Last Wednesday, Mayor Justin Bibb spoke at the City Club’s “A Free and Fair Press in Cleveland” forum. The forum was made in partnership with The Press Club of Cleveland and moderated by WKYC’s Russ Mitchell.
Mitchell opened up the forum asking Mayor Bibb how he’d grade the press during his administration. Mayor Bibb graded the press a “B,” and shared his appreciation for the press holding his administration accountable while emphasizing the importance of local press under our democracy.
Mitchell then asked how Mayor Bibb would grade his administration in treating the press, to which he also graded his administration a “B.” He called himself one of the“… most transparent, most accessible mayors in the history of the city.” He said in the last year, his administration had billed over 25,000 public record requests and cited the City of Cleveland open data portal as characteristics of an accessible, transparent modern government.”
The two also discussed the Cleveland press’ role in balanced coverage and representing the events occurring in the city. Mayor Bibb explained one of the most surprising things he learned through his relationship with the Cleveland press was how much people wanted to know about Cleveland and the role the press plays in ensuring the right stories are told. He did criticize, not only local press but national press for not shining enough light on the positive stories happening in the world.
“We love the salacious headlines, we love when there’s a big crime story, or as the saying goes, ‘When it bleeds it leads,’ but there is amazing work happening in our city every single day,” Mayor Bibb said. “…The big uphill battle we have as a city, and I have as mayor, [is] people don’t believe change is possible … so we just have to do a better job of having that balance to restore hope, to restore promise, and talk about the art of what’s possible in Cleveland, and I think that will help everybody in our city and our region, and our perception as a city if our press engages in that work.”
Mitchell pushed back on this saying, “I think we collectively are trying harder to do positive stories, because there are so many positive stories here to do, and I think the balance today is much better than it was years ago,” but agreed there’s still work to be done.
The forum was also opened up to the audience to ask questions. Mayor Bibb discussed traditional and non-traditional media and its role in modern society as well as his administration. He said about 60% goes into non-traditional media because the majority of people get their news about the city through social media. Mayor Bibb still values traditional media, and older demographics who still rely on traditional or face-to-face approaches when it comes to news.
Mayor Bibb also shared he has no personal preference for traditional or non-traditional media himself, and encouraged a widespread media diet. He also put additional emphasis on improving civics education in the classroom to ensure young people understand his role, as well as the structure of the government. He cited personal hurt when he was called “Genocide Justin” for not signing the Cleveland City Council’s ceasefire resolution.
Concern for the convergence and consolidation of news and media was also expressed in light of WJW and WKYC’s common ownership under Nexstar Media after acquisition of Tegna, WKYC’s parent company. Mayor Bibb discussed the importance of a free and fair press that is able to represent all people without political agendas, and how mergers can have “dramatic implications.”
Other topics which occurred during the forum included Mayor Bibb’s rejection of the Slavic Village data center, U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver Jr.’s rejection of the consent decree, police accountability, federal cuts, the Brook Park stadium, housing projects and the “Cleveland ERA,” which can be read here.