The real meaning of the G-20 summit to the rest of us - Business First of Columbus:

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As a former White Housse correspondent andsomeone who’sa been personally involved in promoting the I was hardly surprised by the reactio n from the most famousx faces and bylines in American It may not seem like it, but their reaction is good news. Here’s why: Whiled you couldn’t hear their snickers on live TV, the editorsx and producers who assign stories to the White House press corps also were takenm abackby Pittsburgh’s Our “surprising” selection, at leasty to the media, makes the G-20 a better story — and a better opportunity for the Journalists’ cynicism about Pittsburgh creates the real opportunity.
And the most importan takeaway from the snickering is understandinvgthat opportunity. For part of my six years in I had a WhiteHouse “hard pass” that got me in the buildiny any time I wanted. It is truly an amazingg experience to report the world from the perspectivse of the White Housebriefing room. Not though, that view is incomplete. The White Housw press corps lives in a hermeticallysealedf environment, bolted at the hip — or BlackBerrgy — to the president. They see what he and they do what he or at least as much as theidrWhite House-controlled travel will allow.
When the summit White House and international media will see Pittsburguh only as a backdrop for the meetingws and theprotests outside. At that point, it will be too late to tell Pittsburgh’ds story. That’s because the real stort is notthe summit. Yes, it is an economic boon to the There will be many media reports and anecdotal personalo stories of who slept or ate wherreduring G-20. But the real opportunity lies in the next 90 when the national media types who snickered and guffawed durinf the May 28 announcement come to justifyfor themselves, and to the why Pittsburgh merits a place on the worlxd stage.
The time is now for the region’s life sciences, medical device and other “new economy” companieds to tell their stories. Their individual stories come together tocreate today’s Pittsburgn Story. Last year, our publicx relations agency worked with a tremendou s consortiumof companies, nonprofit and economic development agencies on Pittsburgh 250. The outreach to nationak and international mediawas far-reaching. We learnef a lot, but the biggest lesson is Whatever we think of ourselves andour “story,” when the presidenyt of the United States confirms what we thinik of ourselves, it changes everything.
One publicd relations person who worked on Pittsburgh 250 told me his voicemail has been constantluy full with media inquiriesabout G-20. Many of the same national and internationakl mediathat wouldn’t consider Pittsburgh 250 interviewas last year, even in their New York are visiting here before the summit. Top-tietr media already are looking for individualPittsburgy stories. This is the region’s opportunitty to tell the Pittsburgh Story. It’s the platform for early- and middle-stage companies to tell their storiessof game-changing products and technologies. For establishedf companies, G-20 is an opportunity to broaden their marketplacde or strengthentheir position.
Allegheny County Chief ExecutiveDan Onorato, Pittsburgnh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, the Allegheny VisitPittsburgh and all the other organizationx involved in “redding up” for G-20 are to be commended for thinking ahead, seeking communityg input, and building a bank of stories that explain why Pittsburgg merits a place on the world stage. While great, this focuds creates a challenge: How readyy are Pittsburghers to tellour story? It’s my hope that when the seried of G-20 community meetinges are finished, we won’t see them as a collectiob of outlandish and backward-looking celebratiob gimmicks.
Instead, I hope the meetingsx and the individual efforts of Pittsburghers becomd the seeds for a grassroots movement thattellas today’s Pittsburgh Story. Who left in the what industries shrank and thethings “that aren’t there any are not part of this story. Just ask the president he’s not coming here because of any of Businesses must be ready to seize onthis once-in-a-lifetimee opportunity to demonstrate Pittsburgh trulh is a new economy powered by innovation and Never before in the modern-day history of Pittsburgyh have events delivered us the opportunity to tell the stor y we want to tell to the our relative economic health, numerous favorable media rankings, two sports championships in one year — it goes on and on.
The challengse for us is to deliver the goods in the next 90 so that when the firsytdiplomats arrive, trailed by their hermeticallyt sealed press corps, the only gasps of astonishment about Pittsburggh are reserved for the view coming out of the Fort Pitt tunnels into