The mayor of Cleveland and one of the city’s longest-tenured journalists agree that each institution is doing a good job when it comes to coverage, but could do better.
Eleven members of The Shakerite attended “A Free and Fair Press in Cleveland” forum at the City Club of Cleveland May 27. The forum, which featured second-term Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb, was moderated by WKYC Managing Editor and news anchor Russ Mitchell, who joined WKYC in 2012 after decades anchoring and reporting for CBS News broadcasts and programs.
The City Club of Cleveland, founded in 1912, is one of the nation’s oldest continuous, independent free-speech forums. The organization believes in the free expression of personal ideas and does not take positions on arguments hosted in its forums, according to Dan Moulthrop, chief executive officer, who shared a brief history of the City Club with Shakerite staff before the forum began. Its mission is to create conversations of consequence that help democracy thrive.
City Club forums bring speakers, such as political leaders and other important community figures, to Cleveland. President Barack Obama appeared at the forum (in 2010 and 2015), and President Donald Trump has declined two invitations, Moulthrop said. Forums comprise two sections, one led by a host for the first 30 minutes, and one led by audience questions for another 30 minutes.
During the forum, Mitchell and Bibb touched on issues including data centers in Cleveland, the relationship between the press and the mayor’s administration, police oversight and the mayor’s plans beyond his second term.
Responding to a question about the city’s rejection of a plan to build a stand-alone data center in Slavic Village, Bibb said such proposals will fail if they ignore important concerns. “When you come at the last minute and want to propose a hyperscale, stand-alone facility without talking about it, without engaging in a thoughtful conversation with the administration, without really talking about the concerns to our environment with rising utility costs, that’s a problem,” he said.
Bibb also said that the question of whether data centers can be built in Cleveland is a nuanced one. He cited the existence of data centers affiliated with established organizations, such as data cloud facilities run by Sherwin-Williams and the Cleveland Clinic. “When it comes to zoning, and when it comes to ensuring that we are putting these facilities in places where it needs to be, that’s a different conversation,” he said.
At Mitchell’s request, Bibb assigned a B to local press coverage of his administration, and Mitchell offered the same assessment of the mayor’s handling of the press. Asked how the press could improve its coverage of the city, Bibb said the media should highlight stories of success and not focus only on negative headlines.
Shakerite Editor in Chief Emma Barker, Podcast Reporter Rory Carson and Photo Editor Georgie Simpson Colby asked how the Bibb administration manages feedback, if the city can make up for lost federal funding, and what “a free and fair press in Cleveland” looks like.
Bibb said there is no replacement for lost federal funding, and he encouraged people to vote their conscience, noting that Ohio and federal legislators make decisions that affect residents of Cleveland. Mitchell noted that voter turnout in the city for the May 5 primary was less than 12 percent.
“We don’t have a voter registration problem,” said Bibb. “It’s a voter participation problem. But it just can’t be the mayor telling people to vote.”
“What I have to do a better job of, and what the media has to do a better job of, is connecting why voting matters to people’s lived experience,” Bibb said.
Mitchell’s second attempt to learn what Bibb would be doing at the end of his second mayoral term succeeded. “Getting ready for my third term,” he said.
At the conclusion of the forum, Mitchell, who broadcast a story about The Shakerite in 2020, took a moment from the stage to acknowledge high school students in attendance, including The Shakerite staff. He said, “Much respect. You guys do great work. ”
