What do you miss from the Freep or News?

**REL** · October-31-10, 08:11 AM

I mean, way back.

I miss a lot of the local columnists. I also really miss the Guindon cartoons. Gnome, this one's for you:

**alsodave** · October-31-10, 08:52 AM

Loved Guindon--I still have his Lahser/Lasher/Lazer strip! I really miss Bob Talbert, Mike Downey, George Puscas and Joe Falls. Still can catch Gary Graff in the Oakland Press and national columns, but miss his work in the Freep. Can't remember the name of a movie critic before Terry Lawson--I missed that critic as soon as Lawson came aboard.

DC48080 · October-31-10, 09:05 AM

I miss the newspapers having more than 8 pages and not costing a dollar a day. I miss when it was actually worth the price you paid for it. I miss being able to devote a half hour each morning to reading it. Now there is so little content that you can breeze through it in 5 minutes.

**RealityCheck** · October-31-10, 09:07 AM

I miss Charley Manos, June Brown, Pete Waldmeir and Susan Stark . . .

. . . NOT one bit.

**dookie joe** · October-31-10, 09:31 AM

I miss reading Bob Talbert giving free plugs to restaurants and products. That was the most insipid column ever, and for some reason people liked reading it. So...for those of you who miss Talbert, I thought I'd offer the following column:

Boy, I hate it when you wake up on a chilly October morning and realize there's yet another frosty Michigan winter just around the corner. You too?

I worked late last night and didn't have time to cook. With a taste for pizza gnawing at my belly, I stopped by Green Lantern Pizza in Madison Heights. Man, oh, man! Best pizza in town, bar none.

Won't you be glad when the silly season is over and done with? If I have to listen to one more negative politician ad, I'm going to scream. Don't you just hate it?

The Lions are blacked out for today's game. Some people say that's a good thing.

Last week I ducked into Paul's Pizza in Southwest Detroit. Best pizza in town.

One more drawback to chilly Michigan weather: Itchy sweaters. I hate itchy sweaters. You too?

There. That took all of 7 minutes to compose -- and for about $100,000 per year less than Talbert did it. Not to speak ill of the dead, and I'm sure Bob was a fine fellow...but he was a terrible writer, who offered absolutely nothing to me as a reader.

**Gannon** · October-31-10, 09:48 AM

We were a Free Press house. I grew up reading Bob Talbert...and developed a habit of starting the paper from the back. Talbert, then the back page feature, the comics, daily horoscope...THEN the news of the world.

Come to think of it, that pretty much defines my life today. The Free Press helped set the pattern.

Guindon rocked, always.

I can even remember when Calvin & Hobbes hit the comic scene...now THAT was some fresh humor. [[even if he was resurrecting the spirit of early Charlie Brown and a few other classic comics). I've been attempting to transmorgriphy ever since.

Cheers, great thread REL.

**Gannon** · October-31-10, 09:57 AM

Oh yeah, and I dearly miss Susan Ager...and I'm not just saying that to send old Jelk's blood pressure to the stratosphere. [[newbies may know him through his award-winning blog, D y s p a t h y, he's now writing and reporting with M-Live)

She and I had a 'penpal' friendship through e-mail for many, many years.

I guess I'm into the whole personal interest angle of journalism. Now that I think of it, much of my writing here has been influenced by Talbert and Ager. I honor them both for giving me motivation to learn other perspectives, and care about the tough and creative people who populate our fine city.

Cheers!

**MCP-001** · October-31-10, 09:59 AM

I missed beating the tar out of the fish paper in the Circulation Wars pre-JOA.

**oldredfordette** · October-31-10, 10:09 AM

Talbert really was the worst, followed closely by Charlie Manos.

I miss the old weekend magazine, I miss serious investigative reporting and exhaustive coverage of local news. It's very sad and not to blame the writers who struggle mightily with these cheap-ass bean counters who try and thwart every attempt at genuine journalism.

