Enough Already!!!

Anyone who's talked to me for more than 10 minutes knows I'm a native of the great state of Michigan. I tell most people I'm from the Detroit area, though I really grew up in Flint, about an hour north of Detroit.

Similarly, anyone who's payed 10 minutes of attention to the news over the last year or two knows it's been a rough couple of decades for my home state. The American auto industry is not the economic juggernaut it once used to be and as a result many people (my wife and I included)are either out of work or have had relocate other parts of the country to find work. GM and Chrysler needed federal government intervention in order to prevent their doors from closing. The former mayor of Detroit Kwame Kilpatrick is now in prison for cheating on his wife with his Chief of Staff, lying about it under oath, and ultimately for being more concerned with lining his pockets with money than working on behalf of his constituency. Once covered by Time Magazine as one of the up and coming leaders in the country, he's now reduced to an orange jumpsuit and a prison number.

Recently, Chis Matthews of NBC (a native to Detroit and graduate of Michigan State University) did an hour long story on NBC Dateline covering the hardships that have fallen upon what used to be the fourth largest city in the country after New York, LA and Chicago. He mainly focused on a failing public school system that has an almost 80% drop out rate. Or how downtrodden the city has become with the events that took place for the car companies. The residents of Detroit were furious with the tone of the show and demanded things like an apology from NBC, a second show focusing on the positive aspects of the city, none of which ever happend.

Today, Ann brought me the updated prime time schedule for ABC this fall. For the moment, Tuesday nights at 10 will feature the latest cop-drama called - you guessed it - "Detroit 1-8-7". Starring Michael Imperioli (Christopher from The Sopranos) and focuses on a homicide cop in the Detroit Police Department. The tag asks "What does it take to be a detective on America's most dangerous streets?"

I can't argue the point that a majority of the tarnished image of Detroit is a self-inflicted wound, but it's hard to not see this as a continuation of mass media's negative portrayal of the city. They've chosen once again to focus on the negative attributes of the city, but rather than speak to any of the positive. I've taken enough of your time, but my next blog will focus on that very thing - the positives happening in Detroit. Here's a site to get you started. www.modeldmedia.com