FLINT, MI -- There's a battle Pat Corfman fights with the rest of the world.

She's the director of marketing and public relations coordinator for Bishop Airport, and part of her job is getting people--and airlines--to fly into Flint.

And convincing other airlines that's a good idea, she said, can be a challenge because Flint, depending on the articles you read, has been called the most dangerous, the most miserable, and, most recently, most apocalyptic cities.

"I’ve fielded that a lot with the Michael Moore movie ("Roger & Me"). Aviation planners have heard of that movie and they want to know. is that true, is it not true," she said. "They have brought up the most dangerous city list. ...We do, on the national level, try to keep an eye on those (stories)."

She may now have to deal with the most recent story, published Dec. 26 on Policymic.com -- or maybe not, because this time the Flint community and the world at large

.

Aside from a slew of rebuttals on Facebook posts and blogs of locals, the media at large got on board as well. Websites like Gawker and even the UK's

have written articles tearing down the 'apocalyptic' story.

Corfman said that once people come to Flint, they understand there's more the area than blight and crime.

"Now, the (airlines) that actually fly into Flint, it’s kind of a running joke," she said. "When they see those things, they know it’s not the whole story."

But for the rest of the world that doesn't come to Flint, it's hard to tell whether what will stick in people's minds is the story itself, or the world's reaction.

Mark Lantz know a thing or two about community branding. He was part of the team that created the Pure Michigan campaign for the state. In fact, he said, the words "Pure Michigan," came from him. About a year ago he was brought on board to help the Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce rebrand their own company--as well as the surrounding area.

He knew what he was up against.

He said that Flint's reputation as a dangerous place came up in meetings, but they still wanted the name front and center when they came forth with the new name for the organization, Flint & Gensee Regional Chamber of Commerce, because it's better to have some name recognition to build on than none at all.

Still, there are those stories, which he said Flint will always have to deal with.

"It’s not the first and it won’t be the last. It’s going to be a good long time before stuff like that goes away," he said.

What's important, he said, for the community, is looking at those moments as opportunities, and he said he's happy with how the community reacted.

"In the social media world, what I thought was great about it was the social media world blew up on it," he said. "You can’t let these things pass. You have to jump on it."

In the long run, however, he said news stories about cities -- whether they tout the areas gems or describe them as apocalyptic -- are very small pieces of a much larger puzzle.

"It takes time, money, and the right idea," to change the way the world sees Flint, he said.

So what, in the long run, will the world remember this time?

According to Lantz: Almost nothing.

"I think six months form now there won’t be much lingering impact," he said. "There will be other stories."

Scott Atkinson is an entertainment reporter for the Flint Journal and can be reached at 810-262-0216 or at satkins1@mlive.com. You can also follow Scott on

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