I had the same reaction when I read the article.  I only scan Cleveland.com in the morning to get the main topics.  When I first moved here about 11 years ago, I used to read the paper religiously.  Now I can't stand to read the paper.  It is almost comical.  The problem is that people in my parents generation get a large part of their news from the paper.  As a result, they are terrified that my wife and I live in downtown Cleveland.  The envision that we have to dodge bullets every night!  The paper is worse than a joke.  It is harmful to the region.

I've had this battle with my wife, ever since I moved here 9 years ago. She's scared of downtown, because it's been ingrained in her head from the moment that she was born that it's dangerous, and that it's falling down around everyone's ears. It's unfortunate, because having worked down there now for 6 of those 9 years, I have obviously found a very different city. But I'll never win this fight with her because of the negative portrayal of the city by all of the media. It is singularly the most frustrating thing I have had to deal with since I came here, and I can't for the life of me figure out why they do it. Don't they realize that ultimately they are only hurting themselves?

 

I'm guessing, given the rather transient nature of journalists and TV reporters, they don't give a crap.

"I can't for the life of me figure out why they do it."

 

To hear Connie Schultz describe her colleagues at the PD, "...there are lots of good people here, and most of them care a great deal about the state of this city. It's not exposing the flaws, but ignoring them, that hurts this great town."

 

The problem is that the PD rarely exposes the successes of this great town, and if/when they do, it's always delivered with a backhanded compliment. They don't engage anyone beyond their circle of backslappers (there are plenty of them lurking on this forum but how many actually participate? (KJP being a notable and terrific exception)

 

I truly believe that there are people in the media (not all, but a lot - and many of them at Channel 19 and the PD) who project their personality-disorder/chronic-depression-driven agenda onto their audience. And they wonder why their ratings slip, or their circulation plummets. When you dare suggest that they focus on the positive once in a while, you're accused of wanting to cover up/ignore the city's problems.

And in other media news, from cleveland.com

 

Robin Swoboda welcomed a surprise guest to her morning chatfest last week -- her new station buddy, Stefani Schaefer.

 

The former WEWS Channel 5 anchor is joining "Fox 8 News in the Morning" starting Monday.

 

More at cleveland.com http://blog.cleveland.com/entertainment/2007/09/stefani_schaefer_returns_home.html

Back to the PD thing really quick. And Cleveland media in general. As far as the rally goes, I think people need to be careful what they ask for there. I think that "good news" needs to be reported more frequently, yes. But slanting towards good news is still bias. What I want to see more of is UNBIASED reporting in Cleveland. It's understated oftentimes, but it's there, as we all know. The media's job isn't so much to provide an opinion (aside from editorials and op-ed). It's to provide an UNBIASED REPORT of what is happening in the city, in ALL aspects. I understand that people can be passionate about their beliefs, desires, etc for a city. But as a reporter, those things shouldn't come into your job, and I'm sick of seeing certain people's passions slanting their reporting. It shouldn't happen. THAT'S what I would fight for.

 

Stand up and make your voices heard on this. Having said that, I won't be able to make it. But I have valid excuses! One of which is the fact that I live hundreds of miles away. :(

Agreed. But a lack of bias in their coverage means not only ensuring that individual reporters avoid a bias in their reporting but that the overall selection of news reflects an impartiality. I don't want either sensationally negative stories or moon-eyed fluff pieces. What I do want, however, is media that doesn't headline with a 200-point font sensational poverty-linked headline, followed by 23 crime stories, followed by a fluff piece about a family that's nursing baby kittens back to health (this is another weird thing for me that I've only noticed since living in Cleveland ... almost every newscast has a fluffy feel-good human interest story ... and a full 95% of them feature some pet-related story ... yay for animals, but c'mon ... isn't anything else going on?).

 

For me, it would be nice to see stories about the work being done at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in conjunction with the military on reducing equipment-related injuries (taking place because the museum purportedly has the largest collection of skeletons in the world); how the Cleveland Colectivo has brought together young professionals who are directly donating funds and time into grassroots projects; how high school students have led a Youth Committee at the East Side Organizing Project to try to better understand the foreclosure crisis and how they can play a part in addressing the issue; or how senior citizens are donating their time as tutors at the Intergenerational School, ensuring that all students have daily one-on-one reading lessons. These are the types of actions that take place in Cleveland CONSTANTLY but are lost amid slanted coverage of crime and poverty.

