Plain Dealer offers to promote suburban flight by city workers (update: publisher disavows, apologizes)
Obviously this is making the rounds, since someone emailed me a pdf. But don’t expect to read about it in the PD. Update 7/25: The PD exceeds my expectations.
A July 20 letter from the paper’s real estate advertising department:
Update 6:15: PD publisher disavows letter, apologizes to city
I got the following email from PD reporter Sandra Livingston in the email around noon… just opened it:
Mr. Callahan,I’m a reporter at The Plain Dealer and saw your most recent item.Plain Dealer Editor Susan Goldberg asked me to send you the following note, which she sent out to the staff today.Folks…A note is circulating from The Plain Dealer’s advertising department that is causing some problems and embarrassment for us, and I wanted you all to know what is going on.The note is from one of our advertising sales representatives. It was written to suburban city officials, but actually was sent to just one official in Rocky River. It promotes an advertising campaign to lure city workers to relocate to suburban communities, now that residency is no longer required.As soon as Terry learned of this yesterday, it was pulled immediately. He also yesterday talked to Cleveland officials and apologized. Here is a note Terry sent to a reader about it, and it sums up his views:“I want to apologize to you as I have to Mayor Jackson and appropriate members of the City Council.“This was a bad error in judgement by one of our best and most aggressive sales reps. The letter was sent to only one person in Rocky River before I learned it even existed and then it was pulled immediately. No one at the Plain Dealer distributed another copy.“The letter does not represent the philosophy or strategy of the Plain Dealer.“Again, I am very sorry this happened.”So, there you have it. If people ask you, please do let them know that this was immediately stopped and that we have apologized for it. Thanks for the help.
Susan
July 24th, 2009 at 11:00 am
I keep reading “This is a great opportunity for suburbs like yours to specifically market to these residents with stable jobs and growing families, to consider your city as an option for relocation,” and I still am unable to believe what I am seeing. This is utterly despicable.
July 24th, 2009 at 2:04 pm
This is so awful.
I’m already pissed off that my downstairs neighbors are going to move (health inspector). I don’t need the PD helping to gut my whole street.
July 26th, 2009 at 12:06 am
It makes me laugh that the PD does the right thing and gets blasted by the phantom posters who do nothing but criticize the paper and the city. I was nice to see the PD do something honorable though.
July 30th, 2009 at 11:37 pm
developers market urban “decay” to sell sprawl housing.
the interstates are a subsidy for suburban housing.
Conservative Plain Dealer editor Kevin O’Brien enjoys a very subsidized lifestyle. He is kind of the wrong guy for a major rust belt newspaper.
August 1st, 2009 at 6:08 am
on one hand, Conservatives want the right for city workers to move out of cleveland.
On the other hand, Conservatives want government jobs that pay well.