Walker’s Bluff, 14250 Meridian Road, Carterville
When: 1:45 p.m.
Watch live: https://www.Illinois.gov/LiveVideo
Not a single question was asked by reporters at the first event. Not one. And the same thing happened at the second event.
…Adding… Some reporters showed up to the last event of the day and asked a few questions. None were particularly newsworthy for us, though.
- Dirty Red - Wednesday, Dec 8, 21 @ 12:11 pm:
wut
- Cool Papa Bell - Wednesday, Dec 8, 21 @ 12:16 pm:
There are so few people left in local news rooms. I’m shocked but not. I’d hope that one of those stops would be staffed with reporters but perhaps there was only a photographer to send?
And then when they are staffed they are do so by well meaning people but not with folks with a ton journalistic chops. If I remember rightly, a Rockford event went by a few weeks back with no off topic questions. That was mostly the case too at the Quad Cities stops recently.
News operations are hollowed out.
- Give Me A Break - Wednesday, Dec 8, 21 @ 12:17 pm:
Probably too busy writing articles about the Chicago Governor who ignores southern Illinois and wants to take everyone’s guns away.
- DuPage Saint - Wednesday, Dec 8, 21 @ 12:31 pm:
I figure if there are no questions then everyone is happy Sorta like not voting, don’t complain
- Nieva - Wednesday, Dec 8, 21 @ 12:54 pm:
We have one television station in Southern Illinois and the reporters are second rate at best. Newspapers are almost a thing of the past and rely on press pools for their stories. The Southern will usually give a liberal governor a glowing report and ask softball questions. That being said most people in the south cannot stand the man so it doesn’t matter what they report he will not gain any support.
- Blue Dog - Wednesday, Dec 8, 21 @ 12:55 pm:
Alto pass. Population. 350. Probably a big deal to those folks for sure.
- Give Us Barabbas - Wednesday, Dec 8, 21 @ 12:55 pm:
It’s infuriating to see how terribly lazy/cheapskate local TV and radio media is, especially in small markets. These videos are made by state TV crews, because you can’t even trust the local TV station to send a cameraman, much less a reporter, to the events. So it’s the state crew or nothing at all. TV stations are too cheap to send reporters, so they just send a cameraman, and that cameraman isn’t getting paid to ask questions, not for 16 or 18 bucks an hour. The stations no longer have a specific “government beat” reporter to cover this - it’s a general assignment reporter job, tucked in between a high school sportsball interview, a house fire, and a profile about the new taco truck in town. So the stations will often lean on the state-supplied coverage, crib from that, and send their cameraman and “reporter” to another assignment to save money. You can’t expect the state crew to ask any tough questions. That’s not their job. They are meant to be a backup source. If all you use is what they supply, you’re only getting the government’s take on the story.
The radio and print reporters disappoint me even more. If they show up, they tend to just grab a printed release and re-write around that. Then we wonder why the electorate is so ill-informed and easy to manipulate.
- Candy Dogood - Wednesday, Dec 8, 21 @ 1:12 pm:
Pritzker is on his way to being one of the best Governors Southern Illinois has ever had while simultaneously being one of the governors that Southern Illinois has least supported.
Those folks in Alto Pass are still going to put out their Pritzker Sucks signs unaware of how much his administration has improved their lives and how little their other elected officials have been involved.
- Give Us Barabbas - Wednesday, Dec 8, 21 @ 1:15 pm:
Following up: Carbondale must graduate a hundred new TV and radio reporters a year from their very good media department. There should be a glut of young, ambitious talent out there in Southern Illinois to take reporter jobs. Are the local stations hiring anybody, though? No, because news is not considered a public good and an obligation in exchange for use of the airwaves anymore. Media deregulation gave us that. The glut of new fresh reporters only depresses their wages here as they fight to undercut each other’s pay, to the point they are trying for minimum wage jobs. Those Carbondale grads all tend to move out of state to find their first paying TV jobs.
- PublicServant - Wednesday, Dec 8, 21 @ 1:59 pm:
“Reporters” down south need to wake up, and take their feet of their desks. The governor visits/speaks all over Illinois. I don’t want to hear anymore from y’all about “we’re ignored down here” sniff sniff.
- Rudy’s teeth - Wednesday, Dec 8, 21 @ 2:21 pm:
Governor Pritzker attends an event at the Benton Airport, announces a wastewater infrastructure facility in Alto Pass, assists in Carbondale with donations, and attends a groundbreaking in Southern Illinois.
Meanwhile, candidate Darren Bailey plays on the escalator at the Palmer House.
The contrast is striking.
- Dirty Red - Wednesday, Dec 8, 21 @ 2:23 pm:
= Are the local stations hiring anybody, though? =
They are. The ABC affiliate is down three reporters and a sports director since Gray bought them from Quincy. One of the stations went into the SIU classrooms a few months ago and not a single student took a job application. I can’t say I blame those students for not being enthusiastic about minimum wage (or less) hourly rates to do daily broadcast journalism, but that still does not alleviate the established MMJs and regular beat reporters in the region.
Sadly, this is not a new phenomenon. If you want access to a politico as a reporter, go to an event in southern Illinois. Not only will the local staff be excited someone actually showed up to their avail, but there won’t be anyone else in the gaggle to cut you off…except the now-less enthusiastic staff.
= Those Carbondale grads all tend to move out of state to find their first paying TV jobs. =
So do recent grads at a lot of programs. Check out the hometown listed in bios for your local news team. I’ll bet you a $100 contribution to LSSI more than half of them are from out-of-state.
- dr. reason a. goodwin - Wednesday, Dec 8, 21 @ 2:30 pm:
There was a time in my previous life that Governors Thompson, Edgar, and Ryan knew that I would be ready with multiple questions when they visited Egypt. Sadly, the solid newsrooms of then don’t exist much anymore.
- Red Ranger - Wednesday, Dec 8, 21 @ 3:37 pm:
The GOP could really learn something from Dale Fowler and how to operate in the super-minority. Apparently if you aren’t a raging know-nothing jerk you can bring stuff home to your district. What a concept.
- Chicago 20 - Wednesday, Dec 8, 21 @ 5:20 pm:
40,000 vehicles a day causing congestion on a two-lane expressway?
Back in 2016, the Bishop Ford carried over 66,000 vehicles a day on two-lanes and there are still no plans to remedy the ongoing congestion there.
- Foreign travel - Wednesday, Dec 8, 21 @ 5:46 pm:
“There was a time in my previous life that Governors Thompson, Edgar, and Ryan knew that I would be ready with multiple questions when they visited Egypt. Sadly, the solid newsrooms of then don’t exist much anymore.” — These days if the Governor went to Egypt Bailey would put out a press release criticizing his foreign travel.
- Stormsw7706 - Wednesday, Dec 8, 21 @ 6:43 pm:
This is one of the reasons I like this guy so much. He does these visits and provides upgrades to communities that will never vote for him because it’s good for the citizens of his state.