 

For me, here's what I would expect from our local media:

 

1. A commitment to ensuring that reporters (including editorial staff) have a full range of information about the community at their finger tips and that their coverage is grounded in factual content (e.g. reviewing the fact that crime rates are dropping in the city of Cleveland before launching month-long crusades to save Cleveland from its downward spiral into crime).

2. Carefully reviewing content to ensure that unfounded opinions do not find their way into news stories (e.g. Not allowing phrases like "Whether the Cleveland market will bear this project remains to be seen", without corresponding data to confirm why a particular development project MIGHT fail, to find their way into stories about Pesht, The Avenue, etc.).

3. Balancing editorial content to avoid one solitary opinion of local civic affairs, whether that opinion is overly positive or overly pessimistic. While individual columnists should be free to speak their mind regarding local affairs, choosing to publish only the opinions of a largely exurban, largely pessimistic and sometimes ill-informed editorial writing staff seems a poor strategy (e.g. In light of recent surveys that showed a desire among readers for more positive editorial content, hire a columnist who is young, lives in the city and who can articulate the positive aspects of the community).

4. Have an organization-wide strategy for addressing biases in coverage. This should include strategies that address not only biased opinions about the community but also how coverage can adversely impact readers' perceptions of city dwellers, low-income individuals, racial and ethnic minorities and youth. Countless research studies have shown that media's unintentional stereotyping (e.g. through overcoverage of crime stories) has greatly influenced social views of these groups.

I  really could not add much to this  excellent post. While I am sick of anti city propaganda to sell papers to suburbanites, I don't want to be pandered to either. I wish there could be some oversite or input by more progressive individuals. I am guessing most staff live in the burbs like the readership. I continue to be tee'd off I have to subscribe to the NY times to read a decent paper. I can't accept with the excuses that we are not as big as NYC.  As I have mentioned several time before I lived in a market this size (Tampa st Pete) that had a PD quality paper and a high quality one as well. Its so biased and low brow I was in a group of people where one person indicated a councilman in the city pushed them to write an editorial in his favor as "he'd get it published" ...and he did. scary, small town stuff. It time to grow up and have a real paper. 

 

p.s . I love pets (I have 3!), but I don't need fluffy in my paper. wastless drivel.

And in other media news, from cleveland.com http://blog.cleveland.com/entertainment/2007/09/stefani_schaefer_returns_home.html

 

Robin Swoboda welcomed a surprise guest to her morning chatfest last week -- her new station buddy, Stefani Schaefer.

 

The former WEWS Channel 5 anchor is joining "Fox 8 News in the Morning" starting Monday.

 

 

Stefani Schaefer. She's on my top three hottest Cleveland TV people list! The other two are  Suzanne Stratford on 8 and then there was a girl on PBS doing the Ideas show, but I haven't seen her in a long while, so I fear she may have left town, which is sad.

Maybe there will be some changes in store for our not-so-favorite rag.

 

Plain Dealer names new managing editor

Posted by Metro staff September 20, 2007 14:02PM

Categories: FYI, Impact

 

 

Chris Stephens/The Plain DealerNew Plain Dealer Managing Editor Debra Adams Simmons addresses the staff.

 

The Plain Dealer named Debra Adams Simmons as its managing editor today. Adams Simmons, who most recently was editor and vice president of the Akron Beacon Journal, replaces Tom O'Hara, who left the paper last week for a teaching job at Kent State University.

 

I  really could not add much to this  excellent post. While I am sick of anti city propaganda to sell papers to suburbanites, I don't want to be pandered to either. I wish there could be some oversite or input by more progressive individuals. I am guessing most staff live in the burbs like the readership. I continue to be tee'd off I have to subscribe to the NY times to read a decent paper. I can't accept with the excuses that we are not as big as NYC.  As I have mentioned several time before I lived in a market this size (Tampa st Pete) that had a PD quality paper and a high quality one as well. Its so biased and low brow I was in a group of people where one person indicated a councilman in the city pushed them to write an editorial in his favor as "he'd get it published" ...and he did. scary, small town stuff. It time to grow up and have a real paper. 

