four4me said:
"... i don't know anyone who works at our local TV station to verify any of this."
As you know, LosingJeff and I spent years investigating the crooked practices of the Hoosier Lottery (which still operates unabated). We didn't know the people we needed to speak with, either, so we simply introduced ourselves and told them what we wanted.
You'll discover that the programming director at your local television station will be happy to talk to you, and might even give you videotaped copies of the drawings in question if you ask for them (in most states, the tapes are archived at the studio for a year or more). Also, their marketing director can give you additional information concerning their true advertising expenses (which don't always match what the lottery claims they spend).
Speculating on something that might be suspicious only leads to more suspicion. Go get the information you need to either verify or disprove your allegations. I realize that many people can't bring themselves to walk up to a perfect stranger and begin a conversation. If this is the case, sit down and write a letter or send an email to the person you want to speak with. Include your phone number and invite the respondent to call you at his convenience, if you're more comfortable speaking on the phone.
Television stations all over the country usually have two or three citizens a day pawing through their files looking for information, and the stations are required to allow them to do so by the FCC (via the federal Freedom of Information Act). Any information the station manager has access to is fair game, and I've never encountered one who was hostile to me, unlike most of the people I've spoken with at various state agencies.
If you want to verify your suspicions, go and ask the person who has that information. If you're perfectly content just sitting around wondering about it, then your present course of action certainly won't hurt anything, but you'll never know if you were right.
Zeta Reticuli Star System
