The Buffalo News Owes Buffalo’s Italian Community an Apology

On what is one of the holiest days for the italians in WNY, The Buffalo News prints a cover story about whether the Mafia in Buffalo, NY is ‘all but dead’.

Seriously?  364 days of the year they had to print what is a ridiculous story to begin with  and they chose St. Joseph’s Day?

In 2007, a documentary produced by WNYmedia Network called “La Terra Promessa” touched a bit on the way the Buffalo News portrayed immigrants from Italy dating back to the early 1900’s.

The Mafia has always been a touchy subject to Italians. It’s a stereotype that to this day, Italians can’t seem to shake.

Here’s a look back ( see video above ) from our 2007 Documentary film “La Terra Promessa” that touched briefly on the media, the stereotypes of Italian immigrants in the early 1900’s, the extreme media bias by the Buffalo News (at the time) and how the perception of the mafia still affects Italian americans in #Buffalo to this very day.

The Buffalo News owes the entire Italian Community in Buffalo an apology for the insensitivity of posting this story on all days St. Joseph’s Day and for spitting on their heritage during what is one of the most celebrated days in Italian American culture.

Shame on them.

UPDATE: The following statement is from the Italian American Societies of WNY President Peter LoJocano:

The insensitivity of the Buffalo News has reached an all new low for the Italian-American community. On the morning of St Joseph’s Day – March 19th – a day revered by Italians, Italian-Americans and particularly Sicilian-Americans in which we honor his intercession, relieving a devastating drought in Sicily (from several centuries ago) and the rich cultural tradition of St Joseph Tables all throughout WNY, we are slapped in the face with a huge headline and front page article about the Buffalo Mafia and ZERO mention of our real cultural traditions on this holiday whatsoever. It is not ok to let this go unnoticed. It is hard for me to believe that the timing of the publication of this article was accidental. This is a direct insult to our community and we will not take it lightly. I encourage fellow Italian-Americans and ALL to let the editorial board of the News know that this is unacceptable for ANY ethnicity. We are a diverse city and all of our cultures deserve respect and sensitivity to proper news coverage of our cultural events. Stay tuned…..