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National, International News Outlets Flock to Valley
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Standing outside the Lemon Grove Café downtown, Frank Desoer, a journalist with CBC Radio-Canada in Montreal, noted the venue did not exist when he visited the city four years ago. “You can feel the difference. The atmosphere is different,” Desoer remarked.
Desoer is just one of the many out-of-town – and even out-of--country – journalists to have discovered the Mahoning Valley. A Swiss TV crew has been shooting interviews here for several days, for example, and a crew from CBS was recording efforts Tuesday by the Mahoning County Democratic Party to transport county residents to the board of elections to cast their ballots.
Tony Paglia, vice president for government and media affairs with the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber, said the chamber lhas recently worked with CNBC, PBS News Hour, Huffington Post and the Associated Press as well as news outlets from Germany and Japan.
“The pace of inquiries has been unbelievable the entire year, but has picked up exponentially in the last month or so,” he said. “Youngstown-Warren is on the map around the world, first because this once-depressed area is actually outpacing much of the nation in growth -- that’s always a good story -- and second because we are in the swing state of Ohio.”
CBC’s Desoe first visited the Mahoning Valley in 2008. That year, the area was a particular focus during the Democratic primaries, when then. U.S. Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton fought for their party’s nomination, and they and their surrogates made frequent visits.
“I’m particularly interested by all the stories in Youngstown," Desoe told The Business Journal. Four years ago, I did a couple of stories about the economic challenges. I’m fascinated [by] the resilience of this community.” And this year, there is a “double interest” because of the presidential campaign.
That has brought numerous visits to the area by the presidential candidates and their surrogates, and placed increased emphasis on early-vote campaigns such as the effort Wednesday by Mahoning Democrats.
An article in The Atlantic focused on the ground operation that could provide President Obama with the edge he needs to win key states such as Ohio and others. The article points to the Obama campaign’s advantage in field offices, 131 in Ohio, for example, as opposed to 40 for Mitt Romney's campaign, and cites greater activity at the Obama offices than at Romney’s. The article also points out that the Romney campaign has ceded ground operations to the Republican National Committee.
In the Mahoning Valley alone, the Obama campaign has multiple field offices, including in Youngstown, Boardman, Niles, Struthers, Warren and Canfield.
Such efforts may already be paying off for the Obama campaign. A new Time magazine poll shows the incumbent with a five-point lead in Ohio, and respondents who say they have already voted favor Obama over Romney, 60% to 30%.
“We know this is a strong Democratic stronghold but what’s really interesting is the economy -- the critical factor in this election,” Desoer said. This region has suffered “a lot of problems,” he pointed out, “so it’s very interesting to see the difference from four years ago -- the transformation, the recovery – and how it will translate into electoral votes for Obama or against Obama.”
“Most but not all [of the visiting press] are lookng at the presidential election and Ohio’s place as a key state, but they are intrigued with the improving economy” in the Valley, Paglia affirmed. “Many are interested in this area being the center of the Utica shale development and the growth of the shale supply chain industries here.”
Another focus is the General Motors Lordstown plant, where the Chevrolet Cruze is made. The Obama-backed rescue of the auto industry and how it will play in the battle for Ohio’s 18 electoral votes was the focus of an Associated Press story Wednesday with a Lordstown dateline.
Dave Green, president of united Auto Workers Local 1714, says he has spoken with media “pretty much all over the country and abroad.” Like Paglia and Desoer, he agrees that the attention is from a combination of the election and the area’s improving economic fortunes. The Lordstown plant was “on the verge of collapse just a few years ago and we’re in a great position today,” he said.
“And yeah, the Mahoning Valley is kind of on a launching pad to success,” with the new additive technology center downtown, the new V&M Star mill, the area incubators and oil and gas drilling, Green added. “There’s some real potential for job growth and economic development in the Mahoning Valley and we haven’t seen it in decades.”
Copyright 2012 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.