Minneapolis Star Tribune reaches new low with this anti-real estate story

I was absolutely floored with the Minneapolis Star Tribune yesterday

On the front page: Credit Mess Means Selling For Less was the lead story. (see above print version) It showed me that the Star Trib is really, in my opinion, anti-real estate. Why?

1) The headline is sensationally negative. I really wonder if they wrote the headline PRIOR to writing the story.

2) The graph is inaccurate. They show a 12.5% decrease in 2008. Fine. But that only the first 3 months. They make this look like a larger thing than it is. I learned how to draw more accurate, to-scale graphs in third grade. Hey, maybe they fit the graph to cover the shape of their photo?

3) How many realtors did they need to interview before the Star Tribune could get this quote from Ryan O’Neill of ReMax Advantage: “I don’t see it getting better in the immediate future.” What that in the context of a longer quote?

4) The story buried good quotes from Kevin Knudsen (Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors) and Greg Bauman (St. Paul Area Association of Realtors) on page 8 of the section. Too little, too late. The Star Trib’s ’sky is falling’ mentality is plastered all over page 1.

I have friends, clients, and business associates in real estate, homebuilding, mortgage, and banking. I’ve talked to several of them about this story. It’s not just me…there are a lot of people upset with this story. This type of bad news, perpetuated by newspapers like the Star Tribune, is the only thing that sells subscriptions.

Maybe they’re grudging because Edina Realty cut 70% of their Star Tribune newspaper budget about a year ago to develop their internet presence. But the anti-real estate industry bias is all too apparent here.

-30-

Chris Mitchell is the President and Founder of 25-8 Marketing, Inc, a full service advertising agency in Elk River, Minnesota. He plans and implements marketing programs for small to medium-sized businesses. Mitchell is a consultant, speaker and author and has worked with hundreds of companies. He has over 20 years of real-world advertising experience, and understands the marketing challenges of the small business owner.

website: http://www.258marketing.com
email: chris@258marketing.com