Reading morning paper is no longer fun in Michigan
November 02, 2007
I grew up and lived much of my adult life grabbing a Detroit Free Press in the morning. It was almost a ritual to grab the paper and sip some coffee before starting the day. That's changed.
It's not because I read most of my news online these days. It's for a couple of reasons. First, the times here in Michigan are dark and getting darker. Second, newspapers seem to no longer do the enterprise reporting that's needed to understand who's doing what to whom, why they are doing it and what the consequences are. You get that kind of reporting with sports, but not with current affairs.
To show how life is taking on a gritty quality in our state look at this morning's online Detroit Free Press:
- Headlines blare that Chrysler will eliminate one in three jobs. Half of the company's cuts in the hourly work force will come in Michigan.
- A story about how taxable home values in our state's once plush Oakland County have fallen to the point where the reduction in property tax revenue will affect their local governments.
- A story about how state businesses are banding together to stop the state's new sales tax on services because of its negative effect on small business.
That's just a read of the top headlines.
As winter weather gets closer and closer, Michigan looks more and more like a big carp that has been thrown on the river bank and is flopping around trying to catch its breath.