Staff Editorial: 'Real World' and Philly's problem

The Real World has come and gone, and once again, the city of Philadelphia has responded to a golden opportunity with a kick in the teeth.

The loss of MTV's popular reality television show is important -- not just as a self-contained event, but also because of what it represents. It is indicative of a larger problem that this city struggles with: a culture that keeps it from achieving its potential and growing in terms of population, employment and prestige. All too often, when outside businesses look at Philadelphia, they see an atmosphere that is toxic and just move on to New York or Washington, D.C.

Part of the blame for this culture lies with the unions. While unions are absolutely a necessary and important defender of working people, in this city they simply go too far. Companies need to have the option to employ non-union workers from time to time; according to The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Real World had used non-union labor in 13 other cities, including New York and Chicago, without a problem. By refusing to think about the big picture, local unions, particularly the teamsters, have deprived this city of an opportunity to grow.

However, the city government also bears some responsibility. The city government has not been successful at retaining college graduates to work in the city or bringing in outside businesses and jobs, or even in retaining its citizens. Certainly, Mayor Street's downplaying of the incident indicates that his administration may be a little out of touch and in denial about the trouble that this city is in. According to the 1997 Census, Philadelphia lost more people than any other city in America during the 1990s; at the current rate, its population will fall below 1 million within 20 years.

Having a season of The Real World in Philadelphia would have given the city a priceless amount of publicity completely free of charge. The Real World brings with it a massive audience of 12- to 34-year-olds, who watch television and respond in droves; when the WB's Felicity debuted, applications to New York University tripled. The Real World could have raised this city's profile and contributed to a desperately needed revitalization of people, jobs and culture.

This was not about attaining some intangible, elusive "cool factor"; this was about enjoying the very real effects that the show would have had on this city. Now, Philadelphia residents will have the pleasure of watching a different city reap those rewards.

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