
While everyone from Congressional backbenchers to movie stars is debating whether President Joe Biden should stay in the presidential race, Philadelphians would like the media to focus on what matters to voters, if you don’t mind.
ABOVE PHOTO: President Joe Biden greets churchgoers after a service at Mt. Airy Church of God in Christ, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Philadelphia
(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
By Denise Clay-Murray

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock over the last couple of weeks, you know that the main topic of conversation for many folks is whether or not President Joe Biden should get off the top of the Democratic ticket.
Folks have literally been talking about this since the first debate between Biden and former President Donald Trump took place on June 27. Most of the conversation has come from aging pundits like James Carville, legislative backbenchers like 78-year-old Vermont Senator Peter Welsh, and Rob Reiner (whose cool points for directing “The Princess Bride” might save him here), and Oscar-winning actor George Clooney, who apparently decided to write his New York Times op-ed calling for Biden to step down AFTER he recently helped the president raise $30 million for his re-election campaign.
(Well, I know who isn’t going to get a good inauguration ticket if Biden wins. Whew!)
While that’s all the pundits and those who have podcasts and access to the New York Times opinion page seem to want to talk about, voters — who they’re hoping to turn around to their way of thinking — are telling them to kick rocks for the most part.
That’s because voters have bigger fish to fry, and they really, REALLY wish that my fellow travelers in the media would focus more on what the issues truly are instead of asking pundits, legislative backbenchers or entertainers whether or not a man who has already told you he’s not getting off the ticket is going to change his mind.
On Sunday, I was at the Mount Airy Church of God in Christ where President Biden spoke during the 10:30 am service. The sanctuary was crowded with as many churchgoers as the Secret Service would allow and a whole gang of reporters, most of whom were occupying the balcony.
While my SUN colleague Amy V. Simmons largely focused on the visit itself and its significance, I wanted to focus on how the presidential race has been covered and what topics the residents of the biggest city in a pretty major swing state would rather see talked about.
One of the first people that I saw was City Councilmember Cindy Bass. I figured that talking to someone whose job was connecting Philadelphians with what they may need from the federal government would be a good place to start.
She’d like to see more coverage of the people who will be deciding this election and the issues most important to them, Bass said.
“I would really like to see [the media] focus on communities just like this one,” she said. “People who are out here and working every day. I’d like to see more about our neighborhoods and communities. If you ask the people here, they can tell you why they’re supporting Joe Biden, and it’s not just because he’s a Democrat. They can tell you how the resources they’ve gotten since he’s been president have impacted their everyday lives.”
“I would like to see more of an emphasis on blue-collar workers,” said Marcus Davis, who was at the church with his sons. “Blue-collar workers are a large voting base and they would like to be seen as well as listened to.”
Now, let’s keep it real.
It wouldn’t have taken any of the national media folks who came to Mount Airy Church of God In Christ to cover this event more than five minutes to do interviews similar to the ones I did. Granted, it would have been harder for the traveling press to do because of how tightly the Secret Service controls their movements, but not everyone there was traveling press.
But they didn’t want to make the effort. It appears that none of the folks in the national press want to make the effort.
Which is why the local press is so important. Newspapers like the SUN provide a vital function to our democracy, as do the local radio, television stations, and online news sites that are a part of the Lenfest Institute for Journalism’s “Every Voice, Every Vote” program.
While it’s highly unlikely we’ll get an op-ed from an Oscar-winning actor, we provide a lot of information on what’s going on in your community.
We’ll be covering the presidential race. Notice what we do differently.
And make sure to let your voice be heard. If we’re not covering the things you think we should, tell us that. We need to do better, and we can’t do that if you don’t tell us where we’re messing up.
Disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the article belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author’s employer, The Philadelphia Sunday SUN, the author’s organization, committee or other group or individual.

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