Thursday, June 01, 2006
What’s in a Name?
The Greater Pittsburgh Visitors and Convention Bureau is no more—it will be called VisitPittsburgh from now on. The Bureau decided to change its name to reflect what it does, namely trying to get visitors to the region, and eliminate what it saw as confusion that it does not actually run the convention center (probably much to its relief).
Recall that the agency that actually does run the convention center—the Sports and Exhibition Authority—changed its name from the Public Auditorium Authority to better reflect its role. Do more people know today what that entity actually does than they did ten years ago?
Whether the change will indeed get more people to visit Pittsburgh remains to be seen. Surely it was not just the name of the Bureau. But there is nothing like a name change to get local officials worked up with optimism.
So will the Bureau’s action entice other local agencies to change their names to better reflect their mission? Here are some suggestions:
The Pittsburgh Stadium Authority should become “The Mayor’s Personal Development Authority” since the Mayor makes all the appointments, it has no stadium to run, and has final say over all development on the North Shore.
The Port Authority should logically become the “Allegheny County Transit Authority” since it has no role in the region’s ports, but could be called “The Authority Where Our Drivers Make Top Wages” or “The Authority where Drivers Run the Show”. Or, to celebrate its embarking on the North Shore Connector and its operation of the Wabash Tunnel “The Authority for Wasteful Spending”.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06152/694750-53.stm
Recall that the agency that actually does run the convention center—the Sports and Exhibition Authority—changed its name from the Public Auditorium Authority to better reflect its role. Do more people know today what that entity actually does than they did ten years ago?
Whether the change will indeed get more people to visit Pittsburgh remains to be seen. Surely it was not just the name of the Bureau. But there is nothing like a name change to get local officials worked up with optimism.
So will the Bureau’s action entice other local agencies to change their names to better reflect their mission? Here are some suggestions:
The Pittsburgh Stadium Authority should become “The Mayor’s Personal Development Authority” since the Mayor makes all the appointments, it has no stadium to run, and has final say over all development on the North Shore.
The Port Authority should logically become the “Allegheny County Transit Authority” since it has no role in the region’s ports, but could be called “The Authority Where Our Drivers Make Top Wages” or “The Authority where Drivers Run the Show”. Or, to celebrate its embarking on the North Shore Connector and its operation of the Wabash Tunnel “The Authority for Wasteful Spending”.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06152/694750-53.stm