 

In all fairness to the PD when I was in Tampa I read the paper every day- the Tampa one- Tribune or Times I can't remember.  I thought is was of an even lower quality than the PD.  Most articles were just 3-6 paragraph in and outs.  The writing seemed to be based on a 3rd grade reading level.  I was amazed that it was a big city paper.  Also it was very conservative, WAY more so than the PD, though that doesn't necessarily make a media outlet good or bad.

you read the tribune I assure you (based on grade 3 level and conservative). It is horrible, there is a HUGE difference. trust me (and who ever awarded the SP times all the Pulitzer prizes)

Excellent post, 8Shades.

 

BTW, is anyone here proficient at Web site design and willing to develop a site for "sweat equity?" I'll give you more details as to what I'm after if you PM me.

I think that Musky has some html skills.  Not that I'm volunteering him..

And in other media news, from cleveland.com http://blog.cleveland.com/entertainment/2007/09/stefani_schaefer_returns_home.html

 

Robin Swoboda welcomed a surprise guest to her morning chatfest last week -- her new station buddy, Stefani Schaefer.

 

The former WEWS Channel 5 anchor is joining "Fox 8 News in the Morning" starting Monday.

 

 

Stefani Schaefer. She's on my top three hottest Cleveland TV people list! The other two are  Suzanne Stratford on 8 and then there was a girl on PBS doing the Ideas show, but I haven't seen her in a long while, so I fear she may have left town, which is sad.

 

Agreed.  Stefani Schaefer is smoking hot.  Also on that list needs to be:

WKYC: Jennifer Murphy, Carole Sullivan (very sexy, raspy voice) and Holly Strano should also receive a special vote just for remaining hot while pregnant.

WEWS: Sue Ann Robak (you could talk sports with her)

WJW: Kathleen Cochrane

WOIO: Sharon Reed, Jen Picciano and Dawn Kendrick

 

 

Excellent post, 8Shades.

 

BTW, is anyone here proficient at Web site design and willing to develop a site for "sweat equity?" I'll give you more details as to what I'm after if you PM me.

 

I think that Musky has some html skills.  Not that I'm volunteering him..

 

I wouldn't say I'm proficient, but you can can count on me for assistance.

 

 

 

 

 

Agreed.  Stefani Schaefer is smoking hot.  Also on that list needs to be:

WKYC: Jennifer Murphy, Carole Sullivan (very sexy, raspy voice) and Holly Strano should also receive a special vote just for remaining hot while pregnant.

WEWS: Sue Ann Robak (you could talk sports with her)

WJW: Kathleen Cochrane

WOIO: Sharon Reed, Jen Picciano and Dawn Kendrick

 

 

 

Holly Strano????

 

She looks like a thumb-thumb

what does thumb-thumb mean?

They were characters from the first Spy Kids movie.

 

"The evil Thumb-thumb robots were based on a drawing called "Thumb Thumbs Playing Eye Ball" that Robert won an award for when he was 12"

 

 

i'm failing to see the resemblance...while she may not be stefani schaefer hot, she's def. bangable, plus I was merely pointing out how she looked good while pregnant...

Bangable? I wonder why more women don't sign up and participate in the forum? :roll:

i'm failing to see the resemblance...while she may not be stefani schaefer hot, she's def. bangable, plus I was merely pointing out how she looked good while pregnant...

 

Fine.

If you like the thumb thumb look... while pregnant... go for it.

who said i liked the thumb thumb look? but i think women are hot pregnant...

Bangable? I wonder why more women don't sign up and participate in the forum? :roll:

 

Yeah. I didn't realize Howard Stern just walked into the room. :)

who said i liked the thumb thumb look? but i think women are hot pregnant...

 

enough.

pd:

 

PD wins awards from Society of Professional Journalists

Friday, September 28, 2007

Jesse Tinsley

Plain Dealer Reporter

 

The Plain Dealer's reporters won several top newspaper awards in the 2007 Ohio Society of Professional Journalists contest.

 

Each year the Ohio SPJ recognizes excellence in television, radio and print journalism.

 

Reporters won five first-place awards in the newspapers with circulation of 100,000 or more category.

