Click the image for ESPN’s coverage of Braun’s presser.

By Dan Pecchia

By most score sheets, baseball player Ryan Braun hit a public relations home run last week after Major League Baseball overturned his suspension.

Braun not only accentuated his innocence but swung away with criticism of baseball’s “fatally flawed” testing process. Even though his exoneration was based on the way his sample was handled – and not the sample itself — Braun and his PR people made a powerful case for his innocence.

From our view in the cheap seats, here’s what made his PR homer so towering:

• Straight talk. This is our favorite element of effective public relations, and Braun had it from the start. He talked in his own language, with sincerity and passion. He owned the subject matter. Yes, it was scripted and rehearsed. But it was genuine and compelling. When a speaker so clearly believes something, it’s a lot easier for listeners to believe. His written statement was as good, too, and quoted extensively. Here are some of his best comments:

If I had done this intentionally or unintentionally, I’d be the first one to step up and say, ‘I did it.’  By no means am I perfect, but if I’ve ever made any mistakes in my life I’ve taken responsibility for my actions. I truly believe in my heart and I would bet my life that this substance never entered my body at any point.

* * *

I explained to them <MLB’s arbitration panel> I’m 27 years old, I’m just entering my prime, I have a contract guaranteed for nine more years, I’ve been tested at least 25 times over the course of my career, at least three times this season prior to this test and an additional time when I signed my contract, including an extensive physical, blood test, everything you could imagine.

I’ve never had any issue; there’s no evidence to suggest otherwise. And they said, ‘That’s great, we believe you, in fact, the other side believes you, none of this makes any sense to anybody.’

I told them that I promise you on anything that’s ever meant anything in my life — the morals, the values, the virtues by which I’ve lived in my 28 years on this planet — I did not do this. I told them that I would be an open book. I opened up my life to them. I told them I would be more than happy and willing to take any and every test to prove I didn’t do this.

• Facts. This is where Braun connected better than many do in media situations. In backing up his contention that MLB’s process is “fatally flawed,” he laid out plenty of details around the 44-hour delay between when his sample was obtained and when the testing lab got it. Based on those facts, it was easy to doubt that Braun’s sample was handled properly. It was that delay in processing the sample that violated MLB’s testing process, paving the way for Braun’s exoneration.
• Genuine access. Braun didn’t just appear, recite a statement and take a few token questions to give a safe impression of accessibility. He was there in full, answering the questions and elaborating on the follow-ups. Media professionals like that, and so do sports fans, customers, shareholders and voters.
• Preparedness. None of the questions lined at Braun seemed to surprise the left fielder. It was obvious that he prepared well. Thorough preparation benches not only the element of surprise but the knee-jerk responses surprise often inspires.
• High-road approach. Although Braun criticized the way his sample was treated, he spoke highly of MLB, the players union and the opportunity a player has to appeal and win. He thanked those who helped him begin to restore his reputation. He was deferential and professional.

Braun’s battle isn’t over. Between early December, when news of his positive sample first leaked out, and now, he’s been portrayed as guilty in the court of public opinion. Even now, it’s been noted that the testing agent’s delay in shipping the sample, while a violation of MLB policy, would have been OK for the Olympics and other sporting organizations.

Much about the 2011 Most Valuable Player’s reputation won’t be rooted in PR at all but in what he actually does. If Braun never has another year like 2011, when he hit .332 with 33 homers and 111 RBIs, many will wonder if he was indeed doping in his MVP season. If he tests positive at some point in the future, it won’t matter that he did the right things last week.

Still, Braun’s news conference right after the MLB vote in his favor was his best opportunity to advance his innocence. He connected squarely.

____________

Dan Pecchia is a public relations consultant and president at Pecchia Communications. He roots for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

* * * *

Like the clear aquarium wall separating this trout from a Cabela's store visitor, transparency in business can reveal unsightly defects and astonishing beauty.

In the newsrooms of yesteryear, reporters bemoaned the formidable walls of privacy that protected the affairs of private companies. 

When the official spokespeople told us, “That’s proprietary” or “That’s none of your business,” we groaned but begrudgingly acknowledged those inevitable high walls. 

“Transparency” was a plastic thing you put on top of an overhead projector. 

That seems like a long time ago. 

Today, private organizations are disclosing much more information about where, when, how and why they do business, and with whom. They’re doing it voluntarily, and we expect more of them to become much more transparent in the years ahead. 

