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Thursday, July 26, 2007
Pizza On the Times' Face?
Posted by Alex Pickett on Thu, Jul 26, 2007 at 7:38 PM
Yesterday’s St. Petersburg Times story on Papa John’s lack of delivery service to the Bartlett Park and Old Southeast neighborhoods in St. Pete has ticked some neighborhood leaders across the city.
In what seemed to be a great scoop, Times intern Joseph Schwartz reported that an e-mail sent to the Bartlett Park Neighborhood Association stated crime statistics forced Papa John’s to stop delivery past Sixth Avenue South. But not mentioned, at least not clearly, is that the closest Papa John's — at Fourth Street N and 22nd Avenue — never delivered to the area in the first place.
“There’s this [misconception] that [Papa John's] stopped deliveries,†neighborhood vice president Scott Swift told me today. “But they’ve never delivered here … [Bartlett Park is] way out of their normal area.â€
Swift would know because he wrote the e-mail mentioned in the Times story after conversations with a local Papa John’s franchise manager. (Swift declined to be quoted by the reporter in the article).
But the most important piece of information left out of the article is how Papa John’s has donated hundreds of dollars worth of free pies for Bartlett Park’s clean-up events. According to Swift, Papa John’s has donated more than 40 pizzas since May 2006 and offered many more at reduced prices.
“We try to support the Bartlett Park neighborhood as best as we can,†says John Horner, Papa John’s district manager, acknowledging the relationship between the closest franchise manager and the neighborhood association has "really grown" in the last year.
Now, the issue has reached the Council of Neighborhood Associations, which sent a letter to the Neighborhood Times’ editor Sandra Gadsden demanding a retraction of the article.
“This article is misleading at best and irresponsible journalism at its worst,†CONA president Barbara Heck writes in the letter. “The ‘story’ is NOT supported by the actual facts. If your reporter/intern Joseph Schwartz had taken the opportunity to check his presumed “facts†with the Police Department, with Papa John’s management, with the neighborhood Crime Watch, with CONA or many Bartlett Park residents, he would never have written that article.â€
Gadsden tells me Schwartz received a truncated version of Swift's e-mail from a Bartlett Park resident that didn't include the information about Papa John's pizza donations. She's offered to print letters to the editor, but refuses to print a retraction. She stands by the rest of the reporting done by Schwartz.
Swift says some CONA members are considering boycotting the Times — by not buying the paper or acting as sources — if they do not comply.
“We’ll just cut them off,†he says.
Swift says he’s also angry with the reporter for not talking about the "positive changes" occurring in Bartlett Park due to the neighborhood’s aggressive crime watch group. Speaking of which, I explored some of Bartlett Park's successes in this week’s Urban Explorer. You can check that article out here.
Bartlett Park's blog maintained by president Tom Tito has more on their reactions to the article here.
Comments (22)
Showing 1-22 of 22
With reporting like this, along with the likes of Sue Carlton, the Times is quickly losing a lot of credibility. Whatever happened to fact checking? With tabloid rags like the Trib and now the Times, it\\\'s no wonder blogging is so popular. Thankfully we still have CL.
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Same old SP Times mindset: Don't admit mistakes, even if it costs us a few readers. Unfortunately for them, those few keep adding up.
Letter to the Editor Response to “Crime turns pizzamaker cold on deliveries†Published on June 25, 2007 in the St. Petersburg Times I’m sad to say that this story is one of the best examples of irresponsible, "spin†journalism I've read ever read. The reporter who wrote this is a 22year old intern who sadly chose to "create" a story instead of writing one using facts. I know this because when he called me last week and asked, "Why did Papa John's stop delivering to your neighborhood?†I immediately knew something was wrong. Anyone in our area would know they've never delivered to Bartlett Park because they are located so far way (near 25th Ave N & 4th Street N.) I asked what kind of story he was seeking to write and he responded that the Times had received an email that stated Papa John's stopped delivering to our neighborhood because of increased crime and that the email was from me. Huh? I surely thought he was illiterate or maybe unbalanced and told him I would not speak him unless he wanted to write a story based on fact. He was silent. I stated that it sounded like he already had a story written in his head. He again was silent. I agreed to only speak with him "off the record" unless he expressed interest in writing a factual story. He again was silent. I told him the following information, some of which was contained in the email he claimed to have referenced. Papa John's was the only pizza place that agreed to donate pizza to children (and some adults) in Bartlett Park who came out to our neighborhood clean up events over the past year. We found this very generous since they were so far away (4th St N & 25th Ave N) and because of their distance was only able to deliver as south as 6th Ave S. I picked up the donated the pizzas for each of our events. Pizza Hut and Domino's declined to donate and only offered a slight discount from the retail price even though their franchises were significantly closer and did deliver to our area. Papa John's was kind enough to donate 40+ pizzas to us over the past year because they believed in Bartlett Park’s efforts to build a sense of community and lend support to our neighborhood Crime Watch events. The hard work by members of our Crime Watch has helped increase the number of calls to Police reporting crime by 133% over the past year. This does not mean there has been an increase in crime; it just means the Police are now getting the information from citizens that they need to make a difference in our community. So far this year, this increase in calls has led to a significant increase in arrests and a sharp decline in crime in our neighborhood. When we recently began the planning for our first neighborhood newsletter, I spoke to Papa John's and asked if it was possible to start expanding delivery to our area. I told them how our Crime Watch activities had significantly lowered crime in the area felt that between Bartlett Park & Old Southeast they were missing out on a large market. I envisioned one of our advertisements in our newsletter to read "Papa John's ...now delivering to Old Southeast and Bartlett Park!". The Manager