Journalism Today In My Opinion

Scrolling through my social media feed recently, I came across a news article about Parma Ohio, tourism, arts & culture. I’m very proud of my city. I’m a big cheerleader for it, ask anyone who knows me. Parma has a lot to offer, and I love living here. The article stated that Parma had 9 local art & cultural places to immerse yourself in. Wow I thought! Another arrow in my quiver to use when I boast about our city. So I eagerly read on. 

First on the list was a place actually in the city of Berea. I thought that was odd, but I figured they made a mistake during their research. Everybody makes mistakes sometimes. Second was actually located in Parma, and nicely described it using words like vibrant, dynamic, talented and captivating, etc. Okay, hey that’s more like it. Moving on to number three, was a college in Kirtland. Kirtland! Why Kirtland? We have Tri-C West, right here. Number four was a real shocker, it’s a museum in Painesville. I checked, Googled it, not even close to Parma, Painesville is about 35 miles away. UGH! What the ……? Number five, thank God was actually in Parma. It’s one of our two libraries. I did a quick check to see if they listed the second one, nope just one. Hey! we got two! Okay, moving on to number six and seven, both churches, one in Parma and one in Cleveland. Parma has lots of churches! Beautiful churches! Why add the one in Cleveland? Eight was an arts organization which is actually in Cleveland. How frustrating! Nine was a historical society and it was actually in Parma, yay Parma! Described as a tapestry of local history, nice! So….. out of 9 arts & cultural places listed in this article praising Parma’s vibrant and diverse local art scene, only 4 are actually in Parma. Hmmm! 

My first thought after reading this article was, “Did this person get paid for this?” Second was “Obviously this article wasn’t written by anyone who lives here, or ever visited here, or knows anyone from here, nor do they know how to research properly, or maybe at all!” Third was “If I read this and drove many miles to visit these 9 places I’d be a bit miffed to discover they aren’t all in Parma, yup, not even half of them.” 

Here I thought I’d be reading an article boasting all the great things Parma, Ohio has to offer tourists. Instead I got a little bit upset as you can tell. I guess Journalism today isn’t what it used to be. How sad! If this is a prime example. 

Full disclosure here, I don’t get paid one red cent for articles I submit here. I do my research. Sure I’ve made mistakes in the past and I’ll probably make some more in the future, but over half that article about Parma, wasn’t. What’s the moral of this story? You tell me!