Dateline: Dud or Descriptive?

I think that the Coon thing was a bit snarky.

I know that my neighbor's wife would strangle me if I suggested eating the one that perches outside her window.

Bill

Do you realy think that Davy Crockett hats will return in style?

I personally couldn't believe the raccoon thing either - where the segment was placed, it made it seem as if he was doing it out of necessity not for recreation, but the interview never said either way. I also thought that the interview with Sam Riddle (and the amount of air time that was allotted to it) was just about as ridiculous and unnecessary as the raccoon hunting. They interviewed him for the same amount of time as Mayor Bing and devoted more air time to him than to the entire "hope" segment at the end (which was maybe 4 minutes long?)

A lot of my anger didn't stem from the negative facts or imagery, but from the lack of positive coverage. Hansen would state a statistic then wouldn't show or say OR allow his interviewers to say what is being done to change it (I get into more detail here: http://tinyurl.com/y6n2ydh) - I mean they really went out of their way to leave some facts out that might have demonstrated a little more "hope."

I thought it was interesting/sad that they briefly interviewed two elderly gentlemen who remembered Detroit back in its heyday, but was disappointed that they didn't make an effort to interview the next generation of Detroiters (20-30 somethings) and ask them why they choose to stay in Detroit and what they like about the city/what makes the city unique to them. A lot of young people are doing really great things in the city. I'm really inspired by the "I Am Young Detroit" movement (www.iamyoungdetroit.com), where they feature a young entrepreneur in Detroit each month.

It's sad and frustrating that Dateline didn't make more of an effort to make the special more neutral. It seemed as if they made up their mind that Detroit was "hopeless" before they even started filming.

Also, I'd love to see the full interviews with Mayor Bing and Police Chief Evans to see what was edited.

It sucked and I hope this tired 'drive by' theme ends with TIME Assignment as well..

I highly recommend everyone read Ron Scott's Blog today..It is one of the best narratives on Detroit anywhere..

Time Assignment would do its readers a great service by printing Ron's entire commentary on this site.

Those who live and/or work in the city are fully aware of the problems portrayed on Dateline and learned little or nothing new from watching it. Unfortunately, journalism provides only limited insight into the scope and underlying causes of social problems and even less insight into potential policy options to address those problems. Other cities face problems similar to Detroit, although often not of the same magnitude. It would be useful to reflect on how other cities have dealt with similar problems and achieved some success. For example, Baltimore and a number of other cities have improved the operations of their government through use of performance measurement and management practices.

I saw the notice of the Dateline Report on this blog. Therefore, I made sure to watch. They did not leave us with a good outlook for the future of Detroit.
I was born and raised in Detroit and have a special love for the city. My heart aches for all that is going wrong in Detroit. Between the schools and the houses and the neglect, I still see hope for Detroit because there are people like Cordet helping the children. God Bless her.
I got a good Public School Education. WHY is the adult population uneduacated? They must have dropped out instead of graduating. Now with all the factory jobs gone, so is their income.
The tearing down of homes and schools is not the final solution. Don't get in a hurry to tear down all the houses, Mayor Bing. Surely some of the materials in the houses can be reused. Perhaps given to needy Detroiters to help repair their own homes.
The houses in the real bad sections still belong to real people living in the homes. Perhaps helping these people relocate and repair homes in a better part of Detroit would be helpful. You could allow them to take what they want from the house they are leaving. That would cut down repair cost for supplies like doors, windows even light switches and other misc supplies . With a little help this plan could work. Leaving Detroit with less gaps and more filled neighborhoods. We don't want a Detroit that looks like bombed out city. That's what your plan sounds like right now. Do a little at a time.
SLOW DOWN ON THE DESTRUCTION!
Also, Mayor Bing, lets keep a watch on the funds that do come into the city. The last mayors left as rich felons.
I believe Mayor Bing wants to do better. Let's hope and pray he does.

CRIME is the elephant in the room that they could have served up the entire hour. DRIVE-BY SHOOTINGS, MURDERS, CARJACKINGS, ROBBERIES, RAPES AND a number of other crimes make the quality of life in Detroit bad. Something must be done. It all has a domino effect on the neighborhoods, schools, lack of businesses, etc. TOO MUCH CRIME.

I thought the Dateline piece was abut what could be expected given that it was a network show and was only one hour long. Hansen did state in the start of the program that it was a look at a city to see what the future might hold for ALL our cities if something didn't change. It really was more about the underlying problems of a new global economy and the loss of manufacturing jobs that it was specifically about Detroit.

Nonetheless, one segment said it all as far as I'm concerned. Kid Rock said something like, " I don't know what's going to happen to this city, man. But I'm going to be here." Now THAT is a real Detroiter!

I was angered by the Dateline piece. It is just another piling on ploy by the media to paint Detroit in a bad light. Hansen claims his Detroit roots only when he beyond the Michigan borders because no on knows where the hell Bloomfield Hills is. When in his home town he tells everyone he is from Bloomfield.

The racoon scene was totally over the top. I agree with Mr. Scott's commentary. I am surprised Hansen didn't show Detroiters missing half their teeth or a scene from Deliverance. (Squeal)

It is time for the Detroit media, print, radio and television to raise the bar and show the assets Detroit has to offer. I challenge you to the following 2 for 1 coverage:

Everytime you cover one bad story (Kwame) you cover the 2 postive / uplifting stories. It may not sell more papers or generate more ad revenue for the radio and tv channels but it will add value to the city.

I agree with gb2. I'll be glad when this "drive by" treatment of Detroit is over. This is not serious journalism; it's opportunism.

Karen, how can you be alone when there are hundreds of thousands of actual Detroiters taking action every day? This is the kind of constant dismissal of real people who live in the city, who exist beyond the blogosphere, that really offends.

Oh, and one more thing. Ron Scott's piece is not a rant. Surely, you realize that this very term is dismissive as it describes someone's passionate thoughts as not controlled.