 

In addition, cleveland.com won the top award for Best Web Site.

 

 

For a complete list of contest's winners, go to ohiospjawards.org/2007/.

 

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

 

[email protected], 216-999-4889

The PD won an award?  Who is asleep a the wheel???  :?

Now now, it may not be a great paper but there are some talented people (along with some twits, and some talented twits at that) on the staff.

 

It was nice to see some of my former co-workers from the Daily Kent Stater on the awards list.

Sun News:

 

Urbancich to step down as Sun President, CEO

Posted by Sun News September 27, 2007 17:56PM

 

John Urbancich announced today that he will be stepping down as President and Chief Executive Officer of Sun News on Oct. 12 to pursue a personal business venture. As part of his future activities, John will continue to contribute his highly regarded movie reviews and features for Sun.

 

Terry Egger, as the representative of Sun's parent company, Advance Publications.....added that Sun department heads would continue to work together as a team to carry Sun forward as an independent company

 

 

Am I missing something?

Is anyone else having a problem with cleveland.com this morning?

I'm getting a 403 Forbidden response.

Yes.

Yup

I wonder if there server(s) have failed?

Maybe the mayflies got them, too.

Hmm, right after winning top award for best web -site. 

 

Musky, are midges the same as mayflies, and are those the same as canadian soldiers?

Cleveland.com awarded OHSAA's Internet package

 

Posted by From staff reports October 15, 2007 16:52PM

Categories: Breaking News

 

Cleveland.com was awarded exclusive Internet rights to high school state tournaments sanctioned by the Ohio High School Athletic Association on Monday.

 

"We are excited that the OHSAA voted unanimously to select cleveland.com to launch a statewide site that will provide exclusive Internet video streaming of OHSAA tournament contests among other features," Cleveland.com editor Denise Polverine said. "More details on the agreement will soon be announced."

 

Cleveland.com is the online home of The Plain Dealer.

 

Last month, the OHSAA awarded exclusive television rights to SportsTime Ohio.

 

http://blog.cleveland.com/tlr/2007/10/clevelandcom_awarded_ohsaas_in.html

Hmm, STO and Cleveland.com are both Cleveland-based organizations.  Could it be that Northeast Ohio is finally getting some sway downstate?

Cleveland.com is a website managed by a company called Real Cities Network based in Raleigh, North Carolina. But the Cleveland.com advertising and web management is run by Real Cities' New Jersey office. The same company manages other new sites. See below......

_____________________

 

http://www.realcitiesnetwork.com/

 

And check out this article. If you visit some of the websites mentioned below, you'll find their formats and page layouts nearly identical to Cleveland.com's...

 

http://www.writenews.com/2004/100804_soundbytes.htm

 

Publishing Industry Soundbytes

 

Content Deals

 

· The Real Cities Network announced the addition of Advance Internet and The (Toledo) Blade to its national advertising network of local news and information web sites. With the addition of Advance's site in Portland, Oregon, Real Cities says it includes 22 of the top 30 media markets. Advance Internet brings to the Real Cities Network 10 websites affiliated with newspapers owned by Advance Publications Inc., including MLive.com in Michigan, al.com in Alabama, NJ.com in New Jersey, cleveland.com in Ohio, NOLA.com in New Orleans, PennLive.com in central Pennsylvania, MassLive.com in Western Massachusetts, SILive.com in Staten Island, Syracuse.com in central New York, and OregonLive.com in Portland.

I had a feeling I would get that response from you, KJP. :-D

 

It's always fun stumbling upon a Real Cities site and seeing how similar they are to Cleveland.com.  I remember following Hurricane Katrina from NOLA.com and having to catch myself from thinking that half of Cleveland was under water.  And whenever I get down on Cleveland, a trip to over NJ.com always perks me back up!  :lol:

pd:

 

Tim Taylor inducted into Hall of Fame

Friday, October 19, 2007

 

Tim Taylor, who retired in 2005 after more than four decades of broadcast work in Cleveland, includ ing almost 30 years as news anchor at WJW Channel 8 television, will be inducted into the Press Club of Cleveland's Journalism Hall of Fame on Thursday at LaCentre, 25777 Detroit Road, Westlake.

pd:

 

Tim Taylor inducted into Hall of Fame

Friday, October 19, 2007

 

Tim Taylor, who retired in 2005 after more than four decades of broadcast work in Cleveland, includ ing almost 30 years as news anchor at WJW Channel 8 television, will be inducted into the Press Club of Cleveland's Journalism Hall of Fame on Thursday at LaCentre, 25777 Detroit Road, Westlake.

