UPDATE 2:30 p.m.: Beehive reader Barry Falke passed along a photo of the actual print edition of the USA Today story. He writes: "Not sure what the undercurrent message of a garbage truck might be ..."
My response: Interesting, isn't it, how the garbage truck under the Van Ness arch wound up in the print edition but a motorcyclist (I can't tell if it's a police officer) graces the online edition? (I moved the online photo to the jump of this comment.)
ORIGINAL ENTRY: USA Today puts Fresno in the national spotlight in today's edition with another of those bland, gray-skies, survey-heavy, aren't-you-glad-you-don't-live-there stories about the city's reputation. Ho hum. It starts with a recounting of the recent "Monsters vs. Aliens" gag and then, after dredging up then-Mayor Dan Whitehurst's 1984 appearance on the Letterman show, runs through the standard boilerplate of Fresno as hot, crime-ridden and poverty-stricken. There's a quote from a local named Stefanie Yamada, 35, a stay-at-home mom, who says:
Fresno's just an average, middle-class town. There's really nothing special about it -- but, then again, most people live in places like this.
The hook to the story is the Fresno City and County Convention and Visitors Bureau's $1.2 million marketing campaign with the slogan: "Be World-Class. Be Fresno."
Beehive regular Travis Sheridan makes it into the article with a comment about a 2006 public relations campaign that pitched stories about the city's low cost of living and its proximity to three national parks.
So. Have you read so many stories like this already that you care less? Or does a tiny part of you get riled/defensive/amused?
Here's the photo (by former Bee photog Kurt Hegre!) that USA Today decided to run online. Not the most glamorous possible shot, say?
God forbid they use one of these amazing shots: http://www.fresnobee.com/wallpaper/
You know, I think more importantly than revitalization of downtown would be making this:
http://media.fresnobee.com/static/2009/wallpaper/wallpaper_mt-skyline.jpg
... a reality. There should be no reason that close to 365 days a year you can't see the Sierra's.
If people got to see that view far more often I think Fresno would improve it's reputation by a lot.
People might actually LOVE living and working downtown if this vision alone was something the City Council put foremost on the agenda.
Actually, I have a hard copy of the story and the photo is much worse. It is a garbage truck driving under the Fresno sign. I'm not sure what the message is in that. There is also a photo of Jeff Eben, a very bad photo of our mayor, a photo of the Fulton Mall and a photo of Running Horse with a picture of an unfinished house with major weeds. I will take a photo of the front page and e-mail it to you Donald.
The stories keep coming, but my opinion is that until we truly start to tak differently about ourselves they will continue.
I agree. People can choose to be miserable anywhere they live. It's all in what you do and what you make of a place you live in. Have a good attitude and maybe others will too.
I second that comment. Fresno is home to a lot of us, and growing up in Sunnyside has made me so much better when I've traveled, lived, and worked internationally and in other parts of the country. I think we need to capitalize on the things we already are instead of making up stuff like "world-class." Fresno is a great place to raise a family, Fresno is home.
talk differently.
One problem I have with the article is that Stefanie Yamada and the writer of this article are friends, and Stefanie used to write freelance articles at The Business Journal when the writer of this article was editor there, and in my view that's a bit strange.
Also, the writer of the article has lived in Fresno for many years so it's not an East Coast report musing about a distant city that the writer has never been to. She has quite a lot of knowledge about Fresno, and I don't givva s--- if other people think Fresno sucks.
Thanks for the insight, Adrian. That's fishy indeed.
Yeah, the photos they used in the actual paper were terrible in terms of how they depicted the area. I also wonder where they found that ONE quote from ONE Fresno resident.
The lady who wrote the article from the Visalia Times-Delta. No love, Visalia?
But, but... aside from the terrible take on Fresno... they also have Fresno's Eben coming up with "Be World-Class. Be Fresno." And the mayor praises UC Merced? I've been a part of the Eben focus groups... and I'm disappointed in this resulting slogan... World-Class? Also, I understand Swearingen playing down Fresno State checkered past of sports debacles... but UC Merced?
If anything, the saddest parts of the article are the truest parts of the article: incompetent leadership and restricted city-vision. If that dump truck sweeps back through town, let's put a couple of city officials in the back of it and wave good-bye.
I'd agree with the slogan part. How the heck did they come up with that? They should've presented choices to the public.
It's almost as bad as Philadelphia's "Life, Liberty and You."
Actually, I don't mind the garbage truck photo: it's a lot more colorful, and it shows more of the Fresno sign and less of the bleak landscape surrounding it.
Still: eff the rest of the article.
Thats neither a Cop or a Motorcycle. Its a man being cautious with a reflective stripe on his jacket, and he is riding a scooter.
I'm a little embarrassed that our public officials feel the need to spend $1.2 million on a cheesy marketing campaign because they are insecure about the city they live in. Rather than trying to change Fresno's image how about they try and fix the very serious problems facing the city.
THIS.
