It's done... Stick a Fork In it

It's done...
Originally uploaded by mfophotos.

Last night, I read my last copy of the Ann Arbor News. It was filled with self-congratulatory stories, articles on the history of the paper, and some images of the hard-working people that no longer have a job. No matter what anyone at the News said, or management at the new Ann Arbor.com is saying, I still believe that we, as a community have lost something far greater than just a paper. It was a sense of community (even though in recent months it was obvious that local in-depth news coverage left something to be desired), and connectedness. I still believe that non-local ownership had more to do with closing (just as with Pfizer, and loss of the Arborland AATA bus transfer station) than advertising revenues. The Ann Arbor News is no more, and that is sad.

Next to it, I also had a copy of the new Ann Arbor Journal, a weekly paper. This is only the second issue, so I am interested in seeing how it evolves. The first thing that caught my eye were the less than stellar photos. As someone that appreciates the finer points of photography, there is a big difference in professional photojournalists/news photographers from anyone else shooting without that background and training. It's not as easy as it looks, and techniques aside, it's the eye that good photographers have for a scene that can turn the most mediocre of events into something interesting. I will great miss Leisa Thompson and Lon Horwidel of the AA News. Their photos were distinctive and always well-done. I wish them well at whatever new directions their careers take them.

I will miss my daily paper, and I'll read my comics online. But it's not the same as sitting down at the dining table and sharing the paper with my wife Adrienne, and making comments about what we are both reading. I will not go to AnnArbor.com. It's a matter of principle.