Comments on: Milestone: Getting on the Media Bus

By: schoolsmuse

schoolsmuse — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 18:41:42 +0000

I’ve been thinking about this column. This is a very astute analysis. To get to my work by bus would require three buses and a 1/3 mile walk; to bicycle is nearly 12 miles each way (and although I do it occasionally April-October, the bike paths aren’t cleared in the winter and I don’t want to ride those paths in the dark); occasionally I carpool, but most of the time I drive alone. It’s obviously an unsatisfactory situation.

Similarly, I spend much more money now on news than I used to (because after the Ann Arbor News collapsed I started subscribing to the Free Press and the New York Times)–plus public radio and the Chronicle–and yet I feel that my coverage has many more holes in it.

This became very clear to me in my role as the author of the Ann Arbor Schools Musings blog [link: a2schoolsmuse.blogspot.com]. I started the blog shortly before the Ann Arbor News closed. The blog was never intended as comprehensive news coverage [it was mostly meant to give thoughtful analysis and overviews of trends]. Yet people tell me that they appreciate getting news about the schools from me, they pass on “tips” to me, and I feel pressure to provide more “news” (although given constraints on my time that isn’t even always feasible). I’m not alone in this–most of the local bloggers may sometimes provide real news, but they spend more time and space on in-depth analysis and resource linking. And if they’re like me, much of the news that they do find out comes from happenstance–being in the right place at the right time.

In my own life (I’m not speaking about schools now), I now spend much more time trying to find out news from multiple sources than I ever did. Maybe that makes me a more educated consumer, but it is a heckuva lot of work!

And as with defaulting to cars as the easiest transportation method, many of my friends have defaulted to significantly less news than they used to get. How many web sites can I visit in one day?!

The value of the Chronicle’s attention to meetings cannot be underestimated, but as you describe, it is just one niche among many. There are lots of meetings you can’t cover, and also–lots of newsworthy stuff happens outside of meetings. Whether it’s an embezzlement scandal, a dispute about wetlands mitigation, or new state-level rules affecting people with disabilities, I think we are missing a lot of stuff these days, and it is frustrating to me!

By: Dave Askins

Dave Askins — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 18:05:59 +0000

Re: [3] option of being hauled like cargo on a bike trailer

For the record, this was offered and rejected on the morning of the board of commissioners retreat.

By: Phillip Farber

Phillip Farber — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 20:04:55 +0000

Nice column. As someone who travels about town by bike year-round, it did not come as a surprise to read that Ann Arbor is auto-centric but it was a encouraging to hear it said. It remains true in spite all of the bicycle lane striping the city has installed in recent years. From the viewpoint of an alternative mode like walking or cycling it’s disturbingly obvious how much land, energy, time, and resources we devote to cars — the landscape’s appearance is transformed through different eyes. I wonder what the landscape will resemble when regular gasoline hits $5 this summer. Bicycle traffic jams? One can hope.

By: Mary Morgan

Mary Morgan — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 19:30:52 +0000

The link in [9] has been fixed – thanks for alerting us.

By: abc

abc — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 19:09:32 +0000

The link in [9] does not seem to work; references error 404. Not sure whose side has the problem.

By: Vivienne Armentrout

Vivienne Armentrout — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 17:14:42 +0000

Re (8) I, too, use various local blogs and other online publications to try to stay current. Someone would do a service in publishing a directory of news-oriented local blogs. I made an effort with this post [link] in which I updated my blogroll. I'm sure I'm missing some.

By: Jim Rees

Jim Rees — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 16:33:41 +0000

I’ve been to Weber’s several times by bus. Negotiating the Wagner intersection doesn’t help, as Weber’s is on an island, separated from Wagner by the freeway off-ramp. Your only choice is to get off inbound and cross at Gralake. Legally, there is a crosswalk there and cars are required to yield, but in practice they don’t. Some signage and striping would go a long way here.

We are certainly better off with the local government coverage of the Chronicle than we ever were with the AA News. Craigslist is an ok substitute for the classifieds. The Observer does a good job covering retail and restaurant, and does some in-depth and investigative reporting but not enough and only once a month. I also use various local blogs but they aren’t pros so they can be a little thin on fact checking and other little details.

By: Leah Gunn

Leah Gunn — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 21:56:25 +0000

The retreat that the Board of Commissioners had in 2011 was downtown in the Board room. I was not consulted about the location for this year, but if I had been, I would have recommended the Board room again. It’s accessible by public transit, is within walking distance of the near downtown, and is a larger space to accommodate the Commissioners as well as the media and spectators. I’m sorry, Mary, that you were put through such machinations to get there. However, making the effort means that I can refer to your reports to see what REALLY went on! Feel free also to call me any time, as I will have more free time in the near future.

By: Vivienne Armentrout

Vivienne Armentrout — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 19:16:31 +0000

Re (5) According to the route map I consulted, that is still an inbound only bus stop and requires crossing Jackson. I saw the Parklake stop but I assumed that a pedestrian would not cross “Jackson where there’s no crosswalk”. Even for a hale and hearty person, that would be dangerous and for someone who has any disability at all, impossible.

By: Rod Johnson

Rod Johnson — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 18:56:24 +0000

Vivienne, you don’t have to negotiate the Jackson/Wagner intersection–there’s a stop on Jackson at Parklake right across the street from Weber’s.It’s still not ideal, having to cross Jackson where there’s no crosswalk, but that’s the situation Weber’s is in. At least you’re only crossing the eastbound stretch of Jackson there. And if you’re riding the 9, you may be in for bigger adventures than just crossing Jackson–that route can be kind of a zoo.

(Sorry to be focusing on minutiae rather then the larger point of this story.)