Dear Mr. Smith,
I enjoyed and appreciated your introduction to the 2023 Progress Edition.
I was struck particularly with two thoughts in your closing paragraph and I’ll tell you why:
1. “While a lot has changed since I first became enamored with the newspaper business, at the core, things remain the same.”
I have been involved with newspapers for a while. In the 1940s, I read the three Detroit newspapers, the Royal Oak Tribune, and the Pontiac Daily Press. In 1952-54, I was the Troy High School stringer for the Tribune. Next came my years at the Michigan Daily while a student at UM, 1954-58.
As a publisher from the late 1960s to the present time, I have orchestrated many significant books by newspaper reporters and editors; that included the years I managed the University of Michigan Press and owned Momentum Books.
2. “We remain committed to telling stories about our local communities, businesses and nonprofits.”
Here’s evidence that your editors and reporters are doing a very fine job of telling these stories. Bob McGowan and I founded the Clarkston-area Backyard Birders Club seven years ago, with 18 core members. We now have a membership list numbering 220. New members arrive at every meeting and we ask where or how they heard about the Club – by far the most common response is, “I read about it in The Citizen” … or, “an article in The Clarkston News.”
We had 75 attendees at our March meeting at Wint Nature Center at Independence Oaks County Park.
We are particularly grateful to David Fleet and his fine staff at The Citizen because over the years, we have drawn many new members directly from their readership.
We recognize the significant impact made on our communities by your dedicated and resourceful journalists.
Thanks for that.
Bill Haney
Ortonville