Media on media: Others look at Time's coverage

NPR speaks with Daniel Okrent, the author of Time Magazine's cover story on Detroit. It's a good listen as they talk about right-sizing, Detroit's cultural life, and the possibility of a new beginning.

Listen to the interview here.

For further reading:

Freep columnist Stephen Henderson looks at the Time article from '61 and its newest Detroit piece. The similarities are striking but what is more striking is Detroit's unwillingness to change their course.

Excerpt:

The truth is, we've struggled with leadership around here for at least the last half-century, if not longer.

And that's where we should be embarrassed by the similarities between the 1961 Time story and today's coverage. Never mind that they're mixing up the back-story; the stark results are inarguable.

How can we have learned so little over so long? What does it say about leadership -- or our ability to choose leaders -- that we're facing the same issues today that confronted us before men walked on the moon?

If there's hope in this parallel, it may be found in the end of Time's 1961 article, where Henry Ford II assessed the city.

"Detroit admittedly has its problems," he said. "Intelligent citizen interest and action can solve them. As I see it, the vital need now is for the people themselves to become interested in the community and the government, and to take an active part in their affairs."

Read the entire article here.

Read an editorial blog about Time's coverage by Jeff Gerritt here.

Excerpt from Gerritt's piece:

Truth be told, though, I’m not knocked out by Time’s Assignment Detroit, at least not yet. It feels a little old and misses much of the new, a story told by wide-eyed outsiders who just dropped in and are still finding their way to Bewick and Mack.