Marc FellhauerDetroit’s newspapers helped save Detroit from burning to the ground in 1967. A new documentary from Eric Kiska and Michigan Journalism Hall of Famer Tim Kiska asks who will save us now that newspapers have become less dominant?
If you’ve driven past Mound Road and Metro Parkway, you may have noticed that the “Detroit Free Press” and “Detroit News” neon signs have been removed from the printing plant. Longtime Detroit journalist and author Tim Kiska says Detroit’s dailies lost a lot of their influence even before they lost their printing presses. His new documentary “The Power of Newspapers: Detroit in the 1960s” examines the role newspapers played as our most trusted news sources 60 years ago.
Detroit has been a leader in the news business for more than a hundred years. We had the first news radio station. And we’re still one of the few major cities with two daily newspapers. But there was little to no news on television in the 1960s.Tim, Marc, Shawn and ML discuss how networks and local stations got into the news game.
JFK’s assassination played a major role in the evolution of television news. Tim explains.
Shawn asks how Bill Bonds got his start. Tim says he started out as a kick-ass radio reporter. And Bonzo wasn’t the only radio reporter to make a successful transition to TV. Tim and the gang discuss several names you know.
Detroit police claimed a young man they shot to death during the 1967 riot (or, if you prefer, insurrection) was a sniper. The Detroit Free Press not only exposed the that lie, it paid for an autopsy to get to the truth. And that wasn’t the only extraordinary thing the newspapers did to uncover the truth about what happened — and why.
Detroit’s newspapers were so crucial in the 1960s that when they went on strike, then-Mayor Jerry Cavanagh created a “rumor control” operation in city hall to help keep the peace in Detroit. Recent mayors have created large communications operations, but are they more concerned about putting out news — or propaganda?
With governments pumping out news, newfangled nonprofit and politically-oriented newsrooms, social media and influencers all competing for your attention, ML asks Tim “who can we trust to deliver the straight news we need — and deserve?” Marc and Shawn weigh in, before ML offers his answer.
ML’s recent health scare prompts him to urge everyone to pay attention to their bodies and to see a doctor if they have any concerns.
GEEK OF THE WEEK
Senators ignoring problems that threaten our well-being — and our very future — while they try to fix college sports are this week’s geeks.
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