McMahon, Boscov, job loss to take center stage on NBC News

Reading, Pennsylvania, will have its moment in the sun, or maybe twilight, tonight at 6:30 p.m. when NBC Nightly News will give our city its three minutes of fame.

Mayor Tom McMahon puts it all in perspective:

"I'm not sure how they're going to frame it, but he wanted to talk about things like job loss. It was a lot about how smaller cities are going to survive. We'll see how it comes out."

NBC offers a preview:

In Wednesday's segment, Tom Brokaw gives us a snapshot of Reading, PA, which is emblematic of many struggling cities. Not long ago, Reading was humming with factories and bursting with retail stores. Now factories have shut down; jobs are scarce; families are moving to the suburbs. What is the impact of all of this, and are there any solutions for cities like Reading?

The news crew talked to the cops, the school district (fingers crossed, Keith Stamm), and Albie Boscov.

Smokin'!