So why are US newspapers saying how terrible Italy is?

Care to share which US newspapers you are looking at Nigel?

Washington Post? New York Times? Los Angeles Times?

One thread here about Venice in the WSJ, and the other about Rome in the NYT. They are both currently active threads on the Italy Forum.

If you're referring to the NY Times story recently posted on this forum about Rome garbage, it's an exaggeration, or at the very least misplaced focus. The author absolves himself because he has lived there most of his life, and he has to say something because he loves Rome.

Bullroar. People see what they want to see. On our trip a year ago March, we spent a week in Rome & regularly ventured far outside the 'tourist areas' and, having Chicago's urban areas as perspective, didn't see much out of the ordinary. Sure, there's garbage. But I saw a lot more greenery & much beauty.

And, it doesn't surprise me, Nigel, that another sensationalist story, about the acqua alta in Venice back a couple months, also came from the NY Times. What's their motto? 'All the news that's fit to print'. Gimme a break.

Yeah. Italian newspapers reported about the latest criticism on Rome by the NYT, “Rome in ruins”, showing plenty of full garbage dumpsters.

I frankly don’t have a lot of respect for the whole profession of journalism. They don’t inform the public with objective news, rather they write one sided propaganda that gives a totally distorted view of reality.

Journalists abroad do the same. Not long ago I saw a report on an Italian media outlet about the enormous homeless crisis in San Francisco and Silicon Valley. The piece focused on the homeless problem caused by high real estate prices in the Bay Area. Image after image, it was a display of tent cities where homeless people lived under freeway underpasses in San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose. People interviewed were all homeless living in shelters and in the streets. Anybody who saw that report in Italy must have thought that the Silicon Valley and the entire Bay Area was nothing but a huge Brazilian Favela o an African shantytown.

Now, I’m not saying that lack of affordable housing is not a problem in this area, but the report was so one sided, that a foreign audience, who were the target of the report, got a totally distorted view of the state of the area, which, in spite of the problems, by most measures, remains a world success in terms of innovation, job creation, and wealth.

I wish more and more tourists would see these stories and decide to go somewhere other than Italy on their next trip! Then it might be a little less crowded for the rest of us!

Oh - did you hear, the Cinque Terre is all under water now? That's right - so DON'T GO THERE, unless you can hike UNDER WATER! Please, please, spread the word!

Nigel, you can chalk another article up to being Fake News. Since I took journalism in college, the profession has made a 100% turnaround in the wrong direction. It's no longer a profession of people with high integrity.

This journalist has to defend the profession. We don't make stuff up, at least not most of us. It is not fake news--exploding buses are real, and so was a collapsing escalator that seriously hurt some people. And yeah, Rome isn't being taken care of too well. I once walked blocks with an empty plastic gelato cup looking for a garbage or recycling bin. The current mayor and her administration are in way over their heads and things aren't great in terms of litter, transportation, etc--the things that residents care about.

That said, there's always been this Anglo-Saxon thing about Italy and Italians,. They romanticize us, they get us wrong. They're constantly talking and writing about how the place is falling apart, while at the same time being jealous of Italy's food, culture and what they think is the lifestyle in Italy. They mistake Italian expressiveness for impulsiveness, which is ridiculous if you know Italians, who plan and design and have definite rules about how to behave in public. Pieces like the Times article run every so often; Italy has been in decline for at least 2000 years....

The reporters are also picking up on the Italians' attitude. They complain all the time. Ask anyone with relatives or friends who live in the country. Italian papers have been down on the Rome municipal government for awhile. A big part of it is political--it's run by the 5 Stelle, who don't have a lot of government experience. And it shows.

Interesting that the Wall Street Journal is being accused of being a perveyor of "fake news". The displacement of businesses and natives by tourism and gentrification does not appear to be "fake" to those being displaced. The Pogo comic comment about the environment applies to tourist: "We have met the enemy and he is us".