thought it was a great idea and said he would bounce it off his District Manager. One week later they followed up and told me that unfortunately were not yet able to to start delivering to our area. They explained that there were numerous factors that can affect their decision to expand delivery to such a large area so far away. One of the factors they had to consider was that the available crime statistics for our area were high. Unfortunately only 2006 statistics were available and not current ones to show the tremendous progress we've made in lowering crime in our area. However, because they were aware of the significant improvements going on, he stated that they hoped to start delivery as south as 22nd Ave S by early 2008. They also agreed to continue and support our events with donations of pizza when possible. Doesn't sound like a great story to help promote involvement in your community? Well, I offered the above information to Mr. Schwartz yet all he offered in return was, "Let me talk with my Editor and I’ll call you back". After one hour passed and he had not returned my call, I contacted his Editor and expressed my concern over his tone, leading questions, and motivations. The Editor indicated they understood my concern and that he had already been assigned to contact Police and get information about neighborhoods in the city. The Editor gave me the impression that he had been reassigned him to another story. I was disappointed that the they did not choose to write a positive factual story about what Papa Johns has done to help support Crime Watch activities in our neighborhood, but confident that they had at least redirected this intern who seemed committed to "creating†a story rather than writing one based on fact. This story did not contain any interviews with the neighborhood leaders, District 1 Community Police Officers, Papa Johns, the City of St. Petersburg, or Midtown business leaders. None of these "primary" resources were consulted to verify information that could have assisted the intern and the Times to compose a positive, factual story about citizens and businesses working together to improve their community. The Editor, attempting to defend this story, claimed to one of our residents this evening that our Neighborhood Association President was contacted about this story and expressed that it was “fair and balanced". If you have any doubt about the lack of truth in the Editor’s claim, I encourage you to read our Neighborhood President’s editorial on this story at http://bartlettpark.blogspot.com/2007/07/thanks-papa-john.html Several members of our Crime Watch are retired or have flexible work schedules that allow us to participate daily fully in Crime Watch related activities and have worked with Papa John’s numerous times over the past year. Why were none of us contacted or consulted? I encourage all neighborhood leaders and citizens of the city to contact the St. Petersburg Times at 893-8874 and express your disappointment in their choice to print a story without seeking primary information or verifying facts. As a strong community supporter Papa John's deserves accolades of the highest level for their donations in support our neighborhood Crime Watch, and we ALL deserve some degree of effort towards responsible journalism. Sincerely, Scott J. Swift Bartlett Park Neighborhood Association - Vice President Bartlett Park Neighborhood Crime Watch - Activity Director
This is an example of how unethical journalism creates rifts in the community. The damage this intern's article caused will probably outlast his internship. The Times has a responsibility to this community and its business members and their portrayal of Papa John's is unfair and unconscionable. Shame on them. BTW, I'm enjoying my leftover Papa John's pizza from last night.
I'm glad to see that the real story is coming out; and, of course, Bartlett Park is getting a lot of publicity out of the story--good publicity from almost all the other-than-the-times-sources. Papa John's, as well, is getting some good kudos. As always, we need to emphasize all of the achievements in our communities as well as the good things people do. I can't threaten to boycott the times because I almost don't buy newspapers anyway--maybe spending $10 / year for Sunday papers. If I read the paper daily, I'd continue to do so. Anyone, and I mean ANYONE, who reads the paper or watches the television news should always engage his or her built-in, shock-resistant crap detector. Rarely will the whole story be told. If you want the real news, you have to get out on the street or know someone who does. Meanwhile, my hat's off to all of the good folks who are helping us get the story straight. THANK YOU!
My family has ordered Papa John's for delivery to Our Old Southeast home more than once. We appreciate the quality of their product.
I can't really comment on what happened I this story, because I don't know -- I was out of town when it broke and haven't talked to the participants. But I can say this: I live in the Old Southeast at 19th Ave. South and 2nd St., and have had Papa John's pizzas delivered to my home from the 4th St. outlet for years. So where does this information about them not delivering south of 6th Ave. come from? My home is located three blocks east from the Bartlett Park neighborhood. Why don't they deliver to homes at least a couple of blocks closer to their 4th St. store? At the very least, it seems that the real facts about this situation are tough to come by. And they haven't been entirely answered by some of the explanations
No big suprise...the times always spins stories. It s sad that most media outlets seem to want to destroy relationships and interfere with progression of our great city and others. I wont buy the times with out a retraction.
Eric, If the Times would have asked for the facts instead of deciding them, there would be no confusion. This all started with private emial to update a few citizens in the neighborhood that had been meeting about potential advertisers for our new Newsletter. It is disappointing that the Times does not seek the truth or set an example of intergrity . I hope people will start getting more involved in their community, seeking primary information and stop buying the Times self-serving version of the news. Call me and I can tell you the facts - 385-1529
It's strange that Papa Johns delivers to Old Southeast and Tropical Shores and Driftwood - but not Bartlett Park. Why wasn't that in the paper? It seems to put the lie to what the other guy was saying. I wonder if they deliver crumbly cake? mmmmmmm, cake...
"Why wasn’t that in the paper?" That is an excellent question. Swift gave you a bunch of stories. You could assign him his own fact checker.
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