Was the G-20 good for Pittsburgh?
David Shribman, executive editor of the Post-Gazette, Lauren Lawley Head, editor of the Pittsburgh Business Times, and Tracy Certo, publisher and editor of our own Pop City, reflected on the lessons learned from the summit during an Economic Club of Pittsburgh luncheon.
Here's what they had to say:
Pop City's Buzz section, a compilation of media sources, saw a significant uptick in the number of stories about Pittsburgh before during and after the G-20, from magazine and newspaper articles to television and websites.
"The message about Pittsburgh was overwhelmingly positive and it was consistently positive, telling the story of transformation, eds and meds, researchers, entrepreneurs," said Certo. "We had an overwhelming opportunity to be on the political stage and we took advantage of it."
Lawley Head noted that the summit catalyzed the local community in a unified effort to convey our story to the world. "There was an immense cooperation of organizations in sending out the message--Pitt, CMU, UPMC-- especially in selling the eds and meds story. The G-20 Partnership reached out to international companies."
Shribman, a self-confessed "skunk at a garden party," noted that hosting the G-20 was a good move, but the community suffered losses, the downtown suffered from complete dislocation and significant civic questions, such as public gathering, were raised.
"It looked like a police state. We rolled over and played dead and let the federal government take over for two days," he said.
All panelists lamented the security configurations that prevented journalists in the convention center from exploring the city.
Despite the negatives, consensus was it was a great learning experience for Pittsburgh and the city is now better prepared to take advantage of the next opportunity.
Global Pittsburgh has since received twice as many inquiries from international countries who are interested in bringing delegations here, said Tom Buell, panel moderator. World Environment Day is a win for the region, giving Pittsburgh a chance to stage the festivals and celebrations that it should have had during the G-20.
Pittsburgh is poised to build on the momentum as it turns its focus toward making the region an energy hub, said Certo. "We're in a better position to move forward now on all these fronts – talent attraction, energy hub efforts and regionalization."
Writer:
Debra Diamond SmitSource: David Shribman, Post-Gazette; Lauren Lawley Head, Pittsburgh Business Times; Tracy Certo, Pop City