As another poster said, sure, some people can be miserable anywhere--there are malcontents who are unhappy wherever they go. However, that doesn't mean that Fresno *isn't* a crappy place to live, depending on what you happen to value. I've been happy everywhere *but* Fresno. I'm not even "unhappy" (my life's fine)--it's just that for me, this is an undesirable place to live. It depends on what you like best.
If you love living close to National Parks, that's great. If you love driving from strip mall to strip mall, great. But if you like typical big-city life, if you like world-class museums and urban parks and libraries, Fresno's pretty awful, and slogans like "Be World-Class. Be Fresno" make people in other places ***laugh*** at us. That slogan makes us look like a bunch of fools who don't know how far short of "world-class" this city falls. I wouldn't be surprised if that slogan was what inspired the article: It's just ridiculous.
Why couldn't our city have a slogan that pays tribute to Fresno's agricultural heritage? Why couldn't we have a nationally-known ag museum here? Why couldn't we have a huge annual ag festival, or a huge annual beerock festival? Why can't we honor what makes this place special?
Yes, it's sad and depressing to have another Fresno-slamming article out there, but then again, the truth hurts. If someone said the same stuff about New York City, New Yorkers would simply laugh it off as untrue. When articles like this bother us, it's a symptom of a bigger problem, and we should all pay attention.
"I've been happy everywhere *but* Fresno. I'm not even "unhappy" (my life's fine)..."
What?
"Why couldn't we have a huge annual ag festival"
It's called the fair.
"or a huge annual beerock festival?"
A taco festival would be better.
What is really *sad* and **depressing** is when people stay somewhere they don't want to be. Fresno is what it is, and even if it does become the ***big city*** there will still be people who knock it because it will never be SF or LA.
Fresno's biggest challenge is diversifying its economy. If that happens, everything else falls into *place.*
I concur.
I agree with you 100%. That's exactly how I felt when I was living in Fresno.
On a personal level- sometimes I just feel like saying, if people outside of Fresno think Fresno isn't so great- that's just fine by me. That's less people to move here for our low cost of living and overcrowd the city I love! ;-)
Agree totally.....
and maybe would be a great follow up to interview the writer of this article....what was the impetus for the article?
It's true some people can be miserable wherever they live. I'm lucky in that I can be happy pretty much anywhere I live, and when I lived in Fresno I was very happy.
Fresno is a great place to live, with wonderful people who live there. And, it's easy to get to other places from there. Of course it has problems; everywhere does.
I've lived in: Visalia, California; Santa Cruz, California; Hong Kong, China; and Jakarta, Indonesia since I moved from Fresno, and I've visited many other cities in many countries. I wouldn't hesitate to live in Fresno again.
alot of woulda shoulda coulda..........
Sure, Fresno sucks. But, so do about 90% of large cities and small towns all across the US. The reason why Fresno gets such a terrible rep is because it is smack dab in the middle of CA where 3 hours to the south is LA and 3 hours to the North is San Francisco. With both of these being world class cities, Fresno looks terrible by comparison.
If anyone has done any traveling across the US, there are far worse, and I mean absolutely embarrassingly worse, places to live. They just don't get the publicity because they are in middle america and not CA.
I think Fresno's downtown is what hurts the perception the most. That is mostly all that anyone will see driving down the highway. If you stay in certain parts of North Fresno and Clovis, the quality of life isn't bad at all. There are far worse places to live than Fresno.
How horrible it must be for those commenters who live in Fresno to say Fresno sucks!
Imagine waking up in a city you hate, having to spend your life in a city you deem lackluster. Having to go to a mundane job every day while raising your kids in a town that you loathe.
What a sad little existance for you folks. I wonder why you stay here in what you percieve to be a sucky city. I wonder why, if you think Fresno is so horrible, why do you settle? Get out! Leave Fresno to those of us who love it! Let those of us who are actually trying to do things here, take your spot!
I for one LOVE Fresno. I love everything about it, even its identity crisis. Because although we still may not have found our niche, we're working our asses off to create something amazing here and I for one am glad to be a part of that!
I agree MsJoey, but I think there's a way to do both. Kind of a love/hate thing.
And I fear people don't leave places like Fresno not only because they love it and want to see it get better, but also for the reason people stay in jobs they don't so much like. You could be much worse off in a better place... or find yourself with no place at all.
~Rell.
I hear a lot of complaints from people that Fresno sucks and don't see any effort on their part to change that. Is that what you expect out of life, for other people to entertain you? If you think Fresno sucks then do something to change it. Or go move to LA or SF and go be a small fish in a huge pond and bask in the glow of other's awesomeness.
take a cue from Joey and contribute to your city, get involved, or at the least stop complaining.
