Some thoughts on the change in news delivery in Detroit

The major change in news delivery in the Detroit market with the announcement by the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News on the shift to online represents a sea change.

Across the nation the delivery model is certainly in flux. Ad revenues have dropped, circulation has declined. Some newspapers are losing money, others are not in the red but not as profitable as in the past worrying and irritating investors, and that has led to forced sales, and this downward spiral

As the home state of Dr. Kevorkian, we do know a lot about assisted suicide, and news companies across the country have been doing a very good job of killing themselves off. With buyouts, layoffs and positions remaining unfilled, the content has shrunk, the stories being covered (with the exception of the terrific job the Freep has done on the Detroit mayor and the $9M settlement) barely skim the surface of the news in the area. The editors and reporters with the experience and institutional memory of stories and background are now gone or soon to be leaving.

The delivery model is changing. The digital natives and immigrants are getting their news from a variety of sources and not through home pages of newspapers or news stations. They are going through aggregators.

I don’t have any answers. I do think the technology has not caught up with the need for change in the industry. In some of the Harry Potter flicks, the folks in the train are reading newspapers that constantly change. I foresee something like that in the future. MIT has already developed e-ink and Esquire used it on its October 2008 cover. Amazon’s Kindle is a first generation prototype of what may be coming down the road in a flatter, slightly larger, more “newspapery” looking device. I am keeping my fingers crossed. I also think more and more info will migrate to cell phones.

Well known “news brands” will continue to disappear (think Knight and more newspapers), but a new group of locally produced sites will take over some of the functions of our mile wide and inch deep legacy. Breaking significant news events, national tragedies or disasters, etc. may help solidify these new ventures as go-to place for news much like CNN earned credibility during Gulf I.

I am worried about the journalism as this evolves and how long the evolution/revolution takes. If you neuter and defang the watchdog, what happens to the nation? Just some ruminations on a snowy afternoon.

J-School Scholarship Winners Announced

More than $39,000 in the first wave of scholarship money was awarded to J-School majors for the upcoming 2009 calendar year. We anticipate another $40,000 in scholarship awards will be announced in spring term 2009.

Awards ranged from $4,000 to $500. Additional scholarship money will be distributed later in the Spring 2009 terms for use in the summer and fall terms.

Award winners are:

Albert A. Applegate Scholarship
Amanda Peterka and Jennifer Orlando

Len Barnes AAA of Michigan Scholarship
Gordon Shelter

Joe Fall/Detroit News Scholarship
Michael Caples

Bob Gross Scholarship
Erica Larson

Kyle C. Kerbawy Scholarship
Miron Varhouhakis

W. Cameron Meyers Scholarship
Kelly House

Larry P. Miller Scholarship
Jordan Barnes

Mary Elizabeth Mangner Neil Scholarship
Abby Lubbers

Robert Popa Scholarship
Matt Cimitile
Joey Nowak

Gordon Sabine Scholarship
Ursula Zerilli

Stan Soffin Scholarship
Jessica Lipowski

Susan Goldberg Scholarship
Jessica Lipowski

Victor G. Spaniolo Scholarship
Kristen Daum

Ken Winter Scholarship
Matthew Mikus

Congratulations to all our scholarship winners and thank you to our alumni and donors who fund these scholarships.

Other scholarships will be awarded in the spring 2009 term including the full tuition Mary Adelaide Gardner Scholarship for students who will be seniors in the Fall 2009-Spring 2010. Watch for announcements to apply for this scholarship.

Also journalism majors and any other major within the College of Communication Arts and Sciences are encouraged to enter the Walter and Syrena Howell Essay Contest for a $1,000 prize and a $3,000 scholarship. Only one will be awarded for a 2,500 word essay. This year’s topic for the 2,500 word essay is about bias and its impact in editorial cartoons.

