Cover story cover up

In a message to members this week, Hotel Association Executive Director Ed Grose urged hotels to think twice before providing guests with copies of November's Philadelphia magazine, whose cover story spotlights the city's recent bloodletting.

Ordinarily, some 6,000 complimentary copies of the glossy monthly are distributed in local hotel rooms. But Grose's message argued that the magazine made the city look unsafe for the visitors who flock to those rooms. He also slammed the magazine for not mentioning on its cover that homicides were concentrated in neighborhoods far from most hotels. (Only 3 of the 295 killings through the end of September took place in Center City).

"I recommend that you review your position on what effect this article and cover will have on your guests who are staying in your guestrooms," he wrote. "I feel that sensationalizing the murder rate in our city will have a negative effect on our customers."

Larry Platt, the magazine's editor, said the coverage was anything but sensationalistic - and he said ignoring a problem because it might make the city look bad was a classic example of "Philadelphia insecurity."

"He says it's sensationalizing because we don't say that this is just a North Philadelphia problem," Platt said. "I strongly disagree. This is a Philadelphia problem, and great cities tackle their problems head-on."

The issue's cover design represents a significant departure from the usual cheerful celebrations of regional life. Instead, it depicts a single handgun against a spare blue-gray backdrop. The text reads: Murder. One terrifying night on the streets - and why everything we're doing to stop the shooting won't work.

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Source - Philadelphia Inquirer


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