 

 

 

Arrrgh!!

 

 

 

 

I normally don't think Scene is too witty, but I found this recent blog item rather humorous....

 

Dick Feagler: LeBron James is a Queer-Bait

Thu Dec 06 2007, at 02:14:14 PM

 

Today’s subject: LeBron’s sprained finger

 

I was talking to the guys at the coffee shop, and we all agree that LeBron James is a cupcake, a swisher, a queer-bait.

 

Back in my day, that’s what we called any guy who didn’t show up for work when he had a sprained finger. You’d be too embarrassed to even have a sprained finger. It’s practically like getting your period.

 

If we had a sprained finger, we’d stick it in a grinder to make it look better, so the guys wouldn’t razz you. Or maybe we’d pour some gasoline on it and set it on fire. Except back in my day, you had to walk 12 miles to the store to get some gasoline, and you didn’t have any money to buy it anyways.

 

Those were the days when good old Americans made the gasoline, not like these towel heads we have today. Back in my day, the only people who put towels on their heads were ladies who just got outta the shower. And they were classy broads, not like these trixies we have today…

 

This has been another moment of insightful thoughts on America, courtesy of Dick Feagler. We now return to our regularly scheduled programming…

 

http://blogs.clevescene.com/cnotes/

 

^^ lol, what a queer-bait!

Today in the Plain Dealer there is an article about the battle between local hospitals and the IRS regarding their non-profit tax exempt status and how Rep. Tubbs Jones has gotten into the discussion. 

 

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1197020351287340.xml&coll=2

 

As usual there is this unrelated, one-sentence paragraph: 

 

"The region's economy has struggled and Cleveland is ranked as one of America's poorest cities."

 

Now it is a real stretch to say this has anything to do with the topic discussed in the article.  It appears that an editor decided to insert this paragraph as a last minute edit to the original article.  I am furious that the PD continues to bombard us with negative propaganda.  I wrote the author of the article regarding my concern, but I doubt it will have any impact.

 

Is there anything we can do to stop the PD from continually infecting the region with its negativity?  Many people (like my parents) get much of their information from the PD and they are always talking doom and gloom about Greater Cleveland.  I can't blame them when they only get there information from the local media.

not talking about it won't make it any less true. 

Yes, but constantly bemoaning it without coming up with any solutions doesn't do any good for anyone, either.

Right, I have my faults, and while I'm not trying to hide them, I don't drag them into every conversation I have.  It is like going out on a first date and saying to your date, "This is my favorite restaurant.  The filet is excellent. Also, I often get bad gas."

OK, I had to chime in on the Wal-Mart hiring news. This was my column in this week's papers....

 

Swarm for Wal-Mart jobs no cause for concern

Dec. 13, 2007

Write of Way

Ken Prendergast

 

So it was all gloom and doom when local media reported that Wal-Mart had more than 6,000 applications for just 350 job openings at its new supercenter at Steelyard Commons.

 

“Another sign of a stagnant local economy,” was the general theme of the news reports.

 

Sadly, little investigation or analysis was done to see how many job applicants were received at other Wal-Mart stores around the country. After all, such investigation might lead to putting the numbers into context. Or are we so down on Greater Cleveland that we in the media simply assumed that it could only mean bad news?

 

After all, our economy isn’t booming like Chicago’s, right? Chicago is a city some in Cleveland wish we could emulate.

 

When it came to the job application frenzy at Wal-Mart, we did — at least on a per-capita basis.

 

There were 25,000 applicants for 325 jobs at a smaller Wal-Mart opened nearly two years ago in Evergreen Park, Illinois, one block south of Chicago’s city limits. Chicago City Council shot down a Wal-Mart proposal 18 months earlier to build the store in its city. All but 500 of the job applicants listed Chicago addresses, according to a Jan. 26, 2006 article in The Chicago Sun-Times.

