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can you please explain why the rally was not newsworthy? i
think it was.

it would be nice if your coverage was more balanced. come to
my block...ask what the neighbors think.

To Amanda Bennett, Anne Gordon, Nancy Cooney and Chris Hepp,

I've been reading since last week about your keen interest in
maintaining the journalistic integrity of the Philadephia
Inquirer under the leadership of its new owners. While I
appreciate the appearance of dedication to accurate and fair
reporting, I can't help but be suspect of your follow-through
given your paper's absence at the recent Casino protest rally
held on Saturday, May 20th at Delaware and Reed Streets.

I'm anxious to hear why the Inquirer didn't bother to cover the
rally. Please, let me know. Thanks.

Patty Griffin
Pennsport Resident

What? No casino news!! If you want me to continue reading
your paper you will have to step up to the plate. Are potholes
more improtant than casino placement news? I want to see
pictures of the city wide protests of the casino, not pictures
of potholes. Wake up and smell the coffee!

Do you know what's a hot topic in Philly right now? The casino debate. Everyone's
talking about it. Although it's funny you guys didn't bother covering the first MAJOR
protest. Something seems fishy to me. Lack of integrity perhaps?

What a great headline for the paper : 500 local residents protest the Proposed Casino.
It'd sell like hot cakes. What are you thinking? Or are you? Or do you have a reason
for NOT reporting a major local event.

Come on guys. You can do better. Your readers deserve better!

I am a resident of Fishtown who feels threatened by the
looming menace of casinos. I know about them because I live
within a mile of three of the proposed sites. I am well aware
of the traffic, social and crime impacts that any casino which
is sited in the city will bring to bear. It is amazing to me
how many other people, however, know nothing of what is planned
caino-wise for the city. As an active casino warrior, I speak
to nearly everyone I encounter about the potentially
devestating fallout from the proposed slot parlors. It is
amazing to me how many of the wellread and thoughtful Inquirer
subscribers whom I have encountered know nothing about what is
going on- nothing about Act 71; nothing about various
politicians alliances and allegiances to certain casinos;
nothing about how the state legislated gambling for
Philadelphia in the middle of the night...COME ON! Casino
gambling will be the biggest and most impactful industry ever
to be added to our city. COuld you see your way clear to doing
some real investigative and insightful coverage.

Thank you,

Matt Pappajohn
FIshtown

Dear Editors:

I am quite astonished by the lack of reporting from the Inquirer
on the subject of casinos coming to Philadelphia. Obviously the
advent of casinos is something that will have a great impact on
the future of Philadelphia and the people who live in the city.

What has happened to investigative reporting to inform the people
for the good of the public? What reporting I have found on the
real and significant negative impacts of casinos have been found
in newspapers from other major cities in the US.

Not only has the Inquire failed to do solid reporting on an issue
that will change a city that is the first capitol of our nation
with a great and venerable history into a casino town, it has
failed to do the simple thing of reporting an event of local
residents doing their civic duty of protesting the casinos (ie.
the May 20 protest rally in South Philly).

I hope that the Inquirer will make changes and do more journalism
with integrity in reporting about Act 71, the casinos, and their
impact, lest the public begin to surmise that the Inquirer
editors, staff, and/or owners might have vested interest in
casino development, or worse, are responding to outside censorship.

Dear Editors:

I find the Inquirer completely irresponsible for the lack of
coverage concerning last Saturday's event on Columbus Blvd.
Any Philadelphia based paper should be concerned and find it
newsworthy when 500+ residents shut down a major roadway in
protest against Foxwood casino. I expect more out of my paper
and hope that you will find time to cover future events.

Where were you? Or better still--where ARE you on the issue of
the proposed casino development in Philadelphia? I attended last
Saturday's demonstration against the proposed casino at the
Foxwoods site in South Philadelphia, along with hundreds of
others who came from across the city to band together against
allowing gambling in Philadelphia. I find it very frustrating
that the Inquirer features full-color, front page stories
promoting the "virtues" of Atlantic City (without addressing the
reality of that long devastated community) but will not report on
the obviously strong opposition Philadelphians are demonstrating
against proposed casinos in our city. There will be more large
demonstrations against these casinos in the weeks and months to
come. I hope that the Inquirer will report on this opposition and
present all sides of the gambling debate.

Sincerely,

Jeremy Beaudry
Neighbors Allied for the Best Riverfront (NABR)
www.nabrhood.org

I would hope the explanation is the reporters were stuck in
traffic.

I would be thrilled to learn that Tom Ferick had snuck in among
the protestors and is preparing one of his witty pieces even as
we speak.

Regardless, there will be plenty of time and plenty of protest
actions for the Inky to report on, because the one thing
Foxwoods will never be able to mitigate will be community
opposition and activism.

How is it good for tourism to spend 30 to 60 gridlock moments in
your car in anticipation of a good time upon arrival, only to be
handed a flyer telling you you are not welcome, and please
never come back.

