True to form, newsroom types are skittish about talking on the record because general manager David D'Antuono issued a memo to the staff warning them not to talk to the media, and refer all inquiries to him.

This, of course, is an agency of news gatherers who expect others to answer their questions.

Fischer said he couldn't say much about his dismissal, except that it was a corporate-based decision, not a local one, made by media giant Clear Channel Broadcasting, which owns KTVX.

Clear Channel has reached an agreement to sell its media business to an investment consortium led by Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital for $18.7 billion. But until the deal is formally consummated, Clear Channel still controls the operations of its affiliates.

Veteran news anchor Terry Wood was demoted to weekends earlier this year amid speculation that Clear Channel's corporate office in San Antonio was not happy with the fact that he took a strong editorial stand against President Bush's proposed Divine Strake bunker-buster bomb test in the Nevada desert near Utah.

Fischer was a strong supporter of Wood's stand on that issue.

Church and state: Most of the official e-mail addresses for state legislators contain the first initial of the legislator's first name and his or her last name. So the e-mail address for Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clearfield, is pray@utah.gov.

Happy July 4th: Here are inventions that make Independence Day a little more enjoyable, compiled by and made available on FreePatentsOnline.com and sent to me by Rosemarie Esposito of 5W Public Relations in New York.

* Firecracker: Established in 1899; patent holder, John Hinton. Though gunpowder was an age-old favorite for making a loud bang, it wasn't until nearly the turn of the century that the stuff was bottled up officially for recreational purposes.

* Latex balloon: Established in 1844; patent holder, Charles Goodyear. While Mr. Goodyear wasn't directly behind the balloon, he invented vulcanized rubber, which resulted in J.G. Ingram pumping air into the liquid rubber and making the first latex balloons.

* Glow sticks: Established in 1976, patent holders, Lazsio Bollyky and Michael Rauhut. They invented sustainable chemical luminescence, enabling partygoers, ravers and those enthusiastic about playing with light and dark to do so to their heart's content.

* Lawn chair backpack: Established in 1994; patent holder, Howard A. Carpenter. He invented a way for the cargo platform of the chair to rotate from a folded-up position to an extended position.

* Bathing suit: Established in 1898; patent holder, Mary Melissie Shepard. She combined a waist, pants, stockings, shoes and corset into one unit, making swimming more comfortable. Of course, we've come a long way from there.

prolly