I am always amazed how people love to complain and whine. Especially those who don't make an effort to make a change. Fresno is home! If you don't like it, I'm sure there is some other suitable location for you to live at. Fresno is centrally located, minutes from lakes and mountains, and a few hours from the ocean. Take a look around to see the history of the area. Granted there are no fancy theaters, venues, etc. Part of the problem lies within the city/county government! That is a whole different subject!!! What have you done to make this a better city? I do my part! Lets take a little pride in what we have, not allow the media to portray this city as a bad place to live. The media once again is out to portray this area as the worst of the worst. I DISAGREE! Remember, you can run, but you can't hide! No matter where you go, there will always be crime, graffiti, gangs, etc. Make the best of what you have and well, you get what I'm talking about. Fresno really is "The Biggest Little City".
The new slogan is absolutely terrible, although somehow not as bad as the "smile when you say it" one. We obviously don't have a lot of things that are world-class. We're simply too small. We would have been better off with "California's New Frontier," or something similarly generic that plays off the open land, ag roots, etc.
It is sad that the people who need the most convincing are Fresno residents. Curiously, they still live here. I bet part of the reason is that they can't afford to live comfortably in any of those cities that are supposedly so much better than Fresno. It's important to remember that two of Fresno's biggest assets are its low cost of living and easy lifestyle. You aren't going to get a nice house near a public school you are actually willing to send your kids to for $200k in LA, NYC, SF, etc. But even though this is a key consideration in choosing where to live for many people, Fresno isn't getting any points for it. Maybe that's where the campaign should have focused.
While i like to believe in myself and that we are all special and capable of great things, the sense of entitlement i pick up on from Fresno haters drives me nuts!
This is all I hear from these types:
"Ooo I'm so great that I am too good for this city. Everyone here is dumb because they don't think like I do and like the same things I do! They're also uglier. Boo hoo. if only I could live in the most desirable places in the world. I am so unique in wanting to live in an exciting, urban, high-paying environment. Hmm, I also wouldn't mind being on the beach. Sigh. I am so unique in my dreams."
All joking aside, all I ask of Fresno is that I don't have a gangbanger break into my house and kill me or something.
slogan: yeah, THAT is what sucks. I agree with Brianne--something about 'California's Frontier" more aptly describes the dormant possibilities.
As far as arguing against any 'Fresno sucks' publicity: it's tiring, and not as useful as just continuing to work towards making where you live (whether in Fresno, Portland or Toledo) a better place. Just keep on keepin' on.
Reputation: yes, ours hurts us. Some of the very things that could help us (companies[a.k.a. 'jobs']) locating here, are hindered by our bad PR.
I thought it was a darn good article actually, dubious sourcing aside -- if for no other reason than proving that Jeff Eben should go back into the school district where he can waste millions in obscurity.
I know, I know, he's a saint. I'll slap myself.
But really, 1.2 million for "world class" ???? Are you kidding me? In what kind of post-apocalyptic hellhole is Fresno "world class"??
Yeah, I'm one of those locals that needs convincing. But guess what? I don't subscribe to the Bee, haven't got KMJ on 28 hours a day, and don't watch the local news. Wonder how they plan on reaching me. Nevermind, I'm unreachable.
Now before the "love it or leave it" and "I feel sooooo sorry for you, you miserable-thing" -crowd burst a blood vessel or something, let's get something clear. I don't hate Fresno, but I it could be a heck of a lot better. And before the "well, why don't you do something to make it better"-crowd gets their panties in a wad, it's 11:03pm and I'm tired from volunteering at my church today.
The problem I have is that REAL attempts to improve the quality of life in Fresno are never going to develop as long as Fresno is run by the Sarah-Palin-worshipping, TeaParty-planning, River Park groupies, evangelical, pesticide-sipping, farming elite that craps themself at the mere mention of any kind of environmental regulation, impedes meaningful progress on mass transportation issues, and insists on a blind loyalty to the corporate farming economy that saddles us with double-digit unemployent.
But y'all are right, the pictures were terrible. They should have taken a picture of a panhandler in front of a mega church. That's Fresno.
Live in North Fresno or Clovis. All of the gang bangers and slums that most outsiders envision when thinking about Fresno, don't exist.
Heck, just go around Buchanan or Clovis West and you will be amazed at the demographics in those surrounding areas. Probably 90% White upper middle class people.
Most people only see Fresno from highway 99 so they have no clue about the parts of the city where the societal conditions are dramatically better. Fresno should probably just be split into two so all of the undesirables can remain in "Fresno" and the better individuals can live in a city with a new name.
"Most people only see Fresno from highway 99 so they have no clue about the parts of the city where the societal conditions are dramatically better. Fresno should probably just be split into two so all of the undesirables can remain in "Fresno" and the better individuals can live in a city with a new name."
Don't we already have that? It's called Clovis.
All snark aside, I currently live in Fresno and have no real problems with the area. The air quality is crap, but that's true for a lot of California. I think the arts community is excellent for a Central Valley city, and there are many emerging new companies (like The Organic Theater Factory) that show a lot of promise. Also, you can't beat the cost of living. So, yeah- I live in Fresno. It ain't New York, but I also pay a fraction of what I would pay in a larger city. And, you get what you pay for. Perhaps the new slogan should be- You get what you pay for. Fresno- it's not that bad.