Downtown business owners ask the press to point out positives

Business owners want the local press to promote the downtown.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The rebirth of the downtown will come by telling a new story of Youngstown, and by business owners' changing what they can in their corner of town, said representatives of press outlets based downtown.
Representatives of The Vindicator, WFMJ TV- 21 and The Business Journal were guests Wednesday at the Youngstown Arts and Entertainment District Association meeting at the Ohio One building.
Dennis Roller, YEADA president, noted that the three companies are among the Mahoning Valley's biggest boosters and choose to remain based downtown.
Downtown business owners want more positive promotion by local media that is specific to downtown, and media based downtown should promote it the most, they said.
They want prospective customers to know the downtown is safe, and not to avoid downtown because of a fear of crime.
Some business owners said there can never be enough good publicity promoting downtown Youngstown as a safe entertainment destination. They said that though the perception of downtown is changing, some people are still hesitant to come downtown for Chevrolet Centre events or to nightclubs and restaurants because they believe it's unsafe.
Some ideas
Business owners suggested to John Shramo, a Vindicator advertising representative, that the newspaper should have an advertising section to promote downtown businesses.
Shramo said entertainment and restaurants are the toughest businesses in which to be successful, so advertising budgets are often slim. He said newspapers have to compete with many other advertisers for a portion of those precious advertising dollars.
Madonna Chism Pinkard, WFMJ TV-21 community relations director, said that doing little things can make a big difference in revitalization. She said with the investment of a little time and some inexpensive art supplies, for example, she turned a once-unused window near the TV studio's entrance into one that is now attractive and noticed.
Pinkard said she is excited about working in downtown Youngstown and promoting it. She promised to use her weekly television show to promote downtown businesses.
Andrea Wood, president and publisher of The Business Journal, said she thinks the Mahoning Valley's biggest news story in recent years has been the death of steel. She said the focus of The Business Journal has been to tell business stories to change that perception.
Wood said she enjoys having her business downtown and just signed a new five-year lease at the Ohio One Building. She thinks the outlook for Youngstown is exciting and urged downtown business owners to do everything possible to promote themselves.
Roller said the next YAEDA meeting will be 6 p.m. April 12, with Mahoning County Commissioners Anthony Traficanti, John McNally IV and David Ludt as guests.
tullis@vindy.com