Media Archives – Page 9 of 9

Stop the presses forever: Ann Arbor News’ demise still drawing headlines

By Newsroom

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August 26, 2009

The demise of the Ann Arbor continues to garner attention across the nation.Excerpt:ANN ARBOR, Michigan -- As she prepared informational packets for school board members 10 days ago, secretary Amy Osinski yelled a question to her boss that probably wouldn't be asked in a city with a daily newspaper."Hey Liz, what should we do about clipping articles now?"Liz Margolis, director of communications for the 16,500-student Ann Arbor school district, was preoccupied with other effects from the local paper ceasing daily publication three weeks earlier. Two of her three teenage sons were competing in the city's annual junior golf tournament, and she could find nary a story or photo anywhere."The Ann Arbor News covered the heck out of it," Margolis said, lamenting the loss of a companion for her boys."Even though they're online all day, not having that sports page at night is a tragedy. My middle son took the sports pages to bed every night and studied the box scores."Across this city of 114,000, residents are coming to grips with the loss of their venerable daily newspaper, replaced by a Web version. Declining ad revenue and a prolonged recession are ravaging the newspaper industry, last year killing such iconic mastheads as Denver's 149-year-old Rocky Mountain News and the 146-year-old Seattle Post-Intelligencer.Read the rest of the story here.

Latest in Media

Veteran reporter starts Chelsea Update webzine

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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August 26, 2009

It's hard for reporters to stop tapping on that keyboard, which explains why Chelsea is now in the webzine game with Chelsea Update.The news website is the baby of Heather Newman, a veteran reporter with 20 years experience in newspapers including a recent stint at the Detroit Free Press. She is the founder, owner, editor and writer for the website that posts news stories on an almost daily basis."It's kind of a tough itch not to scratch," Newman says.Even when she has a full-time job. The Chelsea resident left the Free Press last winter to take a marketing job with the University of Michigan Press, the university's book publisher. She runs Chelsea Update in her spare time, writing stories on nights and weekends. Newman hopes to make the month-old website break even by this time next year. She plans to eventually get the point where she can even hire a freelancer or two and become known as the definitive news source for Chelsea. But now its just a good reason to ask questions."It gives me a good excuse to be officially nosy in my town," Newman says.Source: Heather Newman, owner of Chelsea UpdateWriter: Jon Zemke

Why Ann Arbor is the first city to lose its only daily newspaper

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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July 1, 2009

Sometimes Ann Arbor’s smarts plays against it. In this case they contributed to the impending downfall of The Ann Arbor News.Excerpt:I have been wondering for a year now which American city will be first to lose its only daily newspaper. The results are in, and the dubious distinction goes to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where the Newhouse family's Advance will shutter The Ann Arbor News in late July. Ann Arbor? Home to the huge University of Michigan, birthplace and headquarters of the Borders book chain and a pocket of relative prosperity with only light collateral damage from the auto industry, a literate place, population around 100,000, one might expect to be appreciative of what print newspapers offer. But some of those apparent strengths seem instead to have proven drawbacks -- a curious state of affairs that may provide an unexpected window into what kinds of newspapers are most vulnerable in the brutal business climate of 2009.Read the rest of the story here.

Jimmy Fallon provides local news coverage for Ypsilanti

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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May 13, 2009

Maybe the Michigan film incentives work. Ypsilanti gets some downhome love (and a few laughs) from late night TV comedian Jimmy Fallon. He is in the cast of Whip It, the roller derby film which shot in Ypsi last summer. Watch the video here..

MASTERMIND: Al McWilliams

By Daniel Johnson

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Arts and Culture

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April 22, 2009

Forget Nike, Al McWilliams is really the 'Just Do It' guy. From pro cyclist to all media mini emporer, the founder of Quack! Media has gotten his fingers into every nook and cranny of media content. Music, magazines, movies and marketing are his company's domains and he has no shortage of ideas and opinions about how to make them grow.