Can
a newspaper make a difference?
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย To answer that question, we’ll be
watching our neighbors to the west.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย On January 2, The Buffalo News inaugurated a year-long focus on the future of the
paper’s city and region. They’re calling the special report “Why not Buffalo?”
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย That report — which sports the
sub-headline “Moving toward a smarter, cooler future” — takes a hard look at
greater Buffalo’s problems
through news articles, editorials, and special features. Even the local advice
columnist gets in on the action, with a flippant proposal that the city play
host to a new “Rust Belt Disney.”
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Joking aside, the paper wades right
into the thick of things, tackling the most serious issues its city faces, from
population loss and economic doldrums to a stale political culture and a
defeatist attitude.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Editor Margaret Sullivan wrote this
in an explanation for readers:
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย “From the moment I became editor of The News, people have been asking me the
same question: Why doesn’t the paper do
something about Buffalo’s troubles?In fact, we feel we have done a great
deal to address these difficult issues, but now it’s time to focus it more.
Today, we accept the challenge in earnest.”
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Sullivan told City Newspaper that the decision to embark upon the project was the
result of a series of observations that reached critical mass.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย “I guess we’ve been feeling for a
while that in Western New York there’s no other
subject than the decline of the area,” she says. Of course, there are other subjects, she clarifies, but
they all fade in importance when compared to Buffalo’s decay.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Among the factors that made the
project impossible for Sullivan to ignore was the hunger evident among her
readers for a deeper exploration of the issues holding the city back.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Last year, Buffalo natives and News staff writers Charity Vogel and Jay
Rey wrote a handful of stories about the state of
their “incredible shrinking city,” as they dubbed it.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย “They got this incredible response:
people emailing them saying ‘What can we do?'” says Sullivan. “In a sense those
stories were a catalyst.”
But The Buffalo News also does
something else — something rarer in newspaper special sections: It proposes
bold solutions.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย The very first article, penned by
Vogel and Rey to launch the series, dishes up eight
concrete suggestions for turning the city around, starting with a change in the
New York State Constitution to allow Buffalo to
incorporate its suburbs.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย “If the suburbs can’t be stopped, Buffalo’s boundaries
should grow along with them,” they wrote. Expanding the city just to include
the inner-ring suburbs would instantly boost Buffalo’s population
from 292,000 to 646,000. And it would vault them into 19th on the list of the
nation’s largest cities — a move that would put it on the map when businesses
from around the country and around the world come
calling, they argue. And they back their argument up, not only with the
traditional litany of facts, figures, and quotes from experts, but also with
prose that’s crisp, readable, and even a bit edgy at times.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Consider this example:
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย “Why should you want to see this
happen, if you’re a suburban resident in ErieCounty? Because that nice $250,000 mock-Tudor with the half-acre lawn and
attached garage won’t be worth a plug nickel in 10 years if the population of
the area continues to drop. Who will be around to buy it? When that
happens — which it will, if nothing is done — it won’t matter that your
address label reads “Amherst” instead
of “Buffalo.” The
boat will have sunk, with everybody aboard. It won’t much matter what deck you
were standing on when it went down.”
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย That same style also marks their
arguments for changes like working harder to attract big business, taking
advantage of their proximity to Toronto, and
reforming local politics, among others.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Another article calls for creative
solutions to a specific segment of population loss that particularly hurts
mid-sized metro areas like Buffalo (and Rochester) — the loss
of creative, smart, and talented 20-somethings to major cities.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Two more pieces confronting Buffalo’s negative
self-image by an editorial writer follow the one on brain drain. On their heels
comes an article about the city’s blighted waterfront. These articles, which
amount to a frontal assault on the problems plaguing Greater Buffalo, are also
purposely — relentlessly — ambitious in their scope. As Rey
and Vogel argue, they have to be if the city is to be saved.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย “It won’t happen as a result of
piecemeal regionalism, casinos, or silver bullets. Those ideas are too small in
scope, and too fraught with the potential of failure,” they write.
Where all this
will lead, Sullivan can’t say.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย “I hope we will provoke a lot of
thought and conversation,” she says. “Whatever else happens will have to come
from the community; we’re just a forum.”
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย The closing of her introduction to
readers contains another hint at the full scale of the project’s possibilities.
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย “Can mere journalism really turn
around a city’s destiny?” writes Sullivan. “Maybe not, but we plan to give it
our best shot. At the least, we will serve as a forum, a searchlight, maybe
even a battering ram.”
For
more information and to read the stories already posted as part of this project
visit www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/whynotbuffalo.asp.
This article appears in Feb 16-22, 2005.
