CityBeat Responds to CCV News Conference

A coalition led by Citizens for Community Values held a news conference this morning at City Hall to announce that it would be sending a letter to CityBeat asking us to stop publishing adult-oriented classified advertisements in the paper and online. A story in this morning's Enquirer previewed the event.

CityBeat has issued the following statement in response:

STATEMENT ABOUT TODAY’S NEWS CONFERENCE
JUNE 9, 2008

According to an article in today’s Cincinnati Enquirer, a “coalition led by Citizens for Community Values” would like for CityBeat to change our advertising policies for both our print publication and our web site. Apparently this coalition is planning to send us a letter detailing its request.

When we receive this letter, we will consider its contents and respond in a timely manner.

We weren’t invited to attend this morning’s news conference, so we don’t know what was said and can’t comment on what was said.

We find it curious that this “coalition led by Citizens for Community Values” would hold a public news conference at City Hall to tell the media they’re going to ask CityBeat to change our advertising policies. Such a request could have been made privately if this coalition wanted to accomplish its stated goal rather than the obvious goal of generating publicity for itself. CityBeat’s email addresses are readily available and our phone number is listed in the Yellow Pages — they could easily look us up and get in touch.

Speaking of the Yellow Pages, similar adult services ads — and in fact three pages of them — can be found in the current edition of the telephone directory that’s delivered to every household in Greater Cincinnati. CityBeat, by contrast, is available only to those who choose to pick it up at 1,200 distribution locations around the area. Contrary to what this coalition expressed in today’s Enquirer article, the general public’s exposure to these types of advertisements is much greater via the Yellow Pages — yet it seems to us that CityBeat is being unfairly targeted by this coalition.

We find it ridiculous that local law enforcement officials think they can tell us how to run our business while also asking that we do their jobs for them. Our understanding of the American legal system is that police officers charge suspected criminals with a crime, prosecutors present evidence of the crime to judges and juries, and then verdicts are rendered.

We have cooperated and will continue to cooperate with authorities when any of our advertisers are under investigation. If we're informed that advertisers engage in illegal activities, we suspend their advertising privileges. CityBeat’s policy is that we don’t knowingly accept advertising from businesses that engage in illegal activities.

In the case of adult services advertisers, Cincinnati Police Chief Thomas Streicher, Hamilton County Sheriff Simon Leis and other local officials would prefer that CityBeat employees play judge and jury and deny businesses the opportunity to advertise their goods and services.

Apparently today is “Let’s Gang Up on CityBeat” Day in Cincinnati. Just about every public official listed in today’s Enquirer article as being a leader of this “coalition led by Citizens for Community Values” has been the subject of critical news articles, columns and editorials in CityBeat — one of our most important duties is to report on the actions of public officials. For years Citizens for Community Values has actively tried to interfere with our business operations by working to get distribution points to drop CityBeat.

We make decisions about our business every day and on our own terms. We won’t be bullied or intimidated by any outside force that thinks they can make those decisions for us.

We look forward to receiving the coalition’s letter.

Dan Bockrath
General Manager/Co-Publisher

John Fox                            
Editor/Co-Publisher                   

Comments

[Gregory flannery]

We've been down this road before, and the judges ruled against the cops: http://citybeat.com/2002-03-28/porkopolis.shtml

[Rusty]

I think City Beat should run all the ads they can get. How else will they make up the huge loss of readers that has been taking place since CinWeekly came on the scene. City Beat needs the money, no matter how sleazy. Lay off them.

[Eddie]

Just wait until CCV and the local media see the online Citybeat personal ads...

[Average Joe]

Hey Rusty,

As someone who used to be tangentially connected to the news biz, maybe I should clue you in on how to check out circulation numbers. If I did, you'd see that CB's numbers are far better than CinWeekly's.

CB respects its readers and treats them like responsible adults. I do read CinWeekly, but only if I am looking for a good recipe or a place to take my kids.

Other than that, it's a waste of paper put out by robots.

[David E. Gallaher]

Cheers to the guys who wrote CityBeat's response and for the sentiment it expresses so well!

[Rex]

Here's a story that needs a happy ending. The CCV are such bores.

[David E. Gallaher]

The Hustler stores probably had CCV in mind when Larry Flint or whoever came up with the motto: "Relax. It's only sex."

The definition of vice is victimless crime. To have our police try to prevent victimless crime is a waste of resouces, not to mention they will never be successful. Police will rarely admit that, because vice, for them is job security.

