We've all been there. A friend is dating some girl (usually with a first name that ends in an i when it should end in a y, i.e. Staci) who makes a big deal about some not-at-all-milestone birthday. And you have to pretend that you are excited about the "O-M-G! Staci turns 31 costume party/bar crawl." Otherwise your friend will never hear the end of it about how his friends ruined Staci's very important 31st birthday.
This brings us to the Detroit News, which is very excited about its 139th birthday. Not 150, not 125, 139.
The News sent themselves a birthday card in form of a story celebrating 139 years of the Detroit News, or rather extolling the virtues of the Detroit News management and ownership team. Because when you think of first-rate businessman, the first thing you probably think of are the swells on the executive floors of America's newspapers.
Besides, where would this town be without regular columns from noted deep-thinker Frank Beckmann? That's a cheap shot that doesn't do justice to the many fine and talented people who have and still do work at the News, sure but no one forced the News to publish that raving simpleton's scribblings. If they're going to hang fruit that low...
Anyway, the real gem here is this nugget, found after several graphs hyping the News' commitment to digital journalism.
"(Newspapers are) a strong part of tradition in this town," said [great-great-grandson of the paper's founder Michael] Scripps, of Bloomfield Hills. "There's nothing like opening that paper and smelling the printer's ink, you know?"
Didn't anyone tell Mikey about the whole digital future of print journalism? Maybe Apple can develop an app that makes the iPad smell like newspaper ink. -- JTW
