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The letter, delivered to The York Dispatch/Sunday News yesterday, accuses the newspapers of coverage that is "entirely excessive as well as irresponsible."
Addressed to Stan Hough, editor and publisher of the Dispatch/Sunday News, and Dennis Hetzel, editor and publisher of the York Daily Record, the letter indicates copies were sent to Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge and top officials with the companies that own each newspaper.
"The inflammatory approach which has characterized the newspaper coverage threatens to undo the selfless efforts of many hundreds of citizens from all over the community who over the past 30 years have managed to heal the social wounds resulting from the riots," the letter reads.
It warns the newspapers that "by continuing to treat events in an inflammatory manner, you risk causing damage to life, limb and property, as well as seriously impacting the reputation and economic well-being of the community."
The words "not for publication" appear at the top of the letter. York County Chamber of Commerce president Thomas Donley said the letter-writers just wanted to start a dialogue with the newspapers.
He said Louis Appell Jr., president and chief executive officer of Susquehanna Pfaltzgraff, was the author of the letter. Reached at home, Appell would not comment.
"We considered publishing the letter in its entirety, but, frankly, since we can't verify who the author is, it's tough to publish," Hough said.
"We don't print letters to the editor when it reads, 'not for publication.' It goes in the same bin as an anonymous letter," Hough said. "We print letters where people sign their name and stand by their opinions without qualifications."
Some signers declined to comment, saying the letter spoke for itself.
Others chastised both newspapers for what they called redundant coverage of negative events more than three decades old.
Daniel G. Meckley III, the 78-year-old retired CEO of True Temper Inc. and director of York Murals Inc., said he's been mulling the news coverage for several weeks.
"The articles went on and on and on about the whole episode of the riot era," Meckley said. "It went way beyond what was constructive in trying to solve the problem."
Meckley, a Spring Garden Township resident, said the letter put his feelings to words, that coverage of the nine men charged in the death of Lillie Belle Allen -- a 27-year-old mother of two who was killed July 21, 1969 -- has been excessive.
Letter signer Floyd Warner, president of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, called the coverage a "fixation" that focuses on a "slice of life, but not the whole life of the community."
"When you...play it again and again and again, it has a tendency to distort the truth," he said. "The focus is on a thread, not the fabric of the cloth."
Meckley and others who signed the letter pointed out improvements in the city, such as economic recovery downtown as well as more vibrant community organizations, including Crispus Attucks Association, The South George Street Community Partnership, the YMCA and the YWCA. Representatives of all four organizations were among the signers of the letter.
Letter signer Robert J. Labriola, senior warden of The Episcopal Church of St. John the Baptist in the city, said he worries that national coverage of the arrests and the impending grand jury investigation into the death of rookie York City Police Officer Henry C. Schaad -- who was shot July 18, 1969, and died 14 days later -- will erode the city's economic base and stop new investors and residents from coming here.
He said he also believes Mayor Charles H. Robertson, who last month was charged in Allen's death and has since withdrawn from the November election, has been tried in the press.
"There is so much negativity," Labriola said.
Robert Pullo, president of Waypoint Bank, said he feels the news coverage has been "on the edge of sensationalism."
National spotlight: Since the arrest of the mayor, York has attracted national attention; the mayor was interviewed on CNN and the nationally televised program Good Morning America, among others.
National media attention and the negative publicity it sheds on the city is a concern cited by many signers of the letter, who said it would discourage tourism.
The letter states, "We believe that in the guise of covering the news, the local papers have done and are doing a grave disservice to the community. We fear that this unrelenting attention to the tragedies of 32 years ago, if continued, will have grave social consequences which have already begun to be manifested."
"The national media is calling us hicks," said letter signer Jerri Zimmerman, YWCA board member. "Who in the world wants to see this?"
Objections: Some who were shown the letter over the past week said they refused to sign it.
State Rep. Beverly Mackereth, R-Spring Grove, said she was faxed a copy of the letter from Appell's office. However, she said she was never asked to sign it and would not do so.
"I do have some concerns about the way York County is being portrayed, but I would not say my concern is focused on the newspapers," Mackereth said.
U.S. Rep. Todd Platts, R-Springettsbury, declined a request to sign the letter.
"I respect everyone has the right to their opinions, and I hope they would respect that I disagree, though I do believe it's a sensitive matter," Platts said.