Where in the NYT article does author say that Rome is a terrible place to visit? In fact, he says in his caveat

Right about here seems like a good place, in the interests of fairness, accuracy and self-preservation (I can see the furious Rome romantics reaching for their Dolce Vita-brand pitchforks) to issue the requisite “Rome is Spectacular” caveat. And it is.

I read a story by someone who clearly loves Rome and would just like to see it better taken care of. There is nothing fake about that.

I took an "extended Sabbatical" from Israel to the SF Bay Area about 8 years after the devastating Loma Prieta earthquake. My Israeli friends kept asking if I wasn't scared to live there. When I finally moved back here, my US friends asked if I wasn't scared of the wars and terrorist attacks. This past summer as I was about to travel to Chicago, friends said I should reconsider because of the high murder rate.

The media report on the sensational. It's usually immaterial to day-to-day life. I shall say no more. It's the season of Peace and Joy.

As someone that lives near Chicago & leaving for Rome today interesting read above. I was really hoping on the RS forum of all places we could banish the term “fake news” ugh! Total respect for journalists. No one is making anyone read those articles. Yes we have issues in Chicago as do all cities. I personally want to hear the good and the bad. Happy Holidays!

The Times article was subscription blocked for me but I found a copy on a different site:

https://themanpost.com/rome-in-ruins/

I guess I'm in Laura's camp here. The author is not your average tourist, and produced the piece based not only on his own observations but on those of concerned citizen activists as well? Some of the concerns appear to echo those of posters who've had more than the average visitor's passing acquaintance with the city, as evidenced by select comments, such as Laurel's, in this previous post:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/roma-dice-basta-rome-says-enough-protests-1e626f22-5aa7-4632-a581-768b48065f34

It appears that the headaches are greater in outer areas tourists don't often venture to, and for citizens who have to deal daily with deteriorating infrastructures? Living where I do (Minnesota) and having forked over considerable $$$ for strut replacements and wheel realignments, I could nod sympathetically over the pothole complaints!

What concerns me about this thread is the use of the term "fake news" when it comes to journalists.

There are many journalists out there who are doing great work, many even risking their lives.

If you're using the term "fake news" I suspect that someone has gotten into your thread, and we know who that is.

The US newspapers have to stir up controversy any way they can. You gotta wonder about anyone who disses Italy! Anyone who has a ticket and doesn't want to go there can give it to me!

I agree that the NYT article made Rome sound pretty bad. It was a piece about the problems Rome is facing but it certainly should have done a better job of putting those problems into perspective. Such as a couple of paragraphs at the beginning talking about how gorgeous Rome really is, that tourists won't be terribly bothered by the problems and comparing the problem to other cities worldwide (especially in the US).

Same with the article about homelessness in San Francisco. My daughter who currently lives in the Bay Area was actually just talking about that this morning. But while it is a huge problem, it is no where close to the whole picture of the city and that didn't come across at all in the article. Another article recently talked about how bad New York City has become. Compared to what? To 5 years ago? 35 years ago? 65 years ago? The problem with all these articles is not the journalists who are doing the reporting. For the most part what they are saying is accurate. But the problem with the media in general (print and otherwise) is that there they don't put things in perspective. Things like 'trash' and 'homelessness' sell papers. The public no longer has a long enough attention span to read articles which paint a more realistic picture of situations. All many people do is read headlines and the lead and then misstate the ideas when they post on social media. I blame Facebook for the decline of journalism and the misinformation of the general public. (That was a joke. Sort of.)

Good point, isabel

I remember NYC very clearly from 50ish years ago. When I rode my bicycle in from from Long Island I always had a knife in my sock just in case I went into Central Park. Especially whenever I went to Central Park for an event of some sort. Never used it, but every morning the radio news would list off the attacks in New York. I never gave it another thought - that was just the way it was. When I lived south of London in the same decade I never worried - that was the way it was there, then.

