Monthly Archives: January 2009

Gannett’s unpaid furloughs

Posted on January 14, 2009 by admin

This just in: Gannett has ordered one-week unpaid furloughs at all of its papers except, I’m told, at the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News. The Detroit exemptions are due to those papers’ plans to reduce print publication to three … Continue reading →

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My friend Maureen

Posted on January 13, 2009 by admin

Boy, Dear Diary, I was like blown away by that “sweet,” you know, column by my old pal Maureen of the Times. Wasn’t that a nice, sort of, column she wrote about my trying to like get anointed to be … Continue reading →

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Mitch: “This is my city”

Posted on January 11, 2009 by admin

By Joel Thurtell I saw the small-capital-letter headline in today’s (January 12, 2009) Detroit Free Press, “MITCH SENDS A MESSAGE FROM DETROIT” followed by the big red lower-case head, “We’re not gum on America’s shoe.” I wondered where he REALLY … Continue reading →

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Muni ripoffs — same old same old

Posted on January 9, 2009 by admin

By Joel Thurtell I was perplexed this morning, January 9, 2009,  as I read a New York Times story claiming to offer “a rare glimpse into a long-simmering investigation of…wrongdoing throughout the municipal bond business.” The practice of bond sales … Continue reading →

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Diary of Queen Caroline 2.0

Posted on January 8, 2009 by admin

Oh, Dear Diary, Those canaille are at it again, you know, those gosh-darn newspapers, ripping into me as if I were some lowly, like, public servant. All because I didn’t, like, fill out a silly form. You know, the one … Continue reading →

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Another Free Press first: Lay off

Posted on January 6, 2009 by admin

By Joel Thurtell Lookit what came in my email today — a memo, ostensibly from Detroit Free Press Editor Paul Anger — notifying the staff of a staff position that’s been erased. Which means, if this note is not a … Continue reading →

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“Han shot first,” and all that

Posted on January 4, 2009 by admin

By Joel Thurtell Some blaster-totin’ goon’s got the drop on you, threatening to blow your brains out on the spot. No help in sight. Your back is to the wall. What do you do? Well, if you’re Han Solo, with … Continue reading →

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The new deep pockets

Posted on January 2, 2009 by admin

By Joel Thurtell Time was when government officials would whine that citizens’ lawsuits were busting their budgets, that litigants were aiming at the perceived money-lined deep pockets of governments. Now it’s the governments, strapped for cash in a lousy economy … Continue reading →

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