[Cincinnati Sucks]

Cincinnati is about as 'Fucked Up' as any city can be. I can see why smart, young professionals (or ANYBODY) with sense at all try their best to get out of this hypocritical, conservative ass, we-happy-to-be-behind-the-times, political cess pool of a so-called metro.

Screw Cincinnati with a FAT ONE without the vaseline! Thank God City Beat didn't cower down to those uniformed clad punks that we call law enforcement (Chief Punk Thomas Streicher and Hamilton County Punk Simon Leis).

I don't guess there's anything better to do in the city, like fighting 'Real Crime'. Watch your back City Beat! The way they did what they did was totally unprofessional. You can best believe that there's an ulterior motive.

Last but not least. 'Coalition led by Citizens for Community Values' is a big stinkin' crock of that STUFF that smells. GET A LIFE! If you really want to stop prostitution, molestation, rape, drug use, alcoholism and everything else that rips a community apart, I suggest you start within your own churches.

Amen!

[Mike]

CityBeat's sex ads represent maybe 5% (

This issue isn't about CityBeat's sex ads at all. It's really about SCAPEGOATING. It's about CCV picking and pecking at what CCV considers "easy targets for purposes of free advertising for CCV." They did it to the gays. They did it to the strippers. Now they're doing it to a small newspaper; one of the last remaining independent papers and one that doesn't waste time pandering to the religious wackos of SW Ohio.

PHIL BURRESS IS A LAZY LAWYER (and a dumb one at that). He doesn't want to work for a living like all the other lawyers in town. So he sets up CCV, takes in millions of dollars from out-of-state doners, and pays himself $160K/yr to SCAPEGOAT the small guys for his own self interests.

I just hope that CityBeat has the balls to push back. I also hope this serves as free advertising for CityBeat !!! Hey whatever happened to Phil Burress Watch ???

[Annie Mouse]

CityBeat delivered a reasonable, thought provoking response. I just wonder whether the CCV brought the matter to the attention of the police or if they heard about it via a police investigation. I'm not going to lie, the thought of CCV members calling on all the ads in the adult section makes me laugh. I can only imagine the reactions.

[Mike Allen]

CityBeat's response was absolutely correct. CCV has nothing better to do. Cincinnati is steadily losing population because of the backward, depressing "Big Brother" operations of Cincinnati's leaders. Notice that the mayor didn't sign the letter, nor did anyone who is actually doing something positive for the City.

Go CityBeat! Adult ads are a staple of Alternative publications from Cincinnati to New York and all across this land.

[Dave]

I'd have to say that Cinti Bell should be the target here.
But to cut it short, and to the point.
Most people take these ads with a grain of salt. Apparently this
coalitions members finds their loves ones at higher risk, or feebleminded enough to answer the ads. Which has to bring questions to mind.
If it turns out City Beat is in error. Then I can't see how C. Bell can get away with all those Yellow Pages Ad's.
So I guess I should be expecting a new Yellow Pages in the near future.
Dave
PS: The local books have them too! BY GOD PULL THEM ALL. So we, the unsuspecting won't solicit these ads in confusion. Duh!
They are trying to elect Obama as President. Prostitution is the least of our worries at this moment.

[jtc]

It's true that, as an above commenter mentioned, the ads only represent a small per cent of City Beat's content. The majority of the paper consists of agonizing about those mean conservatives, or how anyone who didn't smooch the ass of a columnist this week is a racist or a homophobe or a Nazi, or how the city is going down the toilet, which makes City Beat feel sad. :(

Hey...the paper's FREE because its writers didn't have the chops to work for better media outlets when they got out of journalism school. Let them keep the ads...the revenue probably helps to keep the City Beat staff off of the public dole anyhow.

[Quim]

Great response to the CCV publicity stunt.
I hope the other CityBeat type papers in the state rally around you as they will likely be next in line for the witch hunt.

[Breen]

jtc: What's a "journalism school"? Me type pretty jus fine now

[Sean Juan]

I agree that this was a great response to the publicity stunt of yet another group that claims to represent the community.

Oh, and great to hear from a guy like JTC above. A guy that hates CityBeat so much that he logs on to their website to read their views and post about it.

[CincyCapell]

Do not give into this type of thuggish blackmail.

[Phillis]

F*ck the CCV. Go to hell and get the hell out of our state!

