Page Forty  

08 DECEMBER 2005

Well, willya look at this:

12º | Hi 31º / Lo 23º |

From my comments of yesterday:

As with pretty much everything about the ferry operation, questions abound.

First, the most obvious question would be  WHY  is the ferry season being cut earlier than planned?   The public has a right to know... those are the breaks of making a private company public.  When using the public's money, the public automatically becomes the owner of such a project and deserves to be informed of any decision surrounding that company.  If the current ferry organizers don't like that, they shouldn't have used tax dollars to buy the ship.

Under the heading of Picky Journalism Details, I have to pause a moment and comment on the local media's thinly-veiled yellow journalism.  It's become clear the local media outlets are sharpening their knives and smelling a rat in the works.  WROC-TV8 is unquestionably Number One at this and the D&C is a close Number Two:

(1) The lead title, while completely factual and true, could have been written: "Ferry Season Ends Dec. 19" instead of "Bay Ferries cuts season short".  One lead is presenting the facts; the other is presenting a comment by implying the ferry service is quitting before the job is done. 

 

(2) The very next sub-title could have been written "Last voyage to Toronto is Monday" and left off the "not Dec. 31".  Again, adding the planned final season date of "Dec. 31" drives home the message the ferry is giving up before its planned date.

 

(3) "more than a half-month earlier than planned" is a blatant example of slanted journalism.  In colloquial English, who uses "a half-month" in conversation?  People say "two weeks" or "14 days" -- each of which sound less than "a half-month".  "14 days earlier than planned" doesn't sound as long as "a half-month earlier than planned" even though the time frame is the same.

The D&C is attempting to goad the public into getting riled up over the ferry debacle -- as well they should be -- but in doing so, comes across as some small-town fish-wrapper trying to whip the masses into a frenzy.  It's cheap and portrays the readership as slack-jawed undereducated gnomes incapable of forming their own opinions.

"But they're agreeing with your position, K."  That they are.  But, believe it or not, I try to be fair and point out the inconsistencies of ALL sides in this ferry bad idea and when one side's posture is so clearly slanted in an obvious bid to sway public sentiment, I'll call 'em on it. 

I don't see myself as being some area resident either too stupid or too busy to take the issues at hand under careful consideration.  The local community 'leaders' and media treat me as if I'm far too ignorant to comprehend such devilishly complex matters as why Torontonians and Canadians are largely ignoring the Rochester area.

The mice are scurrying:

Councilmen: Ferry vote contingent on openness, board changes   (Councilman Bill Pritchard) 12/7/2005 11:00 PM (Rachel Barnhart, WROC-TV) A small group of city council members wants a guarantee there will be more members of the ferry board from the business community, and more frequent and detailed financial reports from the ferry board. "Members of council need to have more frequent infusions of information," said Councilman Bill Pritchard. If he cannot get a guarantee, "I will not vote positively on whatever's put before me on December 20th." The city is expected to put forth legislation asking city council to approve a $10 million loan to keep the ferry running in 2006. Council members are waiting for the legislation, as well as a detailed 2006 operating plan. Pritchard and several of his colleagues are talking about drafting legislation to address their concerns. He says the course they take may depend on the city's legislation. Adam McFadden has the same concerns as Pritchard. "There needs to be some accountability, some disclosure to the public."  (Why start now, Adam?  Are we trying to cover our butts for the previous months of closed-door sessions YOU  and other city council members participated in?  What about 'accountability' and 'disclosure' back THEN?) Pritchard and McFadden are joining five other members of city council in Charlotte, North Carolina for a conference on the National League of Cities. They expect discussions on the ferry to pepper conversation. Pritchard plans to ask his colleagues if the December 20th vote can be delayed. "What is the urgency?"

The other side of slanted journalism:

Fast Ferry 2005 Service Ends Early (Rochester, NY) 12/08/05 -- Rochester's fast ferry service to Toronto will end this Monday, December 12, more than two weeks ahead of time. Bay Ferries Ltd. said passengers who have tickets for trips after that date will be offered ground transportation and a free ride when the service starts up again in late March. Earlier this week, the company released the ferry's 2006 schedule including a shorter season for next year. According to that schedule, service was to end this year on December 31.

WHAM-TV13 has always been the Bright and Chipper Channel in the local arena with Smilin' Don Alhart as the Lead Cheerleader for years.  The residents who don't want to see or hear of 'dreadfully unsettling local news' turn to WHAM-TV13 to get the upbeat and cheerful veneer which could make 10,000 layoffs at Kodak sound like a mere seasonal hiccup.

Throughout this ferry fiasco, WHAM-TV13 has always been a ferry supporter and when the excitement was at its crescendo, these folks were right in there the singing the praises while blissfully ignoring the reality.  When the ferry news has been bad, they've either ignored the 'terribly nasty news' altogether or relegated it to a few sound bites of coverage as seen above.

Note the difference in describing the amount of time the season has been shortened:  "more than TWO WEEKS ahead of time" as opposed the the D&C's "half-month".  WHAM-TV13 tries to minimize the appearance of a major screwup; if they thought they could get away with saying "only a few hours earlier than anticipated", they would.