Contact Rene Goodwin to learn about our plans for our next ten
protest events. Don't be suprised to see pressure applied on
some points and in some directions that tourist officials won't
be too happy about. But eh, thay have no trouble asking for and
spending monies to promote tourism. Foxwoods will be bad for
tourism, because the tourist it brings will NEVER be
welcomed.Just the opposite.

Ed Kirlin

As a lifelong Philadelphian and Inquirer reader, I am thoroughly
disappointed by the lack of Inquirer coverage of Saturday's
Casino protest in South Philadelphia. While I'm aware that there
are a complex level of issues that contributing to the decline of
readership of many major print newspapers, I can't help but feel
that a disconnect between the issues facing average
Philadelphians and some of the issues presented (or in this case
not presented)in the paper is a factor in this decline.

I have read a number of articles regarding the proposed casinos
over the past few months in the Inquirer. Judging from many
articles published in the paper, I think most people are clear on
the stances of Donald Trump, Ed Rendell, etc.. However, they are
considerably smaller in number than the few hundred people who
protested on Saturday. I think it's only fair to let us know how
everyone on Delaware Ave. on Saturday feels as well.

It's increasingly rare to hear the voices of dissenting opinions
or those not representing monied interests in the mainstream
media. I sincerely hope that that lack of coverage was some form
of oversight rather than some form of outside influence. I
recently renewed my subscription to the Inquirer and still enjoy
reading the newspaper. Articles such as Sunday's cover story
contrasting NJ and PA gun laws and its effect on Philadelphia
demonstrate that the Inquirer still has some commitment to the
interests of average Philadelphians. This commitment is what
keeps me (and I suspect many others) subscribing and buying. The
day I start seriously doubting the Inquirer's commitment to the
average Philadelphian, is the day I stop reading it.

Dear Editors:

I am joining my neighbors and fellow citizens to ask that the
Inquirer expand its coverage of the very important casino issue
in Philadelphia.

I realize that gambling has been aggressively pitched as the
answer to that which ails us, but opposing viewpoints,
especially Philadelphia's nearly-always voiceless "regular
folks" deserve to be heard as well.

We count on even-handed coverage from Philadelphia's newspapers
to provide balance to the suits, the lawyers and the money.
Thank you.

How could you fail to cover Saturday's casino protest on Columbus
Blvd.? Hundreds of residents from the communities that would be
affected gathered to draw attention to their opposition and the
city's most respected paper didn't thinkk this was newsworthy? As
a Philadelphian who has read the your paper everyday to find out
what is happening in Philly, I am suddenly suspicous of the
coverage I find. This is an incredibly important issue and you
owe it to your readers to cover all sides of the
debate—especially the position of ordinary Philadelphians! Shame
on you.

Dear Sir or Ms:

How is it possible that the Inquirer has not heard any of the
citizens of Philadelphia hue and cry about the overscaled and
inappropiate casino developments proposed by the State of
Pennsylvania and a few wealthy private investors on the Delaware
and Schuylkill Rivers in the city? Just one of the development
proposals is almost as large as one of the largest casinos in the
largest city with legalized gambling in the entire United States.
New ramps from I-95 are even being proposed, along with new
changes in traffic patterns on local streets that are being
rerouted to serve the new casino development. More new
information; one development estimates that an additional 9
million automobiles are expected to visit the completed complex
annually. A new 6,000 car parking structure is proposed. How is
none of this not new enough to be "NEWS"? You would do well to
start covering events and government actions that are "new under
the sun" and of more than passing intrest to Philadelphians. And
maybe cover local political events like the peaceful, vocal and
well organized protest of the Foxwoods casino proposal at
Columbus Blvd. and Reed Streets this past Sunday afternoon, too.
The Philadelphia police were there and traffic on the Blvd. was
stopped for an hour or so to allow the protesters to assemble and
to march and begin the process to petition our state and local
governments. Here is the headline, "South Philly Residents Shout
NO to Casino!" Please be advised, In my opinion, this was news
and you really should have covered the event if you claim to be a
news-paper. There will be other protests, maybe the Inquirer
could see fit to put a city or City Hall reporter on it. There
may be a story behind, beside and in front of the protest event
itself. You could "follow the money" in fine investigative
reporter form and identify in your fine paper the few dozen
private investors and the state and local polititicians who stand
to benefit financially from the protested development, should it
go through. You reported the moratorium on development along the
Delaware river by the Governor two weeks ago, so maybe follow up
on the story and see where it leads. I, at least, would enjoy
reading the facts and benefit from being more fully informed by
your careful and complete inquiry.

I attended the rally on Saturday opposing the casinos. I saw
numbers of people taking pictures. I expected to see some
coverage in Sunday's Inquirer. I was suprised to see nothing
at all. I'm a faithful reader of what I think of as my
hometown paper. I am disappointed to realize that casino and
politcal dollars and influence are what the leadership at the
Inquirer are really interested in. If newspapers aren't going
to offer an alternative at all to very controlled coporate
media coverage I'll focus on getting my news from the web from
now on.

