Author Archives: hro50ta1

Gift idea: ‘Seydou’s Christmas Tree’

In his book, Seydou’s Christmas Tree, journalist, novelist and JOTR writer Joel Thurtell recalls how he and his wife learned the meaning of Christmas as Peace Corps volunteers living on the parched savanna of Togo, West Africa. Thanks to a young … Continue reading

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UTR named Michigan Notable Book

Up the Rouge! Paddling Detroit’s Hidden River by Joel Thurtell and Patricia Beck has won a Michigan Notable Book Award for 2010. A panel of judges picked 20 books about Michigan topics and Up the Rouge!, published by Wayne State University Press, … Continue reading

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Saving newspapers: A modest proposal

By Joel Thurtell [paypal-donation] I could make a fortune with this idea, except I got it from The New York Times. I’d have to kick something back to them, probably. For once, it might be worth it. It’s amazingly simple, … Continue reading

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Cronies of the Rouge

By Joel Thurtell I was tromping alongside the Rouge River in Detroit last spring with Sally Petrella, public outreach coordinator for the nonprofit Friends of the Rouge. We were looking for junk cars that people have dumped in the river. … Continue reading

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A newspaper vanishes

By Joel Thurtell [paypal-donation] I never saw a copy of the short-lived Detroit Daily Pres I gather it was distributed in some parts of the Detroit area. Maybe because I was in Canada most of last summer, I was slow … Continue reading

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Moilin’ in the deadline sun

By Bud Yardline JOTR Sports Writer [paypal-donation] Ain’t that Luke Warm a cool hand with a column? Only one problem from this side of the press room: He may be a college prof, but he’s still full of you know … Continue reading

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A reporter’s best friend: Extortion

By Luke Warm Professor of Mendacity, University of Munchausen [paypal-donation] There’s a scene in Richard Wright’s 1940 novel, Native Son, where a newspaper reporter lays down the lie that should be a tool in every journalist’s kit. I thought of this … Continue reading

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Of pizzas, pools and prosecutors: or, how the ‘Free’ Press (once again) muzzled itself

The Wall Street Journal‘s revelation that my onetime employer, The Detroit [Self-Styled] Free Press, had invited advertisers to participate in the reporting and editing process came as no surprise to me. I worked at the Free Press 23 years if … Continue reading

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Mattyville

By Joel Thurtell [paypal-donation] They ought to call it “Mattyville.” A proper place name might help focus the brains of the “protesters” who were kicked out of a recent Windsor City Council meeting for failing to restrain their emotions about a … Continue reading

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Unmeasuring the Rouge

The New York Times did a bang-up job today, November 23, 2009, reporting on hazardous pollution created by municipal sewer systems. Glad they found the story. This kind of national attention to a serious problem that is getting worse is … Continue reading

Posted in Adventures on the Rouge, Bad government | 3 Comments