Harrisburg - Theater of the Absurd?

Sometimes, one needs comic relief. Today is such a day. It helps if one simply accepts - at least for a few moments - that Harrisburg is the Theater of the Absurd. What else would explain the on-again, off-again efforts to rehabilitate the Broad Street Market? Like so much about Harrisburg development/redevelopment, this effort represents a one step forward, two steps back approach. Plans are paid for and made, only to be blocked for unexplained reasons. Litigation ensues, mainly to the benefit of the lawyers. And the cultural treasure and source of fresh food in a food desert downtown with no major full-service grocery store within walking distance of thousands of residents (many without transportation) continues to deteriorate.

But, hey, developers are busy creating a playground for the new hip inhabitants who drive to Wegman's for their groceries from their KOZ tax-free rental apartments or tax abated renovated homes, leaving long-term renters without valuable housing stock and long-term owners shouldering an increasing tax burden for the municipal services newcomers and old-timers alike use. To top it off, developers like Alex Hartzler use their newly purchased paper and mayor to further their agenda and criticize anyone who doesn't march lock-step to their tune as elitist/privileged voices to be ignored. It's ironic, given that the elitist/privileged are the developers themselves whose skin-in-the-game represents a tiny fraction of the skin older long-time homeowners have in said game as a percentage of total net worth. Me thinks there's a lot of projection at work.

Is it Journalism if all that counts is speed to publication?

Here I thought that my employer (Babylon Media) was pushing the envelope when they required us beat reporters to post to the Tribune's official reporter blog page three times a week. Turns out, there are other media companies (can't call them newspaper companies anymore) that have even more draconian rules in place for reporters.

Consider Advance Publications, which runs the Oregonian out on the West Coast (and coincidentally also owns the Patriot News and Pennlive.com). Word has leaked out that now their reporters' evaluations will be measured largely by how much of their work is online as opposed to print, and  according to the leaked PowerPoint slides, 75% of a reporter's evaluation is based on online work.

Willamette Week, an alternative weekly, broke the story, writing that:

"The new policy, shown to the editorial staff in a PowerPoint presentation in late February, provides that as much as 75 percent of reporters’ job performance will be based on measurable web-based metrics, including how often they post to Oregonlive.com.

Beat reporters will be expected to post at least three times a day, and all reporters are expected to increase their average number of posts by 40 percent over the next year."

Did you get that, my friends? And it gets better. Again, according to the paper that broke the story, it gets worse. Reporters aren't just supposed to report the news and get it online, but they are supposed to badger their readers into making comments in the commentary sections. As in "“On any post of substance, reporter will post the first comment,” the policy says. “Beat reporters [are to] solicit ideas and feedback through posts, polls and comments on a daily basis.”

Oh, and reported will earn bonuses for meeting these new metrics. 

Reporters are no longer reporting the news, they are instigating it, commenting on it and pushing readers to comment. This won't end well. 

Want more? Email me and I will send you the Power Points describing this brave new world of journalism. Meanwhile, below is a sample of the kind of engagement they expect from their reporters. Now, I'd better go post some tripe on my official blog. On second thought, it's Shady McGrady time.

Lazy Journalism, Government salaries

What's the deal with the competing paper in town? Have they gone all soft? Can't they sniff out a story anymore? Seems like some of the reporters are too glued to their electronic screens to bother actually doing some investigation. Take today's reader quiz - asking folks to guess how many public servants made more than 100 grand last year - as if that number is any secret - and then teasing with tomorrow's supposed big story about who's making the big bucks in state government.

Hello! There's a data base for that, courtesy of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and it's aptly named information service, PennWATCH. A reporter doesn't even have to leave his or her desk to find out what so-and-so's supposed mistress over at the Office of General Counsel makes. Oh, wait. A real reporter has to actually find out who that mistress is - the old fashioned way - before typing her name in the database. Maybe hang out down at Shady's and talk to a few folks at the bar for that kind of info. Just sayin....

New Age Comes to Midtown

Oh joy, there goes the neighborhood. We can't have a new convenience store where this reporter can get his beloved smokes and pork rinds, but New Age is in - as in a brand new 'spa and full service salon' specializing in nonsense like aromatherapy and natural healing. That's what's going in where Breads and Spreads was located on Third Street until it closed a few years ago. 

Officially, it will be called Emma's on 3rd. That sounds innocuous enough until you research further and discover it will be run by one Emma Newman, an "Ordained Minister, Certified Holistic Health Practitioner, healer, teacher, business mentor and spiritual advisor." The lady also is the founder of "The Appalachian Institute of Awakening."  

God save us from pseudo-religion and pseudo-science. According to her website, Emma has amazing abilities as she "completes the circle of body, mind and spirit work offering anointing with sacred oils, and laying on of hands." Want to learn more? Here's her website - http://www.emmascenter.com/about_us  

Is the Enlightenment coming to an end?

You can't buy city hall?

We all knew when Harrisburg sold off most of its assets that there would be budget problems. With a new sheriff in town, there were also bound to be personnel changes - maybe even new or reconstituted positions. And the money to fund those has to come from somewhere.

What no one knew was that one of those "somewheres" would be a group of businesses that stand to profit from development in the city. That's right, one of Mayor Papenfuse's right hand aides will have her salary paid for by business donations funneled through the Capital Region Economic Development Corporation (CREDC). And CREDC plans on raising the money through donations from the business community. Already onboard are entities like Capital Blue Cross, PPL,  Alexander Building Construction and a host of other companies that stand to gain from economic development. Funding is contingent on a specific individual holding the job - former Lebanon Mayor Jackie Parker will become Harrisburg's economic development director.

Inquiring minds want to know whether it's legal to have an outside entity fund a city position. Or is this akin to putting the fox in the henhouse?

This is just one of many stories I am working on here in Harrisburg as the chickens come home to roost after the massive sell-off to pay off the ill-fated Incinerator debt.

A New Age for Harrisburg?

The first thing someone returning to Harrisburg after a few years' absence will notice is the caffeinated buzz.  Don't get me wrong - it's a good thing. Used to be, a tired reporter couldn't get a good cupa in this town unless he could afford dinner and an after meal espresso at Mangi Qui. Now, coffee is everywhere, courtesy of developers like Alex Hartzler and the apparent insatiable thirst for caffeine so common among Harrisburg's hipster continent. And good coffee it is, thanks to Little Amps' two locations. And let's not forget the new Mayor's coffee at the Midtown Scholar. 

But what price, this sudden infusion of caffeine? That's just one of the many stories this intrepid (and happily caffeinated) city reporter is working on.