I guess it is all about Money,who ever and whatever get's paid
for whatever favors is who get's the job/prize/medal/casino/tax
payers money?
well we absolutly like to find out why the Inky didn't cover
the Rally,was it the mayor,the governor,the Casino owner wanna
bees????did somebody say something or arm twisted some body
into someway or another;
I mean we have no choice but be paranoid,with our great city's
corrupt and crooked goverment ,I suppose the state goverment
could possibly be just as money driven,and in the mean time the
residents of philadelphia city will face the consiquences ,of
having a 2-3 casinos running in the city.the only positive
thing that it will be doing is bringing in more revenue to our
already corrupt city goverment.The people who are in charge now
who shall stay nameless will be gone in a few months/years ,so
they really do not care of what happens in the long run to the
city's residents .imagine 10 years from now with these casino's
running full throtle,I don't think the little queint and
intimate neighborhoods have a chance of survival .The Governor
Doesn't care ,The Mayor Doesn't ,care they are play Russian
Rullet with city's future,
AND the Inky being the Philadelphia PAPER isn't interested in
reporting on the neighbors issiues??????
It IS ALL ABOUT MONEY.
I thought Philadelphia and Pennsylvania were a pretty strict
city and state ,Quakers,The Amish,what happened to all
that.Liquor Rules and Laws of the State?where is all that????
where is the Inky,
IS IT ALL ABOUT MONEY????
I guess The Philadelphia Citizens don't matter.

Neighborhood groups opposing these casinos (or at least wanting
more time to study all of the issues) are growing the affected
areas, as evidenced by coverage in the local neighborhood
papers. PLEASE treat this residential concern as newsworthy.
These casinos in one way or the other will have a significant
impact on the future of our city.

As a Fishtown resident active in www.NABRhood.org I am concerned
about the lack of coverage of the ant-casino protest rally
attended by 500+ citizens this past Saturday. I was one of the
people holding signs and meeting my neighbors to the south. It
was a powerful and well attended event and there were many
residents from Fishtown and many other communities including of
course South Philadelphia where Foxwoods is proposed. It is not
too late to cover the event and for the ombud to look into your
paper's coverage and make sure that your readers are fully
informed. From the lack of knowledge of what is being proposed
that I hear in all parts of this city it is clear that more in
depth coverage (or coverage at all) is needed.

To Whom It May Concern-if you care:

I eagarly and happily picked up and went thru my Sunday Inquirer
sure that I would find thorough covereage of Satuday's ANTI-
Foxwoods Rally on Columbus Blvd & Reed Street. I had been a
proud participant in that rally designed to prevent the awful
threat to my home that the slots slums of the money hungry
Foxwoods investors and their political pals pose.

Nothing! The paper was absolutely mum on the topic!

What in the world were you thinking!?

How dare you ignore such an important issue and such compelling
breaking news!

Have you been bought off?

Too smug to cover something that matters so much to what you may
perceive as a less upscale part of town?

Well, you can keep your newspaper -if you can. I'll get my news
elsewhere from now on.

Mary O. Reinhart
Pennsport

Dear Editors,

I am trying very hard to understand why a well publicized rally
against the proposed Foxwoods Casino in South Philadelphia was
not covered by your paper. Your coverage of the proposed casinos
has largely neglected the views of residents who are determined
that their quality of life not be undermined by unwanted casinos
in their backyards.

Let me take a moment to explain what you missed. You missed
residents, neighbors, and families taking to the streets to
protect a quality of life they have found in Philadelphia. You
missed these same people effectively blocking traffic going both
ways on Delaware Ave./Columbus Blvd. for over an hour. You
missed the ensuing backups on the off ramp from 95 and all the
side streets. You missed a glimpse into the future of traffic if
the casino is built at Reed St.

More importantly, you missed the opportunity to demonstrate fair,
impartial coverage of something that is being rammed down the
throats of Philadelphians and something over which our city has
little to no control. It is your responsibility as the fourth
estate to ensure that your news coverage help to ensure the
democratic process occurs. You missed out here.

Perhaps you missed covering this event as you were worried about
who will buy your paper and whether newspapers will be around in
ten years. All these topics have certainly occupied more space
in your newspaper of late than the legitimate complaints and
actions of city residents opposing the Foxwoods Casino. Perhaps
newspaper readership is declining due to the demise of the
principles of the fourth estate. Shame on you.

Greeting:

I'm told 50,000 people live in the Foxwoods impact area. If
you write about the expected impact of the proposed casino on
South Philly, you'll likely sell at least 50,000 extra papers
that day. This is a big story for the whole city.

Do the math.

Don't worry, the casinos will still buy advertising from you.

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