I dunno.

It's not "Fake News" because Fox (Fair and Balanced) News reported on Rome's trash problem back in January 29, 2018. Just wondering why the NY Times is now bring it up now.
https://www.foxnews.com/world/italian-election-campaign-thrives-on-trash-talk

Jan 29, 2018 - In Italy's general election campaign, Rome's
uncollected garbage has ... recycling the city's chronic trash problem
into a campaign trail issue

The same headline could probably apply to many countries, as there are seemingly increasing problems with infrastructure decay, garbage, homelessness, etc. on many places, and not just in Europe. Even here in small town B.C., the local politicians have been grappling with the seemingly increasing problem of homelessness for the past few years. It's not an easy problem to solve!

Perhaps the reporter that wrote this article might consider a more balanced article that also highlights the positive aspects of Italian cities (although that probably wouldn't sell as well).

The US newspapers have to stir up controversy any way they can. You
gotta wonder about anyone who disses Italy! Have they ever been there?

But the author does live or has lived there. And he did say some nice things.

"I love Rome. I love the way the sunset throws pink light on the marble monuments. I savor the silky carbonara at Da Cesare al Casaletto. I enjoy the exhibits at the MAXXI contemporary art museum, the murmurations of starlings moving like smoke above the umbrella pines. I get a kick out of my kids calling their tennis instructor “maestro,” and miss the cold not one bit. I’ve spent a decent chunk of my life here, met my wife here, support A.S. Roma soccer here. And so Rome, I only say this because I love you."

I don't read these articles as being admonitions not to visit, at all. I read them as lamentations that such special places are having problems. Most newspapers in the US have run many such stories about NYC and most major American cities for decades as well. Its just that most geographically-challenged Americans have only a romanticized Hollywood idea of what places like Rome and Venice should be: they should know that Europe is not just a manicured and preserved theme park for American tourists - people actually live there. Sure bad news sells, but a fluff-piece on traveling to these places would not be news either. For those of us with a deeper interest in Europe, it is interesting to hear the politics behind these problems as well.

@Kathy Thanks for posting correct info about author. I can't read NY Times articles because my husband cancelled his subscription after the 2016 election.

Well said Stan. Just because cities have issues doesn't mean that the places should be avoided. I live in the west Texas panhandle and there are trash issues in my city of 200,000 people. Even in Switzerland, I saw remnants of drug usage in the sites located on public streets where clean needles and syringes are provided by the government for addicts to use. Traveling means taking it all in, the good and the not so good.

@Kathy Thanks for posting correct info about author.

You're welcome, Cala. :O)
Also, I had the same issue you did but found the article in a different, non subscriber-blocked site. The link is in my 12/25/18 06:44 AM post above.

In Rome now and my jet lagged body can’t sleep at 2:30 am so there you go. Just got in today so my view is limited. I was wondering after reading this if we would see garbage everywhere since it is the day after Christmas.

Happy to report in my limited view so far the bins where not over flowing. Did though see garbage all over a small green area. Like major stuff about. Also saw homeless camped out like I would see in Chicago in underpasses but this was on a street area by stores similar to what I have seen in New Orleans.

I think the article gave a very good view of the problem and don’t really understand why people would call it fake. Maybe by posting it where many tourists will see it the city might continue to improve their services. . Yes they should for their residents but coming from a city with lots of it’s own problems sometimes if it hurts the tourist dollars things are done.

Loving Rome so far & so sad missed a concert last night at a Church. Fell alsleep
At 6 pm. I know I should know better but cranky teens needed their rest! I feel so fournate my family can experience other news & cultures.

It is not just Italy. The TripAdvisor San Francisco Forum gets numerous inquiries about "how bad is it", based on newspaper reports of rampant drug use, people sleeping in the BART stations, and much worse.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g60713-i30-k12191704-Is_it_as_bad_as_the_media_portrays_it-San_Francisco_California.html