(SCENE: Ameriflora. Anchorpersons Rob Miner and Jane Doyle of WFLK, Channel 7 -- Columbus begin a live six o'clock news broadcast from the flower show.)

MINER: Good evening, and welcome to Ameriflora! I'm Rob Miner, sitting in for the vacationing Bob Hart.

DOYLE: And I'm Jane Doyle. Isn't this beautiful? Anyone who can look at this and say that that $95 million wasn't well-spent should just leave Columbus and go to Xenia or some other horrible backwater.

MINER: Yet, amazingly, some people were doubting the worth of Ameriflora today, and several were arrested as they protested at the front gates. Reporter Mike Schrader was there and has this report. How are you, Mike?

SCHRADER: Just fine, Rob. The protests began...

MINER: Did you hear about the Emmys we won?

SCHRADER: Um...no, I didn't.

MINER: We won three Emmys, more than any other station in central Ohio.

SCHRADER: Wow. What categories?

MINER: We were voted as having the best theme music, the most fawning interview of a national political candidate, and -- this is the one I'm most proud of -- the best idle conversation by anchorpersons. Such recognition by our peers is one more proof that Channel 7 is the station with no gimmicks, no slogans, just the news.

SCHRADER: That's great, Rob. Now about those protests...

MINER: Oh, please, carry on.

SCHRADER: The protests began shortly after noon, when Linden Park residents who were upset about the liquor licenses granted to Ameriflora restaurants blocked the entrance to the park and refused to let patrons through. Columbus police arrested twenty of the protesters.

DOYLE: Why were they so upset!?

SCHRADER: Because, Jane, Linden Park residents have voted to make their neighborhood a dry area, and they say they were conned by AmeriFlora boosters into allowing permanent liquor licenses to be issued. State Senator Ben Espy has introduced a bill that would end the licenses in October, when AmeriFlora closes, but Senator Eugene Watts of Clintonville has said he would tie up the bill in committee.

MINER: Why does Watts oppose Espy's bill?

SCHRADER: Watts said in the Clintonville Booster that the city had made sizable improvements to the AmeriFlora grounds, implying that that investment overrode any community concerns. Residents I talked to were extremely upset about Watts' logic. One said "When drug dealers use money as an excuse to sell drugs, they get jailed. I guess its different when you're a 'family-values' Republican."

MINER: We're running out of time -- thanks for that report, Mike. Now for our exclusive daily segment, "The World in 30 Seconds," in which we inform our viewers about all the complexities of the world in just 30 seconds.

DOYLE: We'd like to remind those watching that the only channel that serves Columbus in this way is Channel 7. No gimmicks, no slogans, just the news.

MINER: Start the timer! There was bloodshed this morning at the Argentine exhibit. Some British soccer fans touring America to do reconnaissance for the '94 World Cup were attacked by exhibit workers who they had been taunting about the 1982 Falkland Islands war. Ten people were hospitalized. Jane?

DOYLE: The British were in trouble all over today. The United Kingdom exhibit was in an uproar after several workers at the neighboring Kenyan exhibit sought asylum this afternoon, claiming that they feared political persecution by the Kenyan government. British officials have phoned the White House for advice on what to do. Rob?

MINER: But these two minor incidents don't mar the overall success of Ameriflora. For five consecutive weeks, attendance has been 60% of what organizers expected. The public relations staff has assured us that this is an excellent showing. And that's the world in 30 seconds.

DOYLE: You know, Rob, some viewers have complained that they have a hard time following our "World in 30 Seconds" segments. As a public service, Channel 7 will send a free map of Ameriflora to any viewer who wants one. Just send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to "World Education", Box 7777, Columbus, Ohio, 43217. Free maps of Ameriflora -- just one more way that Channel 7 serves Columbus. No gimmicks, no slogans, just the news. Rob?

MINER: That's all for now. We'll be back on the air at seven, ten, and eleven as part of our never-ending commitment to give Columbus up-to-the-minute coverage of Ameriflora '92. Remember Channel 7 -- no gimmicks, no slogans, just the news. See you in half an hour.