TV, radio shows will share progress with the people

There will be pressure to produce regular, measurable achievements.
By ROGER G. SMITH
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Showing the public that Youngstown 2010 is progressing is important to those leading the planning effort.
Organizers take the first step this week to demonstrate such progress in what is to become a regular broadcast feature.
PBS Channels 45 & amp;49 will highlight the basics of 2010 -- the vision for the city's future. Planners will report on what they've done the past several months to make those goals a reality.
The live, hourlong broadcast will be at 8 p.m. Wednesday. The station will broadcast the show from the Kilcawley Center at Youngstown State University. The public is invited. WYSU-FM Radio 88.5, the region's public radio station based at YSU, will simulcast the show.
Then, every three or four months afterward, 45/49 will have an update show titled "2010 Moving Ahead: A Forum for Reporting Progress." Planners are to outline progress of 2010 since the previous show. A studio audience will discuss the project with the panelists, too.
"We hope it becomes something like an ongoing community conversation," said Lisa Martinez, communications director at 45/49.
The lineup
Wednesday's broadcast will feature:
* Bill D'Avignon, the city's deputy director of planning.
* Anthony Kobak, the city's chief planner.
* Hunter Morrison, director of YSU's Center for Urban and Regional Studies.
* David Sweet, YSU president.
Gerry Ricciutti, a reporter at WYTV Channel 33, will host the show.
City officials want to keep citizens informed about 2010's progress, D'Avignon said. People need to see movement to overcome the skepticism created by failed past planning efforts, he said.
"[The show will] tell the story of being organized and coming together," he said.
D'Avignon acknowledged that the planned broadcasts also put pressure on the city. Planners must produce regular, measurable results to highlight on TV each quarter, he said.
Encouraging involvement
D'Avignon hopes the updates will encourage people to get involved in the 2010 process. The city is counting on citizen input to craft details of the plan aimed at making the vision a reality.
Encouraging public involvement and monitoring the 2010 effort are the main reasons 45/49 is involved, said Jeremiah G. Blaylock, the producer-director.
"I think that has to be part of 2010 to succeed," he said.
WYSU was looking for a way to keep 2010 before the public, Blaylock said. Eventually, the two stations hooked up.
Blaylock considers the broadcasts the city's quarterly report on 2010 to its board of directors -- its residents.
What to expect
Wednesday's show will reiterate the 2010 vision and what's happened since the city unveiled the outline in December. There may be questions from the audience, but he won't decide that until show time, Blaylock said.
Future shows will feature updates on 2010 and discussion between the studio audience and panelists on specific points in the plan, he said. The station likely will broadcast those shows from different spots around the area, such as block watch meetings.
"Be where the people are," Blaylock said.
rgsmith@vindy.com