Author Archives: admin

Nobody asked me, but…

I’m feeling left out. None of those political pollsters have called to find out who I plan to vote for in today’s Michigan presidential primary. Darn. But even if I’d gotten the call, chances are I couldn’t have answered. The … Continue reading

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Debbie & Me, or, How to Write a Q & A and Not Get Ripped by the Public Editor

Back when I was still a slave to newspaper deadlines, I got worked up about a thrashing delivered to New York Times Magazine writer Deborah Solomon by the paper’s hired dean of conformity, Public Editor Clark Hoyt. My view on … Continue reading

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Election coverage then and, well, then again

I thought this would not be about the Future of Newspapers. I was looking at the Detroit Free Press headline today, Jan. 9, 2007, that would have us readers believe that “Clinton, McCain win in night of comebacks” with the … Continue reading

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Radiating against the odds

My wife’s eyes narrow or close entirely when I talk about what I call my ham radio hobby, though she thinks it’s an obsession. Her reaction tells me that excessive conversation about radio bores most people. But I can’t help … Continue reading

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The Future of Newspapers, Part 1.1

By Joel Thurtell When I started this blog, I fully intended to turn it into a carbon copy of the Detroit Free Press community newspaper whose pages ran my stories for the past several years. That was before I understood … Continue reading

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Jump-starting us retirees, or, That Joe Hadyn sure was one hyped-up guy!

So it’s a bit after six in the morning, I’m brewing coffee, reading the NY Times and writing up my day’s “to-do” list. When I get to a dozen entries, my head starts to spin. Which one do I start … Continue reading

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Ms. Kitty’s miracle

I thought our story, a true one, about our family’s loss and later recovery of our cat, Putty-Tat, couldn’t be beat. Until I heard Donna MacDonald’s equally true story of what happened to her family’s cat, Ms. Kitty, shortly before … Continue reading

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Tangent what?

It didn’t make sense when I first heard it.Tangent life? As in TangentLife.com, a website written by Deb Madonna, Beth Stewart and Brian West and created by Brian and his Plymouth-based conceptfactory.com public relations and branding firm. It just sounded … Continue reading

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From printing press to blogthink

It’s hard to shake off a way of thinking that goes back to the late middle ages and a Bible printed by a guy named Gutenberg. My work was not about Bibles, but for something like 30 years, it was … Continue reading

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Hoffa story re-runs

E Entertainment plans to run its piece with me pontificating on the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa four more times. Dec. 12 at 8 p.m.Dec. 14 at 9 a.m.Dec. 15 at 1 p.m.  

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