Why? Because the internet and social media have opened up the flow of information so dramatically that your customers, employees, shareholders, suppliers and others can all very easily launch free-flowing conversations about you, your products and services and the way they’re treated. Smart companies want to be part of those conversations. 

The bar for transparency appears to be getting higher. Consider, for instance, Apple Inc.’s recent release of its supplier list and its 2012 Supplier Responsibility Progress Report. Although the technology company coughed up considerable details about its extensive 2011 supplier audits, including some highly embarrasing findings, it was widely criticized for not releasing such data sooner, as other tech giants have.  

We’re not suggesting that the expectations for transparency at Apple, with its millions of customers worldwide, apply to all companies. But it is clear that expectations are growing, and this will likely have some impact on everyone in business. 

We view that as an opportunity. As customers and other audiences ask more questions and covet more information, companies that have answers and a bent towards openness will distinguish themselves from companies who have neither. 

Here’s what we would suggest to business leaders bracing themselves for a more open world. 

• Do some research. If you haven’t asked lately, find out what your customers and employees want to know. See what your competitors are telling their customers (who are often your customers, too) through their websites, Facebook pages and other easily accessible channels.
• Do some thinking. Objectively consider the genuine upside and downside of sharing more information online or in more traditional vehicles. What you’ve “always done” might not be the best policy any more. Give some thought to what types of information make sense and what vehicles would be most effective.
• Communicate well. Tell your story effectively in a way that sets you apart from the herd and makes a case for how and why you do what you do. Build in ways for two-way communication. If you can’t pull that off well on your own, haul in outside experts.

The same advice would have been just as applicable five years ago, 10 years or 50 years ago. But today, the value of following it may be greater. 

# # # 

Dan Pecchia is a former daily newspaper business editor and now president of Pecchia Communications, a Youngstown public relations firm.

Jim Houck now calls Boardman home.

By Jim Houck

It wasn’t long after I moved back to the Mahoning Valley with my wife and young children last summer that I read an obituary in the Vindicator that referenced a man who “died doing what he loved to do best.”

Reading further I expected to learn about a man who passed away on the golf course, a fishing trip, playing with his grandchildren; you know, something I would associate with being an enjoyable pastime. No, not this guy.

This gentleman was a tow truck operator, of all things, and he was on the job late at night clearing glass from a wreck on a busy intersection when he was struck and killed by a passing car. At just 56, he died doing what he loved to do best.

The story resonated with me on a couple levels. One, I lost my father unexpectedly when he was about the same age. I can relate to the phone call the family must have received alerting them to the news. And to trying to come to terms with someone so important to you who’s there one day and literally gone the next.

I also think this man embodies the persona of the Mahoning Valley. We’re people who embrace hard work, appreciate our jobs, and take pride in what we do.

Whether we’re blue collar or white – whether we’re working for ourselves or for “the man” – we’re not going to be out-worked, nor will we take our work – or our families – for granted.  

There are lots of great places to live in this country, and in other parts of northeast Ohio, which is where I’ve been the last 10 years. But there’s only one “home.” This place is home to me.

I’m glad to be here. I’m fortunate to be around family (even my in-laws, who live on the same street).

And I’m thankful for the opportunity to advance my career here, doing what I like to do best.

Organizers expect 250 or more participants in this year's Tour, compared to 190 in the 2009 debut.

In the heart of the industrial Midwest, where smoke-belching steel and auto factories have put bread on the table for generations, one might not expect much fervor for ”green” initiatives.

But promoters of the Tour of the Valley, a three-day bicycle racing event opening July 9, are unabashedly leveraging messages about cleaner air and a greener planet as they seek participants and volunteers.

“Carbon Racing rides for purpose,” blared a recent Vindicator headline about the bicycling concern owned by Dan and Erin Quinlan of Greenford. The outfit is the promoter of the July event in the Youngstown area, and also a team of top-shelf cyclers who compete in similar events across the eastern United States.

Leaning green in Ohio

The Quinlans named their company “Carbon Racing” to draw attention to the concept that Americans can reduce carbon emissions by riding bikes instead of driving cars. One of the team’s members, Shawn Adams, an Akron firefighter, told The Vindicator he bikes eight miles to work and back instead of driving his car.

He also told the paper that he joined this particular team because of Dan Quinlan’s green leanings. ”I like his vision for the team, which is to develop younger riders and also push the environmental issue to make cycling a clean sport — to get people to stop driving so much and ride their bikes more; to get people involved in their community.”

