If anyone is interested, I’m thinking about driving into Ann Arbor tonight, and stealing a mason jar full of pennies from someone’s home… It’s not so much that I need the money. I’m just curious to see how, if at all, AnnArbor.com would cover it.
Here’s how they covered the theft of a jar full of change in Ypsilanti today:
My sense is change jar theft is only newsworthy when it happens in the terrifyingly crime-ridden city of Ypsilanti, but I want to give their editorial staff the benefit of the doubt until I can confirm my suspicion by going deep into the heart of Ann Arbor, under the cover of darkness, and stealing a hefty handful of pocket change from someone’s porch.
Seriously, can someone explain to me why this is newsworthy? Generally speaking, I’m not inclined to waste too much time complaining about the coverage our community gets on AnnArbor.com, which I think we can all agree is weighted toward the negative, but, when I read things like this, it really makes me wonder if there’s any crime at all that could be committed in our community, regardless of how small, that wouldn’t get the “OH MY GOD, YPSI” treatment.
My guess, and I could be wrong, is that the same story, if it were to have happened in Ann Arbor, would have been found under the following headline… “Neighbor Borrows Change.”
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Here’s information on how to nominate an article for a Pulitzer.
http://www.pulitzer.org/administration
It’s not that they hate Ypsi, it’s that our police department is more transparent. We send out news releases and they’re easily reworked by A2.com and turned into articles that take no time, and no leg work.
A large box of Skittles[tm] was also stolen, and the suspect is being charged with Grand Larceny – Skittles[tm].
Sent this in to AA.com… We’ll see if it ‘sticks”….
As an Ypsi resident, I have a suggestion for another “rampant crime in Ypsi so don’t go there story” that actually happened to me!!!!! Yesterday I heard my dog bark a few times. Looked out the window and observed a crime suspect walking down the sidewalk. Due to the my dog barking, a breaking and entering was prevented. My dog is a hero!!!! But then he does bark a lot when he sees anyone outside the window.
Deadline Detroit is likewise bewildered.
Seems penny-ante to me too. AA.com has nickle-and-dime coverage. Time for change.
speaking of crime in ann arbor, the article linked to below doesn’t mention the fact that “shockingly low inventory” has been manufactured by banks keeping vacant and foreclosed houses off the market, in order precisely to create the grounds for what this article describes:
http://annarbor.com/business-review/shockingly-low-inventory-of-homes-for-sale-in-ann-arbor-as-market-heats-up/
My change jar is where I go when I need a change.
The last week or two has been especially bad. One rewritten police report after another. A little strange since at least two of their writers live in Ypsi.
We can make this happen, Mark. I have one of those ducks on my porch (she has month appropriate outfits and is currently wearing a dress with shamrocks; DON’T JUDGE ME!) that you can rip off. Bonus is that her head sometimes falls off. I think it would be lovely to see you running, say, along the railroad tracks back towards Ypsi, clutching a headless duck wearing a shamrock dress. I will immediately call 911 and we’ll go from there.
Alan Stamm, who posted a link to this article on Deadline Detroit, just wrote in to share the following.
For the most part, I think it’s just that they post an article every time a notice comes out from the police department. I don’t think it’s malicious on their part. I just think it’s easy. Unfortunately, we don’t issue press releases every time something good happens… Maybe we should start.
The Blog you mention is the failed attempt to collect page views related to the failed dead tree incarnation of the same viewpoint held by a small, but politically-active folks in Ann Arbor: “thank god we aren’t living in: (name a neighboring city).”
That driving force killed the real newspaper and it will kill the blog also. That blog has only laid off people, not hired staff.
I wish them luck but unless they stop repeating the actions that killed their parent- they will accrue only what they should expect.
Uno mas…this one’s relatively fresh off the press:
TV stolen from Ypsilanti residence Saturday
http://annarbor.com/news/tv-stolen-from-ypsilanti-residence-saturday/
We need an Ypsilanti new site that only runs the Ann Arbor police blotter.
How is a home invasion not newsworthy? Someone broke into this guy’s bedroom while he was sleeping. While the item stolen is apparently insignificant to you, it may not have been for the victim.
I know how they would cover it…. “YPSILANTI MAN CAUGHT IN PREMEDITATED HOME INVASION” =)
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