Category Archives: future of newspapers

More equal than others

I was still trying to digest Eric Alterman’s long, thoughtful article in the March 31, 2008 New Yorker about the demise of American newspapers when I noticed the March 29, 2008 Detroit Free Press Page One story from Mackinac Island. … Continue reading

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Journalism or ??

I can’t praise the Detroit Free Press enough for the groundbreaking journalism the paper has done on Kwamegate. True, the paper has been attacked by some, including Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick himself, who have played the card of racism or asserted … Continue reading

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A lift for business

Boy, what a lift to business in the March 27 Detroit Free Press. The Chamber of Commerce must have loved the Page One story (“American Axle chief: Jobs can be moved; union warned of outsourcing”). Above the fold in lead … Continue reading

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Hoyt on his own petard

Afraid I’m going to ask Clark Hoyt, public editor of the New York Times, for a correction to a Times story. But first, I have a question: How often has Columbia University bestowed its coveted Pulitzer Prize for national news … Continue reading

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How many reporters does it take…

No, not to screw in a light bulb. I think most reporters are capable of accomplishing that chore without much help. But how many does it take to cover a political candidate? Let me put it differently — did we … Continue reading

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A TRUE ethics policy

“Ride hard, shoot straight and speak the shining truth.” Why would I post a one-line, nine-word bromide that is open to a wide range of interpretation and claim it as my blog’s ethics policy? Because it contains three elements missing … Continue reading

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Retirees of the world, unite…

I thought I’d heard every kind of low, sleazy corporate scheme for robbing workers, but then I opened my Saturday, March 22, 2008 Detroit Free Press and discovered a new angle on business banditry. Can you believe the gall of … Continue reading

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A thimble-full

A couple decades ago, an editor at the Detroit Free Press was sent to a seminar on ethics in journalism. When he returned, someone remarked approvingly on the cause of his absence, journalistic ethics being a sacrosanct concept heavy on … Continue reading

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A PAPER paper? How nuts is that?

Everybody knows newspapers are dead. Conventional wisdom says if the paper newspaper isn’t dead yet, it will be a goner soon, lying supine in the ultimate newspaper morgue. Who would deny it? Why, it’s well-known that newspaper circulation is down, … Continue reading

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The Future of Newspapers, 2.0

Here is the speech I gave on Saturday, Feb. 16 at the Oakwood Common Senior Residence in Dearborn on “The Future of Newspapers”: There are three themes to my talk this afternoon. First, although I’ve made my living as a … Continue reading

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