Dear Mainstream Media: You’re Missing the Real Story of New Hope

Feb 9

An Open Letter to the Mainstream Media c/o the Editor of The New York Times

As a Bucks County native and resident for most of my life, I’m getting tired of seeing the mainstream media tell the wrong story about New Hope, Pennsylvania. And I don’t think I’m the only one.

In response to a recent piece in The New York Times, I wrote a letter to their editor. As yet, the letter remains unrequited, and seeing how their “reporting” seems to have floated across the pond — does the first law of thermodynamics apply to fake news? — I decided that the public record must stand corrected and that I can do my part to make like a pair of orthopedic shoes.

The trouble began for me in late 2022, when Philadelphia Magazine shared what I guess they thought was the real story of New Hope — you know, as a haven for tribute bands — in “Tribute Bands Are Having a Moment and New Hope Is at the Center of it All.” I read the article and thought to myself, “Not sure this is where I’d focus; but hey, there’s no such thing as bad press, right?” Then, I briefly lamented what’s become of Philly Mag and moved on with my life.

But they couldn’t leave it alone.

Almost two years later to the day, they followed up with “The New Face of New Hope: How a Small Bucks County Town Became a Playground for the Rich and Famous,” a totally non-clickbait-y article about celebrities buying up all the land in New Hope, linking out to other bastions of journalistic integrity like People Magazine. (I thought it was weird that they didn’t include the hyperreal Patch piece from a month prior, all about the non-substantiated rumors of Taylor Swift’s purchasing a farm in New Hope; but I guess everyone has to draw their own credibility line somewhere.)

About two months later, at the beginning of this year, The New York Times — not to be left out of the “eyeballs for ad revenue” game — decided to piggyback on that story with more of the same drivel: “How Sleepy Bucks County Became a Rival to the Hamptons.” And just today, I learned that the wrong story seems to have floated across the pond: the Daily Mail UK published “Quaint picturesque town is quietly turning into the new Hamptons as celebs flock there,” citing the NYTimes piece, natch.

I’m getting sick of it. A week or so ago, I wrote a letter to the editor of The New York Times, and in response to the sound of crickets, I decided to share my message on my own:

To the Editor:
On behalf of the good people of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, I’d like to propose a truce with you, the mainstream media: Steven Kurutz’s "How Sleepy Bucks County Became a Rival to the Hamptons" (nytimes.com, Jan. 20) is the last straw.
We’re willing to sign away our rights to the “famous people drive up housing costs in charming town, bumming out locals who say rent is too damn high” narrative -- heck, we’re even willing to throw in full rights to the drowsiness-inducing adjectives you seem to like using when writing that story! – if you agree to give up the right to mention “New Hope” when you do, seeing as you only seem to use the town’s name to tell the same trite story.
Don’t get me wrong: we’re totally open to letting you use our name in a piece about something worth commemorating! How about local legend Chris Harford or heavyweights like Dave Dreiwitz and Scott Metzger, who have gone on to revolutionize improvisational rock in Joe Russo’s Almost Dead (JRAD)? What about Gerald Stern, the late poet and essayist who lived in Lambertville, as your otherwise excellent 2022 obituary neglected to mention?
I’d be more than happy to discuss any Wednesday night at around 10:30pm behind John & Peter’s. (As Amy Yates Wuelfing covers in her excellent oral history, that’s setbreak during the weekly performance by the Invitational, the “Ship of Theseus” style house band that has called Dean Ween and Kidd Funkadelic regular members over the last nearly two decades.)