Blog restores confidence in local TV news

13WHAM.com - the online unit of the ABC affiliate in Rochester, NY - recently launched "Rochester Reports", a blog that allows well-informed reporters Rachel Barnhart and Evan Dawson to offer a less objective but generally more informative perspective on the major issues facing Rochester. This is a great way to get reporters more involved with the public, as viewers can comment on any of the postings. The website already has a community forum sections of its website, but if often goes ignored or is only utilized by a select few. I have been, and for the most part still am critical of local media outlets for their use of modern website technology. The great majority of local TV news websites are not living up to their potential in the way that news is delivered or presented. Many have outdated graphics, ugly template formatting, and reduced content compared with their broadcast efforts. This blog is a step in the right direction for providing a greater scope of news coverage and establishing a platform for the exchange of ideas. News directors are always trying to engage the public in what their stations do and with what is going on in the community. Making everything "interactive" is an industry-wide goal. Many of them, in my opinion, fail miserably in their online ventures - especially in reaching the younger demographic used to social networking and user-generated media sites such as facebook and youtube. Many smaller newspapers have actually done more with interactive web content than their broadcast counterparts. it will be interesting to see what these websites look like in another 2 to 5 years.

City revitalization needs to start with neighborhoods

As mayors from upstate NY cities work hard to reverse the decline of their rust-belt cities, neighborhoods need to be high priorities. Former Rochester Mayor William Johnson realized this and established the Neighbors Building Neighborhoods program. The nationally recognized, award winning initiative gave city residents the skills and resources necessary to draft their own neighborhood improvement plans. Within a few years, the city made 70% of the recommended improvements - enhancing the quality of life and instilling confidence in local government. This was always a focus of former mayor Johnson - to put an emphasis on neighborhoods. It was his thinking that revitalizing downtown, while important, was not the only solution. The days of national or regional department stores and other major retailers having a presence on Main Street downtown, in his opinion, were long gone. The half empty Midtown Plaza made that perfectly clear. Knowing that Midtown would never serve as the major urban shopping center that it once was, Johnson focused on neighborhood improvement and development and working to help the local businesses there. I was pleased to see the other day that Rochester leaders have not forgotten this important commitment. Earlier in the week, WHAM-TV reported city council will soon vote on a resolution to train 18 to 28 year olds to mow and clear trash and debris from 300 vacant lots in city's southwest neighborhoods. They would be paid $15 per lot, and the city would spend up to $38,000 on this effort. This comes after the city paid to demolish hundreds of vacant homes to rid streets of eyesores and havens for illegal activity. A private contractor had originally been hired to mow the lots, but failed to make good on the $200,000 contract last year. Now the city wants to make sure these lots are properly trimmed, and would like to offer residents in need of work the opportunity. This is a great way to maximize the benefit to the community in a single project: the clean lots add value to the quality of life, and by hiring members of that same neighborhood, you ensure that money is staying in the community. I hope there can be more projects that employ these concepts.

High Marks For Rochester Business School

The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports that the University of Rochester's Simon Graduate School of Business has once again received high marks from the Financial Times of London. The school was ranked 47th among the world's top 100 business schools. For individual categories, the Simon School ranked third in the world for finance, fourth in managerial economics, fourth in accounting, and eighth in statistics. Among business schools in the United States, Simon ranked 22nd. This is the 8th time the school has been ranked within the nation's top 25 business schools, and the school has placed in the top 30 all ten years the survey was conducted. The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania placed first, with the London Business School ranking an overall second.

University of Rochester Medical Center to invest $500 Million

With the recent completion of its 2007-2012 Strategic Plan, the U of R Medical Center has some ambitious goals. According to a press release, URMC will invest $500 million into research, facilities, patient care, and personnel recruitment over the next 5 to 10 years. It will construct - pending state approval (likely) - a six story addition to Strong Memorial Hospital. The $259 million "PRISM" project, as the addition is known by, will add 123 beds to Strong's current capacity. There are also plans for an off-campus ambulatory surgery center to handle thousands of surgeries each year that can't be accommodated in Strong's current operating rooms. But one of the cornerstones of the URMC's strategic plan is the construction of the Clinical and Translational Sciences Building. Governor Spitzer has committed $50 million in state funding for the building - which will be the first of its kind in the country. Designed to foster the process of turning medical research into clinical trials, and then into standard treatment, the building is a major part of a plan to boost Rochester's expertise in Biomedical research. The University is also gaining a reputation for its research of stem cells. All of this is part of a determined effort to become one of the top 20 university medical centers in the country. U of R officials say the changes going on will have a huge economic impact on Rochester - they estimate that by 2015, over 700 new staff members will be hired by the medical center, and that an average of 1,400 construction jobs will be sustained between 2008 and 2012. A report by the Center for Governmental Research estimates that 1,000 jobs will be created in the community as a result of the expansion of the URMC. The University of Rochester is the largest employer in Monroe County.

