Next month, Saline Journal masthead will change to reflect next step in an evolution that dates back to August 12, 1983

COVID-19 signage and plexiglass screen at The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, Dearborn Michigan — COVID-19 mask sign and plexiglass barrier added to guest services counter at The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation in Dearborn Michigan. © 2020 d2 Saline, All Rights Reserved. USA

From the Editor—

Although I have occasionally written about the advancement of D² Enterprises over the passage of thirty-nine years, this editorial has returned to that for perspective on an important change that will come to these pages next month. [1,2]

I was twenty years old when those first official business papers were filed — largely to protect an already growing catalogue of original photographs. Having that work published in our local newspaper, The Saline Reporter, was important. But it was by no means everything. [3]

But larger stages opened up and lit a fire under D² efforts when I was called upon to cover an appearance by Democratic candidate Walter Mondale in Ann Arbor the following year, during his run to unseat Republican President Ronald Reagan. Licensing and selling images into national channels meant including captions to further speed workflow by end-user publications, then increasingly long-form copy as “the newspaper business” fell on hard times. [4,5]

Hard times were followed by outright failures, and consolidations. Thus we rose to the need of providing more for the few who could only survive by running lean staffs. [6]

Changes in packaged offerings ultimately begat “online publications,” which I think were a net positive — both in terms of sensitivities to our environment and efficiencies for distribution, archiving, and accessibility. When AnnArbor.com attempted to rise from ashes of The Ann Arbor News, I contributed by way of those new terms. [7,8]

Additionally, “online” effectively brought down barriers inherent in even the most hyperlocal reporting, while maintaining advantages of place-embedded reporters. We’ve not only embraced this in Saline Journal coverage, but leveraged it. Candidly, I can’t imagine how one could credibly cover state-level government as it appeared in Washtenaw County, without an on-the-ground view of that same level, with the case of Michigan, in Lansing or Mackinac Island. [9-12]

That changed with the arrival of COVID-19. “Society” was encouraged to believe that “being there” was no longer an indispensable element in the experience equation. “Sources” at first packaged their offerings for virtual distribution in lieu of remaining in-touch through actual in-person interaction; thereafter, too many then perpetuated both a construct of such distributions and ongoing restriction to true access. [13-16]

And “the media” at first acquiesced. Then uncritically, to too large an extent, went on to adopt it as its new normal. [17,18]

That has never been me. More importantly: That has never been my readership. [19]

National media sources may not have been on The Diag when Vice President Mondale spoke here locally in 1984. But the independent news photographer that captured images of him and wrote about what was seen and said when he was here — that person was physically present at the event. And that was what readers relied upon in the publications that ran the images that had been purchased from D² Enterprises.

In the latter part of 2020, as “the masks started to come off” — both literally and figuratively — we saw a birfurcation of source offerings. Those that insisted upon controlling access to them were covered less by us. Those that opened or re-opened their doors to access (and accountability), we covered more frequently. [20]

That’s the way we’ve always operated. Another case in point: The story of Saline autonomous shuttle assembler NAVYA could not have been told by those who never went beyond the borders of Saline for their reporting. [21-24]

As my staff and I saw pockets of constricting news sourcing continue on into and out of 2021, we expanded our regional coverage area in order to maintain the same quality of perspective offering. This meant reaching out to draw from a larger geographical area, which has come to mean “within a days-drive of Detroit.”

One Internet website put numbers to that concept thusly: “As a general rule, it’s safe to drive for no longer than eight hours a day, taking breaks of at least 15 minutes every two hours. [25]

This means you can safely drive for around 500 miles, not taking into account external factors such as slowing for tolls, traffic, travelling with children, and tiredness.

Last year, I believe that meant the Ohio Pen Show for Saline Journal. However, given my established personal relationship with the National Watch and Clock Museum, an occasional excursion that would include multiple overnights is not out of the question. [26,27]

The final process step as it relates to this publication will be a change to the name in our masthead in order to better reflect the current state of content within — and connect with the significant increase in a more diverse readership that we’ve seen come on board here over the last twenty-two months and counting.

Look for specifics on that right here with my August 2022 editorial.

References