Like the Carbon Racing website, the Quinlans talk a lot about being “carbon neutral,” or avoiding activities (like driving) that add carbon to the atmosphere.

Commuting to work by bike

Commuting by bike is almost impossible in the Mahoning Valley, where several excellent trails lack connections to the downtown area, and where bike-storage facilities are hard to find.

Still, some do it. Alan Wenger, a lawyer from North Lima, cycles to Harrington Hoppe & Mitchell in downtown Youngstown on weekends, when road traffic is lighter and the dress is more casual.

He and Quinlan think more Youngstowners would leave their cars at home if there were safer bike routes and secure places to store a bike and shower before walking into work.

“I would love to see it,” Quinlan said.

Added Wenger, “Many cities, particularly ones rediscovering themselves, make significant efforts to accommodate and encourage cyclists.”

Larger field of cyclists

The local cycling community may be larger than one would think. As of Monday, some 175 had signed up for the Tour, with 11 days before the deadline, compared to 145 pre-registrants at the deadline last year, Quinlan said. She expects 250 or more by race day, compared to 190 last year.

Entrants include cyclists from out of town who heard about last year’s Tour and want to be part of it, as well as local cyclists who would travel elsewhere to race if not for this event. Also new this year is a non-competitive community ride through scenic Mill Creek Park.

With the expansion in the field, Carbon Racing is looking for more volunteers — a lot more — for the event’s three days.

“Corner marshalls” are needed to stand at intersections with flags to keep pedestrians off the race course. Volunteers also set up, clean up, register riders and hand out water bottles and snacks, on all three days.

Volunteers can sign up here at the event’s website.

BP has purchased space at the top of the Google search results, and so has a plaintiff's law firm.

An Associated Press news analysis over the weekend offered some suggestions about how BP could improve the way it’s managing the crisis from a public relations standpoint.

Although BP’s recent PR gaffes suggest it may need a hand, the view from here is that the oil giant would find itself in deeper goo if it heeds any of the recommendations the AP relayed.

Here are those suggestions, along with our comments.

Putting the CEO on oil cleanup detail

Daniel Keeney, president of a Dallas PR firm, suggested putting BP CEO Tony Hayward in a hard hat and life vest, helping crews contain and clean up the spill.

“You want to get him right in the thick of things, even if he looks somewhat uncomfortable doing it,” Keeney told the AP.

This sounds like the spillover from a brainstoming session by interns. Putting Hayward in the thick of things would be viewed as a cheap publicity stunt.

Hayward needs to be seen as the champion of doing all that can be done to fix the leak. That’s a big, serious job that leaves no time for dress-up.

Discounting the price of gas at BP stations

Richard Levick, president of Levick Strategic Communications in Washington, suggested BP could have cut gas prices at its stations along the Gulf Coast in a “show of financial solidarity,” the AP reported.

Another “creative” idea, but also likely to be viewed as a stunt. No discount would be viewed as large enough, or in force long enough, to truly show solidarity with those who have lost loved ones and livelihoods. Worse, a 50-cents-a-gallon sale could run counter to claims that BP is investing all it can to stop the leak.

Every cent should go into doing whatever can be done to fix the leak. A suspension of BP’s cash dividend for that purpose would have been much more meaningful, though potentially calamitous to BP’s tens of thousands of shareholders.

Keeping Tony Hayward in England

Former Shell chairman John Hofmeister told the AP it might have been more appropriate for BP’s senior U.S. executives to take the heat on the Louisiana spill, instead of Hayward, the Englishman who runs London-based BP.

“I think it was a mistake for Tony Hayward to come and put his physical presence in the U.S.,” Hofmeister told the AP. “The U.S. has its own culture and traditions. Foreign companies can come and do business there, but they are not necessarily welcomed.”

One of those U.S. traditions is that leaders take responsibility. If Hayward were to give way to his U.S. minions, he’d be viewed as hiding in an ivory tower in a foreign country. That would send the wrong message.

A better approach

The above suggestions aim to make BP look better, for a moment. But none support BP’s pledge to do all it can to plug the leak and address the damage.

As this crisis rages on, BP needs to be single-minded in its PR efforts. We would counsel BP, or any company living such a nightmare, to:

Stick to the message. Demonstrate how the priorities of stopping the leak and cleaning the mess are being carried out. BP’s website is indeed loaded with information and video that support its activities.

We would do more with the media to convey the scope of the response, at the leak, on the beaches, in the animal clean-up facilities and in the offices with claims. Show us that you’re doing all that can be done.