**Gary** · October-31-10, 10:45 AM

Hal Schram. No disrespect to Mick McCabe who does an excellent job covering local high school sports, but there's only one Swami.

Jim Fitzgerald's column was entertaining, as was Neal Shine's. Can't forget Judd Arnett and Doc Greene.

**preserve** · October-31-10, 10:46 AM

Couldn't wait to retire so I could read the paper all the way
through in the morning. What happened? Now there's nothing left to read. Even Sunday's paper takes less than 30 minutes. I miss all the real reporters and columnists. Shine,
Fitzgerald - loved when they would carry Breslin and Royko's
columns. Used to sit next to Judd Arnett and Betty Lou Peterson was my boss. Then the strike, then Bob Talbert. I agree he was awful, but read him every day anyway. Miss the
great comics too. Hagar [[don't get the News) Calvin & Hobbes. Brenda Star, Dick Tracey, Glad the Freep brought
back some of the comics they omitted like Judge Parker. Still,
it's not the same. No great restaurant reviews, no real good
movie reviews, oh well.

**jcole** · October-31-10, 10:49 AM

Originally Posted by Gary

Hal Schram. No disrespect to Mick McCabe who does an excellent job covering local high school sports, but there's only one Swami.

Jim Fitzgerald's column was entertaining, as was Neal Shine's. Can't forget Judd Arnett and Doc Greene.

I was just about to say Jim Fitzgerald. I also remember him as the editor of the Lapeer County Press. My favorite column of his was every year on the anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

**Jimaz** · October-31-10, 11:37 AM

A real TV guide. Not that there's that much on TV anymore either.

**lpg** · October-31-10, 11:40 AM

I still miss the Detroit Times.

**Vic_doucette** · October-31-10, 11:50 AM

I miss journalism.

**English** · October-31-10, 11:59 AM

Originally Posted by Gannon

Oh yeah, and I dearly miss Susan Ager...and I'm not just saying that to send old Jelk's blood pressure to the stratosphere. [[newbies may know him through his award-winning blog, D y s p a t h y, he's now writing and reporting with M-Live)

So that's what happened to Jelk. I'm probably the only "oldbie" around who didn't know about his blog.

**Gannon** · October-31-10, 12:36 PM

There is more to the story for sure, English, since typing in the title of his blog without those spaces yields five periods instead! [[Lowell has some automatic edit censoring it from public view)

But what do I know, according to him I'm merely "Detroit's most dangerous schitzophrenic"! [[probably because he saw me often in the early morning hours, pre-caffeine, at the old Cafe de Troit)

He was never shy with his extraordinarily negative, acerbic wit...another example of someone with high intelligence never learning how to play well with others. It DOES all go back to what we gleaned from Kindergarten [[thanks, Mr. Fulgum!)!

Cheers

**Ray1936** · October-31-10, 01:27 PM

Gotta agree with all the above. Gannon, I can never thank Susan Ager enough for turning me on to www.lelandreport.com , which I visit every day for a touch of Michigan, my Michigan [[apologies to Judd Arnett).

**douglasm** · October-31-10, 01:31 PM

There was a local cartoonist one of the papers published. Simple line drawings, and the one strip I remember involves a car pulling up to an intersection where the street sign read Outer Drive. The cross street? Outer Drive. Anyone remember the guys name?

**Gistok** · October-31-10, 01:35 PM

I miss the pages and pages of computer jobs want ads....

**RealityCheck** · October-31-10, 02:01 PM

Originally Posted by douglasm

. . . a local cartoonist one of the papers published. . . . Anyone remember the guy's name?

The use of 'strip' suggests you don't mean the late Draper Hill, editorial page cartoonist at The News . . .

. . . but I toss out his name anyhow as another pre-digital memory yellowing and crinkling around the edges.

**REL** · October-31-10, 03:04 PM

I do miss Pete Waldmeir, actually. Thanks for the reminder. I even had his book [["Little Beads of Blood"). Met him years and years ago, volunteering for the Goodfellows.

LOL @ Vic.