“Editorial cartoons have been a part of daily newspapers’ election coverage for decades, and these caricatures of candidates produce biased messages that can be construed as propaganda. How did this and/or other forms of comedy assist in or combat the circulation of propaganda during the 2008 presidential season? Analyze and cite examples from print and broadcast media (i.e. daily newspapers, Saturday Night Live, the Daily Show, the Colbert Report, late night talk shows, etc.).” The deadline for entry is 5 p.m. EST, Friday, January 23 in 305 Com Arts.

Take some time over the holiday break to research and write this essay. We only had five entries last year for $4,000!!! In these lean economic times, we should be swamped with entries.

Scholarship winners notified, Neal Shine Lecture Online

Stay tuned for upcoming events next year including the Walter and Syrena Howell Essay Contest on media bias. The winning essay writer will receive a $1,000 award and a $3,000 scholarship. In addition, next fall’s seniors must apply in the spring for a fully paid year of tuition from the Mary Adelaide Gardner Trust Fund. Check your email, the website and the bulletin boards for more information.

If you missed the Neal Shine Ethics Lecture on November 20, you can view the entire lecture on SpartanTV . Under the monitor on the screen click "On Demand", then scroll down to "Special Lectures." Click on the and select the "Neal Shine Lecture."

M.L. Elrick, Jim Schaefer and Brian Kaufman of the Detroit Free Press did a superb job detailing their now year long effort covering the Detroit Mayoral scandal. The most poignant moment came at the beginning of the lecture when all three stood up to announce they were each wearing one of the late, great Neal Shine’s blazers. Elrick, wearing a remarkable green suit coat (and we LOVE green around here), teased Neal’s wife Phyllis about the color. Since the lecture, the former Detroit mayor's chief of staff has now also plead guilty and faces jail time and restitution just like the former Mayor. Good solid watchdog journalism at its best.

Keeping that kind of journalism is so important and increasingly rare what with buyouts, layoffs, staff recutions, consolidations, sales and mergers of media companies. It's a real shake-up of the news industry. This is also a time for tremednous opportunity for students in the J-School and recent graduates. You will be leaders changing the industry.

If you applied for a scholarship, stay tuned. Professor Dickerson has notified the winners.The Outreach Committee was hard at work going through applications this afternoon. Decision will be announced soon—in time to help pay for some of next term’s tuition costs. Remember you must turn in a written thank you note to the donor before any scholarship money is released.

Good luck on exams and good luck to all of us on the faculty who will be grading them.

The end is really near!

It’s here. The final week of the term with commencement Friday and Saturday and finals the following week.

Where did the term go?? I wrapped up my Computer Assisted Reporting class tonight. We packed a lot of spreadsheet, database and mapping into this advanced level reporting course. I hope the students had as much fun as I did.

The Neal Shine Ethics Lecture on November 20 was amazing. M.L. Elrick, Jim Schaefer and Brian Kaufman of the Detroit Free Press did an outstanding job detailing their now year long effort covering the Detroit Mayoral scandal. The most poignant moment came at the beginning of the lecture when all three stood up to announce they were each wearing one of the late, great Neal Shine’s blazers. Elrick, wearing a remarkable green suit coat (and we LOVE green around here), teased Neal’s wife Phyllis about the color.

It was a terrific evening. The dinner after the lecture allowed students Kristen Daum and Craig Trudell to get to know the three journalists.

If you applied for a scholarship, stay tuned. The Outreach Committee was hard at work going through applications this afternoon. Decision will be announced soon—in time to help pay for some of next term’s tuition costs.

Good luck on exams, next week and good luck to all of us on the faculty who will be grading them.

Stay tuned for upcoming events next year including the Walter and Syrena Howell Essay Contest on media bias. The winning essay writer will receive a $1,000 award and a $3,000 scholarship. In addition, next fall’s seniors must apply in the spring for a fully paid year of tuition from the Mary Adelaide Gardner Trust Fund. Check your email, the website and the bulletin boards for more information.