Be more forthcoming, even with unfavorable information. Two upward revisions in BP’s estimates of the volume of runaway oil suggest that earlier versions were lowballs. The stonewalling on the video of the leak also looked like hiding.

If BP trains the public to doubt its portrayals of the damage, it will have no hope of convincing us that it’s doing all it can to stop the leak.

Finally, BP released video last week of the deep-sea leak. Withholding the footage was one of the company's PR mistakes.

We”re watching one of the most overwhelming public relations challenges in the modern history of American business unfold around the BP oil spill in Louisiana.

And under the circumstances, the team there isn’t doing half bad.

Yes, the oil is still gushing into the Gulf of Mexico at the rate of over 5,000 barrels per day. And yes, the financial and environmental damage are already devastating and will grow.

But those results were guaranteed April 20, when the disaster first made news. Even the best public relations strategy can’t change the facts.

Since then, BP has kept its executives visible, shared information with its broad constituencies and even ponied up cash to support tourist bureaus in the region.

Daily opportunities to communicate

As is always the case in a situation like this, BP has been given a daily forum in the major media. Though the company has made some mistakes, its spokespersons have used the spotlight effectively to convey the company’s commitment to clean up the mess and to demonstrate that commitment with action.

BP has portrayed the spill as the enemy, and itself as the protagonist.

Contrast its behavior with companies in previous situations, large and small, that relayed limited information and demonstrated no action. The silent approach is not safe, but creates a dangerous vacuum that sucks into the spotlight every opponent, from the credible to the crackpot.

BP is filling the vaccuum, not only by taking advantage of the media limelight but more importantly by updating regulators, members of Congress and local communities.

“It seems like almost on a daily basis somebody has sort of checked in or called or come by the office providing information, being available to answer questions,” Senator Thad Cochran, a Mississippi Republican, told Business Week (read the full article).

Signs of optimism

Last week, TheStreet.com polled its readers on whether BP would halt the catastrophic leak in time to avert a disaster as massive as the Exxon Valdez leak in 1989. Some 58 percent of respondents thought BP would.

The investing public seems more optimistic. Although BP’s stock price has declined almost daily since last month’s explosion, and closed Monday at $46.57, it’s still far above the $35 it hit early last year. That suggests the spill is less a drag on BP’s value than the 2009 economic catastrophe from which stocks have generally recovered.

The story is not over, and there’s only so much PR can do amid a disaster like this.

At least BP’s doing that.

The list of 119 words and phrases now banned at WGN 720-AM range from the sensational, like “lone gunman,” “killing spree” and “clash with police,” to basic poor English, like “5 a.m. in the morning” and “at this point in time” (see the whole list on the right).

Getting these words out of newscasts will improve the delivery of news by making it more about information and less about theatrics. More importantly, it will remove the impression that the broadcast news industry thinks it’s so special that it needs to preserve its own special, stilted, silly language.

It’s a new world now

Although it’s become borderline-cliche to observe this, the traditional media have a new role now. They’re not the only sources of information anymore.

Sometimes they’re slower and less complete than blogs that cover the same events and issues. Sometimes their stories are not as interesting or relevant as content posted on Facebook.

This doesn’t mean traditional media are toast. We still rely on them for news that’s completely accurate, fair and objective, which far transcends our expectations of Twitter or YouTube.

That’s why getting rid of newsspeak is a good thing.

Phrases like “senseless murder” and “fled on foot” make intelligent listeners roll their eyes.  As a language constructed to convey superiority, almost like the guy who prays with “thee” and “thou,” it’s a drag on objectivity. (See National Public Radio’s amusing mock newsread that uses all of the silly phrases.)

Resisting change

The Chicago list, developed by Tribune Co. CEO Randy Michaels and issued by WGN news director Charlie Meyerson, was big news in the media world last week, but for the wrong reasons.

Because the memo also asked WGN employees to snitch on anyone who disobeyed the order, it got panned as micromanagement.

Whenever there’s change, there’s resistance, and the entrenched will grab anything they can to defend their comfort zones.

But the crumbling facade that is broadcast newsspeak isn’t worth defending. Time and energy would be better spent on gathering more and better news and delivering it in real words.

The Indianapolis Colts have goofed again.

A month after bumbling their way to defeat against the underdog New Orleans Saints in the Super Bowl, the AFC Champion Colts took some shots from their online fans Saturday after goofing up big-time on Facebook.

