On Sunday night I set my DVR to record 60 Minutes. I wanted to see how the iconic news program would deal with Detroit and our bankruptcy. I was generally optimistic, because I knew that Dan Gilbert was going to be featured prominently, and I expected to witness, along with the rest of the country, a reporting of our city’s fight to find itself. I imagined a story of renewed strength and determination. My hope was that friends who live in places like Minneapolis, San Francisco and Pittsburgh could finally see the promise I see everyday in Detroit.
Instead, I saw more of the same, shallow surface dive into the compelling Detroit “blight” imagery that we’ve seen on the national broadcasts for months and years. I felt frustration and anger build as I watched the 13-minute segment unfold. Oddly enough, I wasn’t angry at the producers of 60 Minutes. I wasn’t angry at the fireman, or the resident or the urban farmer. They were telling their story. I certainly wasn’t angry at Dan Gilbert, who has done more than his fair-share to spread a positive message and actually do something. And I wasn’t angry at Kevyn Orr either; he was just telling it like it is.
But I was angry. The story was incomplete. It was misleading and fragmented. It was sensational and painful to watch. At the same time, there was an air of truth to it. True in the same way a teenager would tell a set of facts to stay out of trouble. Just enough information to be defendable. True, in that selectively crafted elements were pieced together to fit a pre-determined reality.
True in the sense that those awful images were shot here in Detroit. What they were showing was real. And you could sense the photographer’s glee as he framed the shot to focus on the graffiti covered, burned out buildings, with the overgrown weeds in the foreground – time, after time – for millions of national viewers to gawk at like a gruesome auto accident.
So, why am I still pissed off? The producers did make a half-hearted attempt to show “balance” with a quick mention of the good accomplished in the downtown area. Wasn’t that something?
The best answer I can give is that we trusted someone else with Detroit’s message. Faith was put into a news organization like 60 Minutes to tell a complete story in 13 minutes. A story, that to be honest, we as Detroiters have yet to fully work through. I guess I’m angry at myself. I’m in the business of communicating ideas and messages. I consider myself a part of this city and have failed to help tell our story in a way that everyone can get behind, adopt and embrace. We have so many messages, logos, tag lines and concepts floating around that it is easy to see how our message could get convoluted and confused. It’s easy to see how 60 Minutes would tell the story they wanted to tell, because we’ve failed to convince them of our