Auchtoon!

Originally published in the Grand Rapids Business Journal, August 25, 2008

So yesterday, after an ugly, ugly reign of lies and race-baiting and unwarranted chutzpah and nepotism and sheer stupidity, the Mayor of Detroit, Kwame Kilpatrick, resigned. Off to jail he goes leaving a trail of destruction. You can check this excellent article in today’s Salon by Edward McClelland for persepective, but for those unfamiliar with the story I can summarize by saying this: After having Republican politicians go on an absolute tear these past few years with sex scandals and ham-fisted cover-ups, Kwame put the Democratic Party right back into contention with his superlative efforts. Kwame Kilpatrick is the clear leader for MVP — Most Vile Politician.

And now, a big shout out to traditional journalism: the Detroit Free Press — you da newspaper! It was the Freep that did the investigative groundwork that eventually brought Kilpatrick down. It was the old-school media doing the hard work and taking the chances. The TV reported and added nothing; the bloggers fumed and added nothing; the Internet aggregated and added nothing. Twas newsprint that saved the day. So go out and shake a reporter’s hand, thank an editor for showing some courage, and above all read a dang newspaper! Because the fact that there ain’t no Beijing Free Press has a lot to do with why those Chinese gymnasts will never have to give their gold medals back….