Two Decades

It is kind of amazing to think back over the now 2 decade span of my life and realize all of the things that happen in the world in 20 years time. To be able to witness the birth of the modern computer - to be there when Windows 95 was revolutionary - and to see the digital age take over so much of the world. I have been alive during the terms of three presidents, two wars in the middle east, and an new type of warfare targeting terrorism. I have seen on live television the worst attacks on the American people in U.S. history. I witnessed the dawn of a new millennium - not just in the United States, but around the world. And now, a presidential election where Americans are seriously considering for the first time electing a woman or African American president. Such dramatic change has occurred, and - for better or worse - it was an exciting time to grow up in. I can't imagine what changes the next 20 years will bring.

Remembering Dr. King

It's Martin Luther King Day - a time to reflect on how far we have come in achieving equal rights in the United States and elsewhere. It is also a time to work together to continue that progress and recognize that there is more work to be done. I was reminded of this last night as I returned to my campus apartment in Syracuse. As I walked through the parking lot to the car, I heard a rustling near the trash cans of one of the houses. The sad thing is that I knew exactly what, or who, it was. On one of the coldest winter nights, the sound came from a homeless man of color who was delicately combing the recycling bins for cans and bottles. It hit home - myself just getting off a six hour shift for more than $7 an hour, and this man searching the city day and night for 5 cents here and there. And he is only one. I'm sure there are hundreds more in Syracuse - some lucky enough to be in warm shelters for the night, but too many are, like this gentleman, out on the streets. There is still work to be done.

More trouble at Los Angeles Times

The Los Angeles Times, owned by Chicago-based Tribune Co., apparently is continuing to have strained relations between senior management and its editorial staff. The New York Times reports that the paper's top editor was fired after refusing to make more newsroom cuts. This is the latest in several cases of editors either being fired or resigning - all having to do with the same issue of eliminating positions. This is not the only problem at the paper since having been purchased by the Tribune Company in 2000. Many editors and media experts were concerned with the Tribune Co's closing of several of the Time's oversees bureaus a few years ago. This has been a recent trend that has affected all forms of journalism, especially the broadcast networks. More and more, management wants less people to do more work. And whether we like it or not, the quality of news today is driven more by a bottom line than a commitment to public service.

"Our Town" from the movie Cars

The value of mid-sized cities

Perhaps it is easy for me to appreciate smaller cities when I have never been to places like NY or Chicago. I have spent short amounts of time in London and Toronto, and loved them, but there is something that they cannot provide. I find that when I am in large cities everything becomes blurred into a mass of glass, steel, and pavement. I find it hard to find a sense of belonging in these sprawling metropolises. Smaller cities like Rochester and Syracuse offer a sense of culture that you can connect with. They offer distinct examples of period architecture that turn a walk down the sidewalk a step into the past. You can see where they have come from and, with a little imagination, you can see where they are going. Imagination - that is the problem for so many younger people in Syracuse, especially attending Syracuse University (which is located near downtown area of the city). Students don't see department stores and Starbuck's on every corner, and they decide that the place is the armpit of the universe and that there could not possibly be any redeeming qualities. Even more disturbing, countless students in the Newhouse school of communications feel the same way, and can't understand why professors make them become familiar with the workings of the city and county. All too often I hear the "I don't live here, why should I care" mentality. Even worse, there is the "I don't need to understand Syracuse to be a good student reporter here" attitude held by some journalism (especially broadcast journalism students). It is no wonder that so many people complain about the media, and that there seems to be a downhill trend in local TV news. In smaller markets, new college grads stay three years, or however long their first contract is, and then move on. This as the same stations reduce the number of reporters and constantly try to do more with less. WTVH, the CBS affiliate in Syracuse just fired Maureen Green, its most veteran reporter of 22 years. We need more reporters in smaller and mid-sized markets who have experience working there and have a deep understanding of the community. This takes time, but anyone can get on a quick track by looking in between the cracks and getting a behind the scenes look at a city or any other community. Explore, volunteer, and get to know the stories of the people who live there. This what a real community is about - not bricks and mortar, but the human connections and the collective successes and failures of a group of people. Once you tap into that, anyplace can become fascinating and rewarding. More students in Syracuse should try thinking this way, in between the weekly drinking parties, and actually give the chancellor's "scholarship in action" a try before they ignorantly reject it. The issues facing mid-size cities is interesting to me, and it is a topic that will be discussed in depth here in the months to come. For now, I invite you to take a look at the pictures of my home - Rochester, NY - and see if you can't see some of the charm I am talking about.