IS KC STAR AVOIDING GIVING FOX 4 CREDIT
FOR 'AMERICAN IDOL'?
    You may have to pardon the folks at WDAF-TV FOX4 these days if they seem just a bit defensive.  The station is airing the top-rated TV show in the nation in "American Idol."  This is near the end of a key sweeps period. And the finale includes a local boy,  David Cook of Blue Springs, MO.
     But many Fox employees think that the Kansas City Star is going out of its way NOT to mention the station. They cite the paper's media relationship with KSHB-TV41 on weather and reporting issues.
     As an example, the Star's Timothy Finn wrote a front page, above-the-fold story (below) about tonight's event.  Somehow Finn avoided even mentioning the Fox Network or the station, instead simply calling it "tonight�s finale, 7-9 p.m."
      Star reporter Lisa Gutierrez also did a story about an "Idol" watch party and failed to mention Fox or WDAF-TV4. So did Star TV columnist Aaron Barnhart in his major "Idol" story.  Simply oversights?    05-21-2008

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David vs. David: Judges like Archuleta�s ballads, but Cook sings well too
By TIMOTHY FINN
The Kansas City Star, 05-21-2008 
   LOS ANGELES---The producers of �American Idol� framed Tuesday night�s final showdown as a boxing match � a title fight between undefeated heavyweights. They would carry the gimmick far (too far, really).
    To open the show, the two finalists first appeared in the Nokia Theater dressed like prize fighters, wearing robes and boxing gloves. They were introduced by Michael �Let�s Get Ready to Rumble� Buffer, who knows a thing or two about carrying a gimmick a long way.
    If this showdown really was supposed to be like a boxing match, then only one of the fighters bothered to throw any punches. The other chose to kill everyone softly with his satiny songs of love and inspiration. The battle was between Blue Springs native David Cook, 25, and the Boy Who Shall Sing, 17-year-old David Archuleta of Murray, Utah.
    Cook has been singing in rock bands since he was a teenager. Archuleta has been groomed by his musician father to be a singer since he was in elementary school.
   �Idol� judge Simon Cowell declared Archuleta the winner by knockout. The crowd in the theater, which seemed to favor Cook slightly, didn�t agree, but neither of the other two judges argued with Cowell�s decree. 
    Viewers casting votes from home will have the final say, and results will be revealed at the close of tonight�s finale, 7-9 p.m.