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How do you keep a century-old brand relevant while the whole world is changing? That’s the challenge that makes The Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association such a perfect laboratory for new ideas.
For our 150th birthday, we created Legacy 150, a year-long campaign driven by media of every kind, and intended to strengthen our position as thought leaders in the community. The response has been outstanding! Thousands of people are digging deep into our archives via our Legacy 150 Interactive Timeline. Click on the image at the left and explore!
Thousands more are listening and subscribing to My BarStory, CMBA’s weekly podcast, where we hear stories of life in the law. We’re creating an oral history as told by leaders past, present, and future. Click the logo to listen.
Young attorneys want to see their sensibilities reflected in the media they consume. So, we experiment! With a goal to be bold and take chances but to respect the values that make CMBA such an important place to belong. Click the images below to see some of our recent reels.
For a sampling of more CMBA video, watch the YouTube playlist below:
HOLLYWOOD BOB
"Hollywood Bob" tells the story of a legendary Cleveland limousine driver. For more than 30 years, Bob was the preferred limo driver for the Hollywood and political elite. Bob’s life at that time was chronicled by the great Cleveland comic writer Harvey Pekar.
Hollywood Bob has always been eccentric, with his black clothing, fingernails and hair. As he tells us his story, we get a personal look at his strange way of seeing the world.
After decades running a successful business, for the first time, Bob is arrested. He faces a series of legal problems all starting from a controversial accusation of child enticement. Social media spreads an incomplete and ultimately false story. The community that once celebrated Bob is now turning on him.
"Hollywood Bob" is a personal profile and a piece of investigative journalism. Completed with a budget under $3,000 and shot with a variety of cameras, including professional digital video cameras, iPhones, GoPros and other cheap gear, the story of Hollywood Bob emerges raw and real.
“Hollywood Bob” was an official selection in the Winter 2020 Docs Without Borders Film Festival and the 2019 Toronto Lift-Off Online Film Festival. Runtime: 52 minutes

News
I love news. I should, I have been in and out of that business throughout my entire career. As I worked through the digital revolution in three different newsrooms, one conclusion became obvious to me. In a world with thousands of competitors all working to attract the same audiences, there is only one path. Deliver clearly superior content. Double down on the fundamentals of great writing, authentic storytelling and rock solid journalism. If media have become too extreme and divisive, we must be the antidote.
News is not a commodity. Build trust through consistent excellence, not by chasing fleeting trends or slavishly following deceptive data.
This was a major step forward at WKYC toward true multiplatform journalism. The opiod epidemic was devastating lives across Ohio, yet the news coverage seemed somehow impersonal. I assembled a diverse team of journalists, some experienced reporters, some who were masters of digital media techniques. We invested their time by embedding our people with EMS services across the region. We told these personal stories of despair, exhaustion and even death online, via social media, and on television.
I was thrilled when this team won the 2018 Edward R. Murrow Award for Excellence in Innovation.
I’m sometimes asked about my most memorable moment in the news business. The discovery of the Cleveland captives alive is definitely one of them. When a news team is trained and disciplined as emergency responders, the result is clearly superior coverage that viewers will notice and choose.
Back that up with aggressive investigative reporting and a trusted team to deliver the news and you have an unbeatable combination.
It’s not all bad news in the newsroom. One favorite moment was when I interviewed Jerry Garcia. As a very big fan who had seen him perform the previous night, I was starstruck. I was instructed to only talk about Jerry’s art so I did something I usually don’t - I followed the rules!