Reporters’ Roundtable

Posted Thursday, March 4, 2010

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A group pressing for a referendum on the Governor's plan to put slots at racetracks comes under pressure to reveal who's funding its campaign. Thursday morning at 9, we'll get the latest on that story as it hits the courts. Also, analysis of the troubles at the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port, and Cleveland's schools get a major incentive to finalize its overhaul plans. Plus, a Forbes editor takes your questions on the misery index.

Guests

James McCarty The Plain Dealer
Scott Stephens Catalyst-Ohio
Bill Cohen Ohio Public Radio Statehouse News Bureau
Carl Lavin Forbes.com

Please follow our community discussion rules when composing your comments.

Peter 3:21 PM 3/4/10

With an online piece, especially one so negative, you have the luxury of hosting statistics and offering citations on your site—allowing the readers to examine all of the source material used. Anything less in the digital age is reckless reporting. So why not be transparent?

All the Forbes “misery index” offers is broad generalizations and name-calling. If you wanted to offer real value to readers, try voracious pursuit of truth in the ongoing sagas of Merrill Lynch, AIG and Goldman Sachs. Or investigate the 161 banks that have failed since January 2009—only one of which was a Northeast Ohio bank. Ignoring these financial failures will put our whole country in a misery index all by itself.

Be honest: this appearance is nothing more than a marketing ploy to boost Forbes clickthru rates, with a manufactured “a-ha” by residents at the end that you’ll turn around and share with potential advertisers.