HJG

^ I don't want to get into a back and forth on every issue, since it's not my place to speak for the paper. These opinions are mine and mine alone. But I think with regards to the FEB mention in the Ameritrust story, the relevance is a nod to the fact that commissioners, mindful of these tough times as illustrated by the FEB suspension, felt it was better to keep hope alive with K&D rather than risk looking for another buyer. With respect to the HealthLine story, I think a search of UO archives and PD archives would show our paper has written extensively about its history, from start to finish. By the time the ribbon was cut, we had already told readers the story of how this project came to be. Again, just my thoughts. As someone who has been attacked personally in the comments section on Cleveland.com, I feel your frustration. In this "wild wild west", I think we're still trying to feel out what is the best way to encourage online interaction. I will say that I don't think we should censor someone there because they offer an unintelligent or even misinformed opinion. And if we spent all day correcting each little misguided notion, when would we have time to publish a newspaper?

Long-time reader, first-time poster. First off, I want to say that I find this board to be a tremendous resource. The discussion here is usually fun and always informative. I never post because I write for The Plain Dealer, many of my articles are re-posted here, and I feel very strongly that I must avoid even the appearance of being opinionated or biased on any of these topics. If that makes me a troll, so be it. And it it makes me unwelcome here, so be that. KJP and I know each other from the business, and I think he could vouch that I'm a pretty decent guy. Either way, I don't expect that I will become a regular poster, but I wanted to chime in -- just this once. Regardless of your opinions of The Plain Dealer -- and you are entitled to them -- please realize that this is a group of professionals, the vast majority of whom work hard and don't sit at their desks all day thinking of ways to snub Cleveland in print. If our paper ever died, hundreds would be out of jobs -- a loss not quite as impacting as National City's or Eaton's, but a loss nonetheless. And although I don't think I could ever convince so many people here otherwise, this paper has repeatedly charted the newsworthy progress of organizations and developers. Until today's news about the Flats East Bank, our newspaper had put that project on the front page numerous times, usually in the context of it being a key piece of the city's future. Few if any of those stories addressed the unforeseen possibility that a sour economy could idle progress there. And it will be front-page news tomorrow, I'm sure, because of this latest twist. I've noticed that prime newspaper real estate on Saturday and Sunday A2 has gone toward spotlighting fun things to do in Cleveland and interesting people you should know. I understand we'll get the jabs when we mention Cleveland's poverty (true) and economic challenges (true) and crime (true). I can't speak for my colleagues, but I try to be conscientious about taking unfair digs. I'm sure I've done it before, however unintentionally. And I'm sure others find the whole, tired "poor city gets big new project" angle enticing every time. As for Phil Morris, he's a columnist -- paid to offer his opinion and spark debate. He obviously did that here. Maybe I read the offending column differently than most -- and I am friendly with Phil, though not close with him -- but I found it to be an emotional piece written strongly. He put to words some of the same ugly worries that surely have been on many of our minds. Anyhow, I'm not here to stick up for Phil. My point (sorry for rambling) is that while I can't change your mind about The Plain Dealer, I hope you realize that we, like you, are passionate about what we do for a living. Thirty-eight of us represented by The Newspaper Guild will lose our jobs by Christmas in corporate-ordered layoffs. Some of you are cheering that. We can't be the newspaper everyone wants us to be. Our news reporters can't be cheerleaders for projects, nor should we be naysayers. You must expect that we will scrutinize land deals and check on city and county corruption. And unfortunately with a growing coverage area but shrinking staff, we won't get to every groundbreaking and ribbon-cutting in your neighborhood. Can we do better? Who in their job couldn't? In the spirit of making this constructive, I hope you will note my e-mail address (hgomezATplaind.com). I consider forums like UO, local blogs and other local publications to be great resources for my reporting. It's clear that many of the people who post here are smart, successful people. If you have a constructive comment about something I'm doing, or better yet, a news tip (sorry for the plug, KJP), please touch base. With that, I appreciate this tremendous forum and hope you'll go easy on me in your responses. Much respect.