THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, July 3, 1995 TAG: 9506290024
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 36 lines
As a Chesapeake resident I often feel like a character from Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Hoo, screaming, ``We're Here, We're Here, We're Here!'' The significant difference is that Chesapeake is not a speck on a flower but rather is the fastest-growing city in South Hampton Roads. Why then does Chesapeake get short shrift when it comes to news coverage?
Example: this year's political races. The Chesapeake Republican Party had its largest turnout ever at a mass meeting (more than 500 people) to nominate Vista Cotten for clerk of court. The only resulting coverage was an article in the Clipper supplement a week later. Norfolk did not approach this number of participants, yet its Republican mass meeting was featured prominently in your paper and received televised news coverage that evening.
Likewise, the Portsmouth primary for the clerk of court position received extensive coverage. The Portsmouth race was featured even on the front page of the Sunday paper. As yet, there has not been a word about the Chesapeake race.
Yes, traffic on I-64 and Battlefield Boulevard is bad, and bridge lifts at the Great Bridge locks are frustrating; but inconvenience never excuses derelict journalism. People in the news media should crawl out of their Ghent coffee shops to see what the real world is doing in Chesapeake, the heartland of Hampton Roads. We are proud, we read and we buy. We're here, we're here, we're here!
ROBERT LEWIS CURRY
Chesapeake, June 25, 1995 by CNB