Bummed Out

A few nights ago I was home watching the evening news and to my surprise one of the top stories of the broadcast was regarding a panhandling problem in the Elmwood Village.  The story, which ran within the first five minutes of the broadcast, highlighted what a beautiful night it was currently in the Elmwood Village and cited how patrons were often bothered by people “selling trinkets” or soliciting spare change.  In case you can’t already tell by the tone of this entry, I was less than amused by this “story.”

First things first… I don’t really understand how this is a scoop.  We live in a city of nearly 300,000 people.  What city of this size in the United States doesn’t have a panhandling problem?  I agree that panhandlers are a nuisance.  Let’s accept that when you make the decision to live in or do business in a city, you have to accept that sometimes people will ask you for change.  Yet, as far as I’m concerned the solicitation that occurs in Elmwood Village, which is where the story took place, is pretty mild compared to other neighborhoods in Buffalo. 

Second, can somebody please explain the reason for airing this “top story” in the first place?  I understand the idea behind highlighting stories of local interest.  We live in Western New York, so obviously as news viewers we want to watch local stories that matter.  Yet I have a very difficult time understanding why this story should take precedent over others that seem much more urgent (such as the ongoing Gates Circle Attacker investigation).  The news story itself states that even the Buffalo Police claim that the issue of panhandling is not a big problem.

And third, the day after this story aired, a significant and positive announcement was made regarding the Elmwood Village.  For those who maybe didn’t hear, let me quickly recap.  On Tuesday the Elmwood Village Association announced that they had been named one of the Ten Great Neighborhoods in the United States by the American Planning Association.  This honor really reinforces what many in Western New York already knew about the Elmwood Village- it truly is a great place to live, work, and play. 

The list presented by the APA includes neighborhoods such as Pike Place Market in Seattle, Park Slope in Brooklyn, and North Beach in San Francisco.  And yet, for some mysterious reason, nowhere on this channel’s web page can I find the upbeat (and what I deem much more newsworthy) story about Elmwood Village.  Yet, if you scroll down just a few stories, “Panhandling in Buffalo” is still listed as a top local news story, with a lovely video to accompany it.  I just don’t get it.  If you’re going to take the time to run a story about the panhandling epidemic in the city of Buffalo, why can’t you take the time to run a story that is positive AND is currently making national news?  Local news channels should be informing their viewers about both sides of the news coin. 

Image courtesy of Free Coins

Posted by on 10/03 at 08:09 PM