This morning, the Colts began flooding the newsfeeds of their Facebook fans with posts from February about pre-Super Bowl activity. More than 50 of the outdated posts rolled in by late this afternoon.

The blitz ended this evening, marked by two messages from the Colts. One included an apology and a vague description of the problem, and another stated (accurately) that the goof was fixed.

Thus spake the fans

Reactions ranged from amused to ticked off.

“Please quit posting stuff every five minutes and taking up my whole homepage feed!!!!!,” hollered Kevin Brock of Monrovia, Ind.

Joked Michael Wallace of Cincinnati: “Appparently, the Colts have just announced that with the 1st pick of the 1998 NFL Draft they have selected Peyton Manning, QB from U. of Tennesssee. So much for the information age.”

Reflecting a stronger team spirit, Heather Harlan of Kingsport, Tenn., cheered, “i still love the colts!!!!!!!!”

What’s in an API?

In this first message from the Colts, the team appears to blame Facebook.

An API (application programming interface) is basically a way for a program to accomplish some task, usually through an alphanumeric API key. The reference to “a change” in the Facebook API that activates the feed of Colts news to its fans is hard to understand.

Here’s the Colts’ second message:

Now the word is that the API got stuck last month, then made up all of its lost ground today. The old posts really were done at this point.

Taking bull rush to a whole new level

As a long-time Colts fan, I don’t agree with all the criticism levied at the Facebook page caretakers.

Those guys should get a shot to replace Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis on the defensive line. If we had any kind of rush like that in Super Bowl XLIV, we’d have the Lombardi Trophy on our Facebook profile.

Ernie Brown and Ted Suffolk, right, are pleasant fellows and publisher Betty Jagnow manages a smile here. GM Mark Brown ... not so much. (Click for a full view of this photo from last Sunday's paper.)

The Vindicator‘s new design enjoyed a stunning debut this past week, making good on all the fanfare.

Leveraging the capabilities of a newly refurbished press, the Youngstown-based daily has carried heavy doses of color photos and graphics with far more clarity than Vindy readers have ever seen. Even the daily comics are in color.

The paper looks great. The new, slightly larger body typeface is much easier to digest and the sharp headlines beckon from the orange boxes without hollering like a tabloid.

Even the narrower size, which portends a smaller news hole, has an appeal to it. Outside a few minor goofs that are unavoidable in such launches, the Goss International press that once printed the Los Angeles Times has ”the People’s Paper” looking as crisp as the USA Today or any other U.S. daily. 

Along with Vindy.com and the new Neighbors editions, the new press and new look give the locally owned Vindicator Printing Company a huge new opportunity to regain advertisers, hold onto readers and haul in high-end commercial work. 

Hopefully, in addition to the meticulous planning required to launch the new press, the paper will work hard to retool its public image as well. That can use some investment. 

Scuffling and scowling 

On the front of a special section last Sunday, in a huge color photo showcasing the new equipment behind the paper’s management team, nobody could miss the snarling scowls. Unfortunately, that’s the puss the Vindicator wears as an organization at times. 

The paper suffered through an eight-month strike in 2004-05, the latest byproduct of many years of strain between the management and employees. Reporters picketed daily downtown. Some started their own newspaper to compete with their employer. Vindy managers, meanwhile, camped inside for days at a time to keep the paper running.  It’s not hard to understand why the work environment remains challenging. 

While the paper has long claimed financial hardship (a credible story in this market of declining population), employees and Newspaper Guild unionists have scowled over management’s chronic inability to improve the financial look. 

The Vindy is no Fast Company, to be sure. Though its capital launched the innovative cBoss Internet years before many Youngstowners used email, the paper itself took forever to get online. Various heroes recruited to reignite ad sales have come and gone. Even the press installation has been a miniboondoggle fraught with delays and legal action. 

Good news 

Fortunately, the paper has plenty of capacity to redesign its image. Its new editor, Todd Franko, is a newsman and no scowlmeister.  Since joining the paper in 2007, he has brought personality to the paper with his affable Sunday column. 

Since the impressive new color comes with a premium, some low-budget advertisers still prefer black and white. (This ad ran in Friday's business section.)

The online edition — still free — has increased the following of popular columnists like Bert deSouza and Ernie Brown, who also play well with the public and know Youngstown through and through.  Several writers, editors, photographers and designers have won statewide Associated Press awards lately. And the online polls and comment threads on vindy.com are engaging the online audience, drawing thought leaders, business people and young new readers along with the gadflies. 

