Mdc Director Robert Ziehmer

[Hillbilly Deluxe]

Agreed. We are all entitled to our opinion. As a journalist, I have been trained to note my sources. My opinion is based on first hand interviews with Mr. Ziehmer, not hearsay, or the opinion of others. So far, I haven't seen any canaries falling over dead yet!

[Chief Grey Bear]

As an outdoorsman, I have been trained to keep my souces confidential and employed. And I am sure that as a trained journalist you are aware, you get copy. And as a close confidant, you get heartfelt concern.

[Hillbilly Deluxe]

Thanks for looking out for all of us on the outside of the inner circle, Chief. I'll defer to your plenitude of knowledge on this matter. FYI - reporters get copy in news releases and press conferences. Crusty old journalists are pretty good and cutting through the bullshit!

[Tim Smith]

I think it would be great too. But I am afraid what we are gonning to get is a career politician. Just going on scuttle butt from inside the Jeff City beltway. The last few directors in the MDC have not been what you would call conservation minded. And it sounds like more of the same with Robert.

Maybe it would help those of us not on the inside to evaluate all this if we knew what "not conservation minded" meant.

[mic]

I just listened to the interview. Not much to it. All they asked him was bio stuff for him, his position, and budget. They ran out of time before they could ask anything specific.

[Hillbilly Deluxe]

The interview was not intended to explore political aspirations or personal agendas. Our show is intended to inform and entertain. Our focus was to allow listeners to gain general insight into the Director's responsibilities and the state budget. Director Ziehmer didn't ask to screen our questions or give any time constraints (many people in his position would not be so accommodating). It would be an insult to Director Ziehmer to suggest on air that he is "not conservation minded" based on heresay from unidentified sources. We apologize if you didn't get anything out of the interview (mic). I though Director Ziehmer provided adequent, and interesting, answers to our questions. I am willing to give him the opportunity to do his job and then judge him based on his performance. Director Ziehmer has spent many years of his life dedicated to conservation in the State of Missouri. I believe he is dedicated to conservation in Missouri at a level very few fear to tread.

FYI - Director Ziehmer will again be a guest on The Outdoor Guys in the near future. If there are specific questions OA members would like us to ask, please e-mail me directly at brian@outdoorguysradio.com.

[mic]

Whooooo Hillbilly, backup the attitude train. I just made a statement of fact, with very little opinion (not much to it). Everything I said is exaclty correct, and you just repeated it. If you noticed, I didn't put any comments on his aspirations or agenda so its not fair to ASSume that I have the same opinion as Chief, Tim, or Justin (which by the way I don't).

I sent a question for the commissioner directly to the show's website on a specific policy. I got some feedback that it was a viable question so I was disappointed it didn't get asked.

But here is my critique on the show...if the Director didn't have time constraints, I would have rescheduled the Pro for another week and/or shorten the opening section. How often are you going to get a man of his position without the restraints you just talked about...not very often. You were "on point" to establish the stage with the questions you did. However, you could have had time ask some specific questions on policies sportsman (who you represent) care about, programs, changes for next year, etc.

[mic]

Comment two... There wasn't much that the Director added that one couldn't get from a sound internet search. I'm sorry, but knowing that he came from the field versus an appointment because he was on someone's campain staff is nice to know, but it not exactly five o'clock news. Most of know the MDC budget has been and will continue to go down. The comments on the out-of-state cost for bringing kids into hunting and fishing are nice to know, but sorry it isn't "I've got to listen to news".

I don't really care what is political aspirations are or if he is Republican or Democrat. I want to know about diddy mo and felt boots, water access rights, price increases in next year's licenses, mountain lions, details on bears and elk, impacts of tourism on water quality and fish reproduction, impact of this year's floods on fish populations.

With that said. It was a nice interview, and I enjoyed it.

[Chief Grey Bear]

Thanks for looking out for all of us on the outside of the inner circle, Chief. I'll defer to your plenitude of knowledge on this matter. FYI - reporters get copy in news releases and press conferences. Crusty old journalists are pretty good and cutting through the bullshit!

I am not trying to look out for anyone. I just made a comment about the opinion I, and some others have. And you, in all of your journalistic mastery, spun it into this. Very nice work.

From the feedback on your program, it appears as if you ran into a wall of bullshit though.

Maybe it would help those of us not on the inside to evaluate all this if we knew what "not conservation minded" meant.

Check their record.

[Hillbilly Deluxe]

Comment two... There wasn't much that the Director added that one couldn't get from a sound internet search. I'm sorry, but knowing that he came from the field versus an appointment because he was on someone's campain staff is nice to know, but it not exactly five o'clock news. Most of know the MDC budget has been and will continue to go down. The comments on the out-of-state cost for bringing kids into hunting and fishing are nice to know, but sorry it isn't "I've got to listen to news".

I don't really care what is political aspirations are or if he is Republican or Democrat. I want to know about diddy mo and felt boots, water access rights, price increases in next year's licenses, mountain lions, details on bears and elk, impacts of tourism on water quality and fish reproduction, impact of this year's floods on fish populations.

With that said. It was a nice interview, and I enjoyed it.

I apologize if I came across as having an attitude on this subject MIC. That post was not directed at yopur comments, rather to explain to all what the interview was to accomplish. I agree with you, and I'm sorry we didn't get to your question. Like I said in the beginning, I'm not a cheerleader for the Director. I am working on a print story that will go more into depth. I too want to know more details, especially about the black bears, but a radio show based on mainly entertainment isn't really the forum. We only have an hour each week, and the Director has assured me he will appear regularly on the show to answer our questions. Your issue with the stream access, as you know, is very complex. I appreciate your feedback and comments. I will make sure and include that in my print story. If there's one thing I've learned in 20 some years as a journalist, no matter what you do, someone loves it and someone hates it. In other words, I'm pretty thick-skinned.