 

The same article noted that 11,000 people applied for jobs at a Wal-Mart store that opened in Oakland, Calif. Wal-Mart officials said they’re happy when they get 3,000 job applications at a new store. In populous urban areas, it’s easy to see why the numbers go up. It sure would have been nice to get that context in local news reports.

 

Chicago, Oakland and Cleveland, have been going through a painful, often not voluntary transitions from a manufacturing-based economy to one based more on services. Once the bleeding stops on the manufacturing side, our local economy should start growing again.

 

Consider this employment data recently posted on the Cleveland Public Library’s Web site. The first set of data was compiled by the Plain Dealer in 1965 on Greater Cleveland’s largest non-governmental employers and their numbers of employees in the early 1960s:

 

General Motors — 17,900

Ford Motor Co. — 12,213

Republic Steel — 10,067

TRW — 9,405

General Electric — 7,843

Ohio Bell — 6,954

May Co. —5,450

Chrysler Corp. — 5,209

U.S. Steel Corp. — 4,182

Standard Oil Co. — 3,829

 

Just two service-based employers (May and Ohio Bell) made the top ten largest employers in Greater Cleveland. The list from the Cleveland Public Library’s site was longer, showing the 25 biggest employers, including names like Higbee Co., Halle Brothers and, at No. 20, the largest bank, Cleveland Trust Corp.

 

The top ten largest employers in Greater Cleveland bears little resemblance to one compiled from 2006 data by Crain’s Cleveland Business:

 

Cleveland Clinic — 27,755

University Hospitals — 16,611

Progressive Corp. — 9,017

Key Corp. — 6,397

National City — 6,051

MetroHealth — 5,503

CWRU — 5,075

Ford Motor Co. — 4,910

Sherwin-Williams — 3,176

Continental Airlines — 2,892

 

Just two manufacturing-based employers (Ford and Sherwin-Williams) made the top ten in 2006. And Ford was the only company common to both lists. Thus, in just four decades, Greater Cleveland’s largest employers did a complete reversal.

 

Is this a bad or good thing? Since the metro area hasn’t grown in population since the 1960 Census, it’s not a good thing. But while steel-dominated Youngstown or car-dominated Detroit collapsed, Greater Cleveland diversified its economy and stayed even.

 

Once the economic shakeout winds down, we should see more economic growth locally. And we’ll probably continue to see more people flooding new employers with job applications like what happened at the Steelyard Commons Wal-Mart.

 

But it’s not unique to Cleveland. Nor is it necessarily a bad thing.

nice job putting it into proper context

Hmm didn't realize this one.  Cleveland leadership being innovative...leaders of our time.  :-D

 

------------------------------------------------------

 

http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=123&aid=134786

 

Poynter online

Rick Edmonds

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2007

Local-Local Front Pages Come to Cleveland

 

A tipster told me the Cleveland Plain Dealer has gone all-local on its front page.  Check out a week's worth of front page layouts posted on Cleveland.com -- and it is pretty much true. [http://www.cleveland.com/frontpage/]  The only national display story in the last 10 days was the Mitchell report on steroids in baseball.

 

Editor Susan Goldberg said in a phone interview that the new policy was not formally announced -- the paper simply did it.  National and international stories are regularly teased on a left-hand page one news rail, "but we wanted to get away from putting commodity news that everyone knows already out front."  The policy is a logical extension of the thought, "hardly an original," Goldberg said, that people can get up-to-the-minute national and international news many places on the Internet so the core remaining news franchise for a regional paper is local.

 

But don't loyal print edition readers still expect a ration of national and international news on the front page?  "I do hear that from some folks," Goldberg said. "Frankly it is partly generational." Late-breaking or extremely important national and international stories can still earn a spot on the front, she said.

 

The local-local movement has steam and even papers like the Boston Globe run many more local stories out front than they used to.  But to my knowledge, only the mid-sized East Valley Tribune in the Phoenix suburbs has taken a version of the Cleveland plunge.

 

Typically, these kinds of bold moves (think dropping the stock tables a few years ago) catch on if the pioneers are successful.  I wouldn't be surprised to see a number of metros trying the all-local front in 2008.

 

Posted at 7:37:21 AM