York City Councilman Ray Crenshaw, who lost to Robertson by 125 votes in the May 15 primary, said he received a faxed copy, with no return number listed.
He did not sign it, he said, and would not even if he had been provided with a return fax number.
Betty Schonauer, Republican candidate for mayor of York, also declined a request -- she would not say from whom -- to sign it.
"I think this particular kind of letter, with this kind of language, is exactly the kind of thing that excites people," she said.
Although she has not agreed with all the newspaper coverage, Schonauer said none of it has been reckless or irresponsible.
"I really don't think it is in the best interest of the community to in any way interfere with a free press," she said.
Councilman Wm. Lee Smallwood took issue with the letter's warnings.
"I don't believe that (newspaper) coverage has caused any kinds of divisions," Smallwood said. "There is no racial disharmony in the community at all."
Almost two weeks ago, several hundred stickers for the neo-Nazi organization National Alliance were discovered posted downtown. While rumors of possible involvement by other hate groups have circulated, there has been no other activity.
Elected officials: Still, more than a dozen current and former elected officials are among the signers of the letter, including all three York County Commissioners and three members of York City Council.
Commissioner Shirley Glass, a Democrat, said she signed the letter because of a growing concern that the riot story was being included in all stories about the city. "It's unfair that everything ties back to that, and that is not going to help the community. It just seems that every article you read, if it's about the city, it somehow ties back to the mayor," Glass said.
"The way the (newspaper) coverage is being done is what's causing problems." said York City Council President Carol Downs Brady, a Robertson supporter.
"You never know," County Commissioner James Donahue, a Republican, said, when asked about the potential for racial strife from the news coverage. "As long as it remains on the front page, when it's just repeating the same things over and over again, it keeps peoples' emotions up."
Donley said: "We're at a vulnerable time in the community and when outside agitators come in, or if social unrest occurs, then the newspaper certainly bears some of the responsibility."
Former U.S. Rep. William Goodling signed the letter, saying it "seemed to touch on the same concerns I had. I want to make sure that, through the constant reporting, we don't set the stage for a repeat (of the riots)."
Also among the signers were a number several prominent religious leaders, volunteers for social organizations and other community activists.
Rabbi Irwin Goldenberg, of Temple Beth Israel, said he signed the letter, with a caveat.
The letter said York has been able to heal the wounds of the past. Goldenberg, whose synagogue has been subjected to racist vandalism in the past, told Appell he would be more comfortable with "most" of the wounds of the past.
Newspapers respond: Hough of the Dispatch/Sunday News said characterizations in the letter saddened him, but he considered it as he would any correspondence the paper receives, whether critical or supportive of coverage. The letter accuses both newspapers of "annual pot-stirring with the resultant fertilization seeds of social unrest."
Hough said writers and signers of the correspondence apparently don't trust the public with the truth or think they can handle all of the information.
"My impression is that it was an attempt to intimidate the newspaper," he said. "Why else would they send a letter to Gov. Ridge or to the owners of this newspaper?"
"We've reported this fairly, thoroughly, with an understanding of the context in which these events occurred. And we will continue to do so," he said.
In a prepared statement, the Daily Record's Hetzel said, "No one cares more about York than these community leaders" and that he is "trying to take the letter in a spirit of constructive criticism."
However, he said, "The signers of this letter, who are so concerned about negativity, might want to locate the real source of this concern. The negativity isn't coming from the media, it's mainly coming from the Robertson camp and some elements of the business community."
Fred Uffelman, president of York Newspaper Co., said he is concerned that the letter is not intended for publication.
"It indicates to me that veiled or otherwise, this appears to be an attempt to control the discussion of the events that took place at that time. Obviously, for those of us in the newspaper business, that's scary."
Joseph Zerbey, former president of the York Newspaper Co. who moved earlier this year to Utah for a similar job, criticized writers and signers of the letter for requesting "secrecy."
Zerbey suggested that rather than finger pointing and trying to manage newsrooms, writers and signers of the letter should put energy toward understanding, healing and preventing what fueled the discord then and now.
He also noted that the retrospective stories in the Dispatch/Sunday News marking the 30th anniversary of the riots generated enough information for the district attorney to convince a judge to convene a grand jury, which led to nine arrests, so far.
"Now they have the opportunity to prove their innocence," Zerbey wrote about those charged. "It seems to me the system is working."
Calls to the governor's office were not returned yesterday.
