Let's start an office pool on when Morning Call reporters become paid PR flacks for JB or the NIZ. Not one mention in this story that the building was rushed ahead because of the failure of the Walnut Street project to materialize. And exactly who are these Philadelphia companies forming the line to move to Allentown? Are there no questions asked? Comment on Morning Call story about Reilly's New Office Condos
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I take great offense to the PR crack. No one has followed the NIZ -- from its warts and damage to the state tax payer to its benefits to Allentown -- more than us. We did print an entire story saying exactly that yesterday. Here's the link. Reply by Matt Assad on Morning Call comment section
Mr. Assad, actually you had written three stories within two days on Reilly's new project. Understand that every project, or even tenant, of Reilly's is treated like news, which is then repeated, again and again. Understand that everyone else has to pay to promote or advertise their real estate, and pay dearly. I snickered yesterday about the dining review of Vince's Cheesesteaks. After numerous articles about their opening, the paper now does a dining review on them, on a cheesesteak? You may take offense, but we're also offended, at the wholesale promotion of Reilly's NIZ. To my knowledge, except in your comment above, you or the paper had never previously linked the words NIZ and damage.
I understand that you're offended. I can also believe that the Morning Call genuinely believes that the NIZ's benefits to Allentown deserve special treatment. I suggest that it has gotten enough special treatment. By the way, someone has chronicled the NIZ's warts and damage more than the Morning Call.
I can imagine when Strata Flats II opens, the number of promotional releases (oops, I mean news articles) by Mr Assad will be mind-numbing.
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, I find it quite ironic that yesterday, when Mr Assad made one of his infrequent comments, defending the integrity of the Morning Call with regards to their NIZ promotions, you wrote about the Elks Club building on South 8th Street and the massive empty space along Walnut that was created for the now-cancelled centerpiece of City Center Development and the damage of the NIZ to Allentown.
dave@6:52, confessions by the blogger; my piece was written first, i have taken to rough drafting the evening before, and then sometimes revising, and posting early the following morning. yesterday, i revised the post and deleted mr assad's name, substituting "paper" instead. however, being referred to his comment on mcall, by a comment placed here, i decided to directly confront mr. assad's very flattering articles about reilly's parcels in the NIZ. another staff person at the morning call also previously told me that he was offended by my suggestion that the paper crosses the news line into promotion, in regard to the NIZ. i think at this point it is a given that the paper finds me offensive, and generally unmentionable. i think that they should consider me their therapist, although i'm sure my advise is unwelcome. perhaps if they paid me they would value it more.
ReplyDeleteMr. Assad said the story the day before discussed the demise of the Walnut Street project. That would be fair except for the fact that every story about the NIZ includes the usual PR statement about 'the NIZ is responsible for 2-Billion Dollars of developmnt....' yada yada yada. That's what PR people do at the end of press releases; put in the boilerplate statement about their organization. Naturally, of course, the Morning Call (an most newspapers) fairly omits that stuff in the newspaper. Not, however, with NIZ news. I hope Mr. Assad does a search of his own work to see how often he uses boilerplate PR references to the NIZ.
ReplyDeleteMike,
ReplyDeleteOne thing to consider as we criticize the media reporting is that outside of a few "naysayers" almost everyone else is buying the line that "every things coming up roses in Allentown". Trust me, people I know, who should know better buy, the Pawlowski administration created narrative. The Call may simply be reporting what they hear from the vast majority of residents.
Perhaps so Scott, but Dave Erdman just said in his outgoing interview that he is most proud of the Morning Call's investigative reporting. That shouldn't be limited to whatever they think is a vast majority of residents. The corruption is right out in the open.
ReplyDeleteGeorge,
ReplyDeleteWhat you are saying makes perfect sense but remember we are dealing with Allentown and the Morning Call.These two entities never seem to make sense or operate rationaly.
Today's MC had a story about how worried 'journalists' are about wealthy people buying newspapers. As if the Sulzbergers Grahams, et al are paupers! They are less concerned, of course about newspapers who have been bought by liberals, but are apoplectic about 'conservative' casino magnate owning a paper in Vegas. They worry about the confluence of politics and journalism. Makes me want to gag. Heck, hundreds of newspaper in the country for a couple of hundred years have been called "Democrat" or "Republican."
ReplyDeleteJournalists are the most thin-skinned among us...and I love tweaking them.
Do they think a poor person owns the New York Times?
ReplyDeleteNow it all makes sense...I spoke to Mr Assad and he asked me to send him a few emails in reference to something that bothered me after reading one of his stories about Pennrose and their new project. The Allentown Redevelopment Authority held on to more than a dozen properties bought at over assessed price in 2008, all blighted and totaling over a million dollars spent to acquire them of city money. They were all then sold last spring for the bargain price of $1 each to a private company owned by the CEO of Pennrose, I questioned why these properties were not offered to residents for a buck, he got back to me stating he does not believe there is a story there to investigate. I argued that this company was telling everyone they were rehab-ing these properties for low income housing yet they are just starting the work on them and already have them listed with MLS for sale upon completion in excess of $100,00.00 each, how is that low income housing? The Mayor, City Council and every City office are out to screw the tax payers and residents of Allentown, specifically center city and the Morning Call is helping them do it. I'm glad to see that you see this as well, its very sad ;(
ReplyDeletecurbside@11:49, please comment again, providing at least one such property address so that i can verify this information. although i follow most deed transfers, i'm not familiar with your claim. without at least one address, i will not keep these comments up.
ReplyDelete