The Plain Dealer
The Plain Dealer is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio; it is a major national newspaper. In the fall of 2019 it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily and 15th on Sunday.[1][2]
For other uses, see Plain Dealer (disambiguation).Type
Advance Publications
(Newhouse Newspapers)
1842
Plain Dealer Publishing Co
4800 Tiedeman Road
Brooklyn, Ohio 44144
U.S.
41°30′25.5″N 81°40′47.2″W / 41.507083°N 81.679778°W
94,838 Daily
171,404 Sunday
As of May 2019, The Plain Dealer had 94,838 daily readers and 171,404 readers on Sunday.[3] The Plain Dealer's media market, the Cleveland-Akron Designated Market Area, has a population of 3.8 million people making it the 19th-largest market in the United States.[4]
In August 2013, The Plain Dealer reduced home delivery to four days a week, including Sunday.[5] A daily version of The Plain Dealer is available electronically as well as in print at stores, newsracks and newsstands.
Politifact Ohio[edit]
In July 2010, The Plain Dealer launched PolitiFact Ohio,[131] a website that analyzes political issues relevant to Ohio and the greater Cleveland area. It also conducted fact-checking and was produced in conjunction with its creator, the Tampa Bay Times. Four years later, the relationship was ended. Although the operation had generated criticism, the decision to drop it was attributed instead to a desire to keep all content on cleveland.com rather than the separate PolitiFact Ohio site, which remains available as an archive.[132]
Pricing, distribution[edit]
The copy rates are $3 for daily or $5 on Sunday/Thanksgiving Day at newsstands/newsracks. The full subscription weekly price is $4.65. These prices only apply to The Plain Dealer's home delivery area, which are the Northeast Ohio counties of Cuyahoga, Lake, Geauga, Portage, Erie, Ottawa, Summit, Ashtabula, Medina, and Lorain. The Plain Dealer is available throughout the state at select newsstands including in the state capital, Columbus, and anywhere in the U.S. or world via U.S. mail service; prices are higher by mail.
Cleveland.com criticism and controversies[edit]
Removal of debate video[edit]
In October 2014, the Northeast Ohio Media Group hosted the three Ohio candidates for governor in what would be their only joint appearance. The debate was held before the NEOMG's editorial board (which also serves as the editorial board of The Plain Dealer) and NEOMG reporters. Incumbent Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, largely ignored his main rival, Democrat Ed FitzGerald. Kasich refused to admit he could hear the questions of FitzGerald, who was sitting next to him and insisted that a reporter repeat them.[133]
During the debate, a video camera was positioned eight feet in front of the candidates. The resulting video was posted on cleveland.com. A few days later, however, it was removed.[134] When other sites posted copies of the now-deleted video, the NEOMG sent letters threatening legal action. TechDirt reported that the owner of the Cleveland Plain Dealer had demanded that the unflattering video be taken down.[135] The NEOMG's actions were covered by other media organizations[136][137] and it was criticized by media observers. Chris Quinn, the NEOMG vice president who sent the letters, declined all requests for comment.[138][139]
At 7 a.m. on the day after the election, which Kasich who was endorsed by the NEOMG won easily, the news organization posted online an explanation of events written by its reader representative. The column cited Quinn's explanation:
PD criticism and controversies[edit]
Political leanings[edit]
In the presidential election of 1864, the paper was strongly opposed to the reelection of Abraham Lincoln. An editorial dated 5 November asked rhetorically, "Do you want four more years of war? Vote for Lincoln. Do you want the Constitution destroyed? Vote for Lincoln... Do you want the degraded Negros made your social and political equals? Vote for Lincoln."[150]
The Plain Dealer has been criticized in the past by liberal columnists for staking out generally conservative positions on its editorial page, despite serving a predominantly Democratic readership base. In 2004, the editorial board voted to endorse Democratic U.S. Senator John Kerry; after publisher Alex Machaskee overruled it, ordering the board to write an endorsement of Republican George W. Bush, editorial page editor Brent Larkin persuaded Machaskee to withhold any endorsement.[151] The news coverage is generally more neutral, with national and international news often culled from wire services including The New York Times.
The paper had been criticized as being too soft in its coverage of Senator George Voinovich from Ohio. It also was criticized in the 2004 election cycle for the U.S. Senate, not providing fair coverage if any to Voinovich's opponent, State Sen. Eric Fingerhut, a Democrat.[152]
Publishing concealed weapons permit holder lists[edit]
In 2005, the newspaper twice published lists of concealed weapon permit holders from the five counties around Cleveland. Editor Doug Clifton defended the paper's decision, sparking a feud with a pro-carry lobbyist group. State Senator Steve Austria called it abuse of the media access privilege, saying publishing these names would threaten the safety of the men and women who obtain these permits. An Ohio gun rights group then published Clifton's home address and phone number.[153]