WHAM-TV13's 85-word coverage to the negative ferry news pales by comparison to the D&C exposé.  If the news is bad, "Let's not think about it".  If it works for a large chunk of the community, then it'll play well on WHAM-TV13.

The local NBC affiliate's take:

Guess we can throw News 10NBC in the pile of naysayers as this sophomoric writing doesn't even make pretenses of being impartial.  It's nice to see the local media outlets slamming the ferry and all that, but the time for attacking the ferry concept should have been back in 2001 when Dominick Delucia and the rest of the CATS supporters were pitching the idea.  There's just too many Johnny-Come-Lately's popping up right now to lend any credibility to these feigned displays of outrage.

For over four years, I've consistently maintained my position that the whole thing was doomed.

Should the City of Rochester borrow more money for the fast ferry?   The votes so far:  14%  Yes  86%   No  As of 10:55am 08 DEC 2005

Repeatedly, this writer's main theme has been "There isn't enough demand to support a project of this magnitude for an extended period of time".

"The man who will undoubtedly play a critical role in ensuring that success, Bob Duffy, said he was looking forward to this trip, saying "First hand experience is important, but I'm sure there will be other opportunities,” Mayor-elect Duffy said."

They sure milked THIS point for all it's worth.  Frankly, other than some superficial and shallow gesture, I'm not sure if it makes a big difference whether Mayor-elect Duffy rides the thing or not.  Personally, I haven't -- and never had -- any intention of riding the ferry and that hasn't affected my opinion on the fate of the ship; it's not necessary to ride the ship to see it can't succeed as a business.

News 10NBC exonerated Duffy and laid the blame on the Ferry organizers but they, as well as the rest of the local media, failed to answer WHY was the ferry season cut short?  Was it (a) because the ship had practically no passengers or (b) because the reserve fund has run completely dry?  We're left wondering not only with WHY the season was shortened but also WHY was there no reason given.  It is to put a better light on the project?  Does the Ferry Board want to withhold ugly news such as a crossing of a $42 million ship with, as an example, four passengers on board?

That would sure bring the public sentiment against the ferry to a boil in a hurry.

What difference does it make?  Well, if the reason is there aren't enough passengers during the off-season to justify even sending the ferry out of the berth, that's validating the theory there isn't enough demand for the ferry on a year-round basis -- which goes completely against what was being sold from day One.

If the reason is the money in the reserve fund has run dry, it validates MY theory.  The $8 million reserve fund wasn't even enough to see the ferry through six months of operation and at that rate, the city of Rochester is going to have to fork over $1.3 million a month just to keep the operation moving along with the loan repayment of $42 million.  Now the Ferry Board is asking to borrow another $10 million. 

This doesn't scream "Money pit"?  The Canadian side of this equation doesn't give a rat's patootey HOW MUCH money is sunk into propping up a dud of a deal... just as long as it's not THEIR money being sent down the crapper.  Bob Duffy may have to either fly or drive to Toronto to meet Mayor Dave ('Oh the Humanity') but he really shouldn't expect much more than a "We'll do some more promotion for the ferry" (AKA printing up some more brochures and buying a few ad slots in the local media).

As for coming through with any significant donation to the ferry charity cause, Mayor Dave and Premier Dalton might just smile ever so politely and either toss a Toonie in the basket or quietly suggest there may be other venues to explore (ie. "Sorry boys, no handouts today".)

Think I'll bookmark this spot.  I might be referring back to it after next week's meeting with the two mayors.

"Information obtained by NEWS 10NBC shows that the CAT is quote "wet leased" to the government of Trinidad and Tobago for 6 months and the government pays Bay Ferries almost $24,000.00 a day, a total of  $4.3 million for the time the ship is there."

OK.  Hands up for how many think there are ferry optimists running around saying the city of Rochester is going to get $4.3 million for renting out the ship?  AGAIN... yes AGAIN... "It worked there, so it'll work here".

Monroe County Maggie Brooks stands to lose nothing by saying Ferry organizers are "making good business decisions".  From a PR perspective, even if she thought the thing was about as dumb an idea as planting palm trees on Main Street, she gains more to say "Swell job, guys" than to slam the effort.  Monroe County doesn't stand to lose as much money by a city ferry failure.

No sympathy from this corner.  These ferry terminal tenants knew the score before they had visions of bulging cash registers and if greed clouded their judgement, there's a price to be paid.  The city has no responsibility whatsoever to prop up yet MORE private businesses so their owners can pad their own wallets.

Poor 'ol myopic, provincial Rochester.  Instead of looking outward trying to appeal to the non-residents who'll either make or break the ferry service, it looks inward and assumes what locals think, say or do is how ALL prospective customers think, say or do.  With almost 7 out of 10 passengers originating from the southern ferry terminus, even the 300 or so survey respondents polled are most likely Rochester area residents who MIGHT just be a bit biased in their opinions.

That means the REAL opinions of the Canadian travelers stand even less of a chance of being heard.  And they're the ones who'll determine whether the service succeeds or not.

Do you Rochester area ferry supporters REALLY want to know what your customers are thinking?  Then get out of town and go ask.

If you really DON'T want to know what your customers are thinking, then keep asking the locals what THEY think and don't be shocked when the business tanks.  Just keep close to home, never venture past the county line and you can't help but get a small local opinion.