LJWorld.com / Times touts Lawrence as tourist attraction

Archive for Saturday, February 26, 2005

February 26, 2005

Lawrence -- a city with a "lovely campus, many funky shops and a top-notch regional music scene" -- was featured as a destination of choice in Friday's New York Times "Escapes" section.

"This is a huge, huge amount of publicity in a national newspaper," said Judy Billings, executive director of the Lawrence Convention & Visitors Bureau. "You cannot buy it, you truly cannot buy it."

Halcyon House Bed and Breakfast, 1100 Ohio, was recommended in the story as a place to stay -- and by 9:30 a.m. Friday, the business had taken a reservation from Virginia.

"Somebody called us today and booked a room because they saw" the story, said Halcyon owner Constance Wolfe. "That's great."

In the story, Times' writer Seth Sherwood told readers how to spend 36 hours in the city, recommending a stroll down Massachusetts Street, which he called "The Strip of Hip."

Among his other suggestions: breakfast at Milton's Coffee, barbecue at Gran-Daddy's -- "next to a strip club and indifferent to decor" -- and stops at the Lied Center, Dole Center for Politics, the Spencer Museum of Art and Allen Fieldhouse.

The story also credited Lawrence with "perhaps the most vital music scene between Chicago and Denver," directing readers to the Replay Lounge, Jackpot Saloon, the Bottleneck and Granada Theater.

Friday's entire edition of the New York Times was Kansas-centric. The front page featured news of Atty. Gen. Phill Kline's inquisition into abortion clinics and the Op-Ed page featured liberal columnist Paul Krugman's ruminations on "what's the matter with Kansas?"

By 3 p.m. Friday, Krugman's piece was the most e-mailed article of the day at the Times' Web site, with the Lawrence article No. 2. The Kline story came in at No. 10.

6News video: New York Times hearts Lawrence (02-25-05)

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On the Street: What would you have recommended about Lawrence to the New York Times?

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NYTimes.com: In Lawrence, Kan.

Lawrence, at least, was able to bask in the glow of publicity. Billings said officials were trying to figure out the value, in dollars, of the Times' coverage, and suggested the story could even aid the city's economic development efforts.

Susan Henderson, marketing director for the bureau, said that at Times' advertising rates, Lawrence would have had to spend at least $150,000 to buy comparable space in the newspaper. The bureau's annual advertising budget is "right at half that."

"Wow," Billings said. "Fantastic. Can't buy it, cannot buy it."