Chicago papers taken in by United ploy

Steve Rhodes of The Beachwood Reporter noted that this past weekend’s coverage in the Chicago papers of United Airlines’ choice of picking the Windy City over Denver and San Francisco as the site of its new headquarters was duped by the airline into thinking that the other two candidates were serious contenders.

Rhodes wrote, “The Chicago press hailed the move and practically slapped Gov. Rod Blagojevich and Mayor Richard M. Daley on their backs for once again proving our fair city superior to putative competitors Denver and San Francisco.

“Reports out of those cities, however, make it clear that they were never really in the running. And that United Airlines took Chicago – and its media – for a ($7 million) ride.

“It’s not as if the local press is totally oblivious; just weirdly unwilling to confront the story head-on.

“For example, the Tribune reported this on Friday in a story approving of United’s ‘classic leverage play’ — and buried it at the end:

“‘At the invitation of officials in California, Jake Brace, United’s chief financial officer, visited San Francisco.

“”It was a quick in and out,’ said Dennis Conaghan, executive director of the San Francisco Center for Economic Development. ‘We thought it was a window-shopping type of trip.’

“The carrier never made any on-site visits to properties in the Denver area, said Tom Clark, executive vice president of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp.

“United’s pursuit of a new headquarters location has been ‘absolutely the most manipulative deal I’ve ever seen’ in terms of media coverage, Clark said.

“His ire was directed at the media, not the airline, for making United’s departure from Illinois seem more likely than it ever was. He said United never led Denver to think it was a more serious candidate than it was.”

Read more here. Sounds like a bit of boosterism in the coverage by the hometown papers.