Keeping with tradition set by its founders, the Vindicator remains heavily involved in community affairs. In addition to its storied Vindicator Spelling Bee, the paper invests quietly in many do-good initiatives, ranging from the Community Improvement Corp. that sparks business activity downtown to the Power of the Pen student writing competition. The much-ballyhooed Youngstown Business Incubator owes its existence to a benevolent building donation from Vindicator Printing. 

A happy face 

In the past year, Franko has taken on more speaking engagements, which have given the paper more of a happy face. That’s a front-page public relations strategy for the Vindy, which has a big room full of professional storytellers. 

Though quiet philanthropy was fine in the day when competition was limited, the paper needs to toot its horn more emphatically now that it’s competing with so many others in town and online for the hearts, minds and budgets of readers and advertisers. Its toughest assignment is to delete the union-management strife before the next round of Guild negotiations. 

As reflected last week in the widespread cheers for the paper’s new look, many in Youngstown are pulling for the Vindy. One of America’s few locally owned dailies, it employs more than 250 people, most of them downtown, and has over 300 independent carriers.  It’s as much a bedrock Youngstown institution as Youngstown State, the Canfield Fair or the Symphony. 

If it’s to avoid being the next Sheet & Tube, Dollar Bank or Butler Wick, it will need stronger bonds with its employees and other neighbors. That’s why a corporate smile has to run daily, above the fold.

In this 2002 file footage, used last week on Channel 21, Bell the Channel 27 reporter chases J.J. Cafaro after Cafaro pleaded guilty to bribery.

Joe Bell certainly had tough days in his old job as a television reporter.

Now, as spokesperson for the Cafaro Company, he’s learning difficulty at a whole new level.

Bell, 51, chased news for WKBN Channel 27 in Youngstown from 1992 to 2007 and had an edge to him.  Though a short fellow, his deep, clear voice was good for a zinger at many a news conference.  He was a newsman in a trade often plied by would-be movie stars.

Tough week

When he joined Cafaro as director of corporate communications in early 2008, he could not have imagined a week like the last one.  Last Monday, J.J. Cafaro pleaded guilty to making an illegal payment to an election campaign of his daughter, Capri, now an Ohio senator. The next day, Flora Cafaro was revealed as the provider of a loan accepted illegally by a Youngstown judge.

These stories surfaced less than two months after Bell’s team announced the retirement of J.J., 58, and his older brother, Anthony, 63, from their leadership positions at the real estate concern in what was described as a transition long in the making.

Last week’s news was tragic in that the Cafaro Company, one of America’s largest shopping center developers and a highly philanthropic and still-Youngstown-based concern, established in the 1940s by J.J.’s father and uncle, is being mentioned alongside serious criminal offenses. So is Senator Cafaro, a respected young stateswoman.

Setting things straight

To minimize the damage, Bell, the family’s Cleveland lawyers and Capri’s personal public relations firm have cut the ribbon on an anchor store full of clarifications, corrections, asterisks, addenda and other ”corporate communications.” To wit:

• J.J. admits illegally advancing $10,000 to Capri’s unsuccessful campaign for Congress in 2004. But a formal statement emphasizes that this was a personal action that had nothing to do with his official capacity as executive vice president of the company.
• A person working on Capri’s campaign acknowledges receiving her dad’s $12,000, far above the $2,000 contribution limit. But that does not mean Capri condoned it or was even aware of it. She tells The Vindicator that her father ”has made a habit over the years of doing things and not necessarily telling me about them.”
• Flora Cafaro is identified as the provider of an $18,000 loan to a friend, Maureen Cronin, the ex-judge now headed to prison. But another Cafaro Company statement emphasizes that Flora has no day-to-day involvement with the real estate company. Although The Vindicator digs up a public record in which she lists herself as a Cafaro Company official, Bell clarifies that this information is not accurate.

Time for a change

These are the kinds of clarifications the old Joe Bell may have ripped apart … especially if they were being conveyed by a Congressman, commissioner or contractor charged on the public record, making them safe targets for such rippage.

Today, though, Bell is a contributing author and provider of such clarificata.

“We are only stating what the actual relationships are,” he stated in a phone interview.

“On the whole, our local writers have been fair and balanced,” Bell said of last week’s front page coverage.  “There have been some inaccuracies, but a lot of the stories don’t have an awful lot to do with the work I do.”

He says he has no second thoughts about his leap from Channel 27 to Cafaro.

“I feel the same way as when I first left the news business,” Bell said. “It was time for a change.”