Media

Video: 30 Years Ago, ABC Ran a Report on Detroit That Coleman Young Hated

January 01, 2021, 12:52 AM by  Allan Lengel


Mayor Coleman A. Young on ABC's "Primetime Live" in 1990.

It's been 30 years since an ABC special report portrayed Detroit in agony,  plagued by crime, inundated by fires, struggling with poverty.

“You come here and you get the feeling, this is what the end of the road looks like," said network reporter Judd Rose, talking about blight and white flight. Other cities needed to look at Detroit, he suggested, “and wonder, could it happen here?” 

A defensive Mayor Coleman A. Young blasted the reporter during an interview for the November 1990 program, swearing and complaining he was out to do a hatchet job. 

Afterwards, WXYZ anchor Bill Bonds hosted a show talking about the episode. Young, who hated the ABC report, declined to participate, but press secretary Robert Berg told Bonds that the "Primetime Live" show should have been titled "Primetime Lies." Community members complained that that the show was unbalanced, racist and overlooked the good in the city.

Its producer was Ti-Hua Chang, a former reporter at WJBK in Detroit (now Fox 2 News).

A lot has changed in 30 years. The city has experienced a comeback in downtown, Midtown, Corktown and selective neighborhoods, although all of that seems paused during the pandemic. Still, like three decades ago, the city battles serious problems -- crime, poverty, joblessness and education. And Detroiters remain sensitive about negative publicity. 

Despite the downside, the narrative in the media has certainly improved. For a long time, it seemed the national media was only interested in crime-related stories in Detroit. Now the city has achieved a certain hip status and restaurants are written up in The New York Times and win national awards. 

"I'd love to be able to say that I came from Detroit," the late Anthony Bourdain told the Detroit Free Press in 2016. "That would be like the coolest thing I could ever say."

Below is the show hosted by the late Bill Bonds. As the old saying goes, It always helps to see where we've been to figure out where we're going. Sadly, many of the people in the 1990 report have passed away, including the reporter, Young, Berg and Bonds.



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