As Donald Trump emerges as the presumptive GOP nominee, squashing the idea of a contested convention, Cleveland is positioned to receive more attention from reporters worldwide.
"We want them to see Public Square," said Jen Kramer of Destination Cleveland, the city's visitor and tourism bureau. "We want them to understand that we have hotels here. And it's because of the demand that this city is now seen as a business destination, as a leisure destination."
If there were a contested convention, the media would have to focus much of their efforts on that angle. Without one, the people who market the city said there is more opportunity for reporters to cover Cleveland, its revitalization and what it has to offer.
"We think we're going to blow people away with what we have to offer here in Cleveland, said Michael Deemer of the Downtown Cleveland Alliance.
The hope, from both Destination Cleveland and Downtown Cleveland Alliance, is that they can change the negative perception of the city from from the outside. Their goal is to get the thousands of reporters, covering the convention, to write, talk, Snapchat and Instagram a lot about Cleveland's gems.
"We're trying to help them understand what we do have here, our world-class art culture and rock n' roll, this idea of sophistication and grit," added Kramer.
As a start, journalist can already get a taste of what Cleveland has to offer through the 2016 Host Committee's media page online.
