In praise of Spokane, Washington: home of the Zags – and much more besides

The Guardian’s piece on Spokane earlier this week led to a wave of criticism – but prompted an outpouring of appreciation for all the city has to offer.
Dear Spokane, Washington. The Guardian owes you an apology.

On Tuesday, in anticipation of March Madness, we at Guardian US published a piece by Cody Delistraty, a writer and journalist who grew up in Spokane and is gunning for the Gonzaga Bulldogs in this year’s tournament. (Go Zags!)

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Cody’s essay was intended to reflect on the success of Gonzaga’s basketball team in their post-industrial surroundings, drawing on his own experience in the place he calls home. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite hit the right note, and it caused a storm among Spokanites.

“The Guardian misses with flawed Spokane story,” wrote Poynter. “Hashtag trolls writer who portrayed Spokane in a negative light,” ran the headline on Q13 Fox. “Fiction in so many ways,” wrote Christian Caple of the Tacoma News Tribune. There were many more.

So. Mea culpa. We ran the piece, we’re responsible for it, and we accept the criticism. Cody wrote it well, and in good faith, and he made some strong judgments, and we liked it, so we lightly edited it and published it. We didn’t expect the storm of criticism, but, looking back, we should have been more judicious in our editing, headline and presentation. We made some factual errors in the piece, but it was perhaps a question of tone: it was never our intention to mock or sneer, and for that we’re sorry.

However, the piece brought Spokane into focus. Its publication prompted some anger and indignation on social media, but there was plenty good-natured ribbing, too – and savvy Spokanites coined the hashtag #CodyComeHome to point out all their town has to offer.