Health Care
Carondelet Foothills Surgery
Pre-Op Nurse General
Prestige Maintenance USA
Area Manager Technical
Yavapai College
Analyst Banner Programmer Health Care
Freedom Manor
Caregivers Health Care
SOUTHERN ARIZONA ENDODONTICS I
NSURANCE PROCESSOR General
GROUNDS CONTROL
LANDCAPE FOREMAN & LABORERS Dental
Apache Dental
Porcelain Techs

PIKEVILLE, Ky. — A segment of last week's fundraising episode of "American Idol" that focused on an impoverished area of Eastern Kentucky is being criticized by the governor and others in the region that the show intended to help.

"I'm disappointed with the implications of 'American Idol' last night," Gov. Ernie Fletcher said in a speech Thursday night touting the potential of Eastern Kentucky at the 20th Annual East Kentucky Leadership Conference.

The "American Idol" segment from Letcher County was narrated by Paula Abdul, although only a video crew came to Kentucky.

The show focused on illiteracy in Eastern Kentucky and highlighted some Appalachian stereotypes, with scene-setting pictures such as an abandoned school bus, overgrown with weeds and tilting to one side.

The film crew visited Beckham Bates Elementary School, which Abdul said has just 500 books in its library. Several children were interviewed; all had heavy accents and some used poor grammar, but they spoke about the value of education and their favorite books.

One young mother who appeared to have no teeth talked about being illiterate herself and the satisfaction she gets from watching her children learn to read.

Some of the money raised by "American Idol" will go to Save the Children, which started in the United States 75 years ago as a hot-meal program for undernourished children in Harlan County.

Fletcher did not watch the TV show but said he learned about its Kentucky message from his staff.

His office, he said, received e-mails from across the state expressing concern about Kentucky's image on the show.

Bill Weinberg, chairman of the East Kentucky Leadership Foundation, said "outrageous" stereotypes of Appalachia persist in the media.

"I think it damages the region in terms of the perception that people outside the region have," he said.

Mark Kennedy Shriver of Save the Children said last week that he saw "American Idol's" involvement as a new model for charitable giving, one that reached a huge television audience that might not be aware of poverty and how organizations are tackling it.

"'American Idol' and Fox deserve a lot of credit. It could turn people off. It could send a mixed message," Shriver said.

The Republican governor said the intent of Shriver, the executive director of Save the Children, was not shown on the TV show.

"I've worked with Mark Shriver. We have a partnership with him," Fletcher said.

"What he really intended was to show the work being done in turning around these children. Unfortunately, it didn't come across that way to many people,"

Fletcher said his education secretary, Laura Owens, talked Thursday with Shriver, "and that was not his intent. His intent was to show what Save the Children does."

Fletcher said the episode was similar to issues he had in 2004 with remarks made by late-night TV show host Jay Leno, who suggested the state adopt the slogan "Kentucky: Got Teeth?"

Fletcher made an appearance on "The Tonight Show" to defend the state.