[Dave]

I would like to apologize to the Citizens for Community Values for this comment in my post yesterday.
"Apparently this
coalitions members finds their loves ones at higher risk, or feebleminded enough to answer the ads." At that time I was not aware of who the members of this coalition was. To these members, again, I apologize. I have learned a lesson in getting all the facts before mouthing off.

I am not pro prostitution, I am against prostitution.. I just don't pay any attention to the ads. They remind me of any other scam like sounding ad. City Beat is Free. I read it for the Music and Concert news. If they don't sell ads it will cost me for a copy.
I do still feel Bell/The Yellow Book, is just as guilty of this practice.

[Breen]

Not to get to mushy, but I'm proud of Cincinnati. The spectrum of support is heartening. WLW talking heads and the Enquirer editorial board on our side for once feels nice (it feels like we're getting more support from the right this time, actually). Maybe it's a sign the city is ready to turn a corner and leave the primitivism behind. I always hoped I'd see that day …

[Bill G]

Thank you CityBeat and John Fox for remaining steadfast in your response (today's print issue) to the "christian right top heavy" CCV group's pitiful public appeal to reduce your advertising revenues. Thank God we still have alternative newspapers such as yours, along with the LA Weekly, Austin Chronicle, Village Voice, Atlanta's Creative Loafing and many others in print and/or online that will always uphold the right to freedom of the press, free speech and recognizing apparent signs of censorship. I wish the group the best of luck by taking their small, unpopular voice elsewhere as they nervously await this countries' long overdue overhaul of the white house in November.

[dale johnson]

i would like to put this in perspective while all you so called amendment lovers and people with morals haters spew all over the place. i pray that you never have to endure what my family has had to endure because of ads like these. my 12 year old daughter was solicited by one of these degenerate owners. 12 years old, contacted via chatting if you must know. these owners will stop at nothing with no regard to who or what people or families they hurt. these ads arent how they found my 12 year old, but they generate the business for them to stay in business to solicit little girls. citybeat you know fgood and darn well as i do that this particular owner consists of 75% of the ads of discussion with you. so to me, now knowing this, if you continue, you obviously are more concerned with the money than the good image and crediblity you have worked hard to earn as a reputable paper, which i happen to like. i hope you dont have any daughters. you have been told. please if we cant count on the media to exercise morals which these laws were created to do in a governed society. than who can we count on. you are the voice of the people. including 12 year old girls. thank you

[Breen]

"Human trafficking" and "juvenile slavery" and "internet predators" are awful. Who's arguing that they're not?

Watch and educate your children and you shouldn't have to worry.

[Cinweekly packing paper]

I've loved CINWEEKLY since it's initial release - it makes WONDERFUL and FREE PACKING MATERIAL. I've read it several times and found almost zero informative content. I like knowing that I'm wasting the money of their advertisers. I pack and ship a fair amount of items. It's a pleasure knowing I'm a parasite on the back of another parasite, Cinweekly being a crap knock-off of Citybeat. I'm sure I'm not the only one using Sinweakly as packing material and I encourage anybody else to get in on the game.

[ConcernedMD]

Porn is destructive and very unmanly.
Porn and prostitution is never okay. It destroys men and the love they should give to their wives.
A real man is a strong faithful lover....monogamous with the ONE woman he has commited to love, honor, and cherish for life.

Porn is a selfish lazy type of adultery and it is the single greatest destroyer of marriage today.

The unfaithful man loses his masculine leadership and his honor. He loses his tenderness and sexual desire for his wife, when he furtively masturbates alone by stimulating himself with countless electronic images on a screen.

A man using porn only touches a man...himself. A sexually mature man has the courage and manliness to touch a real woman, to give pleasure with his body to his wife...in person.

Porn is solitary voyeuristic auto-arousal that betrays the male's deepest longing: his need for live human one-flesh relationship. Inverted sexuality is the epitome of unfulfilling loneliness.
Our hearts need love and physical bonding...only marital sex gives us that real intimacy.

Porn destroys the family. Ask any doctor or domestic violence therapist. Ask any divorce lawyer.

Every responsible man protects women and children and families. Every man must serve the common good and end the destructive forces in society.

Esto Vir!

Fight like a man! Stop porn. Stop prostitution.

Porn is a big deal.
Don't harm the most sacred desire you have.
Give your desires to someone who loves you back.