WFMJ Covers Youngstown Blog Movement

Last night, on the 6 o'clock news, WFMJ ran a brief story on the Youngstown blog phenomenon. A number of sites were mentioned, including Youngstown Pride, Defend Youngstown, and the Mayor's blog. Our own Mighty Mahoning was even shown briefly on screen. I wasn't contacted about this story (nor would I expect to have been), but a few of my fellow bloggers were and had the chance to offer their input. Defend Youngstown's Phil Kidd was even interviewed on camera.

Obviously, I'm happy about all of this. It's great to see the online movement get some press. Letting people know about these sites and what they represent can, hopefully, help spread the wave of positivity that's starting to gain momentum around the city. Despite the progress that Youngstown is making, we still have a long way to go- and a positive attitude about what's going on and where we're heading is an incredibly important part of the long-term solution.

I honestly do believe in the aforementioned "wave of positivity," by the way. Look at what's been going on in the debate about the median strips on Federal Street. Regardless of how you feel about the issue (I happen to be on the side of keeping the green space intact- i find it ironic that we're known for one of the largest city parks in the country but have next to no green space at all downtown), you have to be happy that people actually care about it- and care about it enough to cause a controversy. As Mangino said on 570 the other day, it's refreshing to see that this is even an issue- that Youngstowners care about downtown enough to want to make sure that it looks nice and that there's enough parking downtown to accommodate everyone who they truly believe will come down there for different events.

We're continuing to hear mixed reviews about what's going on downtown. For example, although the WWE events that recently took place in the Chevy Centre have been praised as a huge success, the arena continues to lose money. People are coming downtown, though- I was at the Italian Fest on Friday and saw a pretty good crowd (one that was, as I've heard, dwarfed the following night by the crowd that came down to hear Dom Tocco and the Brotherhood, that most Youngstown of bands). The Italian Fest actually moved back to downtown from the Canfield Fairgrounds- something I never thought I'd see. As the radio promos for the SteelHounds are fond of saying, "something's howling down on Front Street" and throughout the downtown area.

The local media is also picking up on this. I've criticized the Vindicator for its anti-Youngstown agenda (and, I still feel, rightly so), but local TV and radio is doing a much better job at helping advance the city's resurgence. WYTV (Channel 33), for example, recently built a studio downtown with glass walls that look out toward the street, and they frequently cover positive, semi-newsworthy events in the city (like a recent beer tasting event at the Youngstown Club)- the type of things the Vindicator only covers if they happen in Boardman. 570 WKBN's morning and evening drive time shows have also done a nice job of balancing coverage of the city, of the surrounding areas, and of national issues (despite callers' best efforts to steer every conversation toward what's happening at GM and Delphi).

What's going on around the city right now is great. It's particularly exciting to see so many young people (many of whom had parents that moved away from the city years ago) get involved and get passionate about the city. That's what it's going to take. Okay, admittedly, it will take more than just that- but that's the crucial first piece we've been missing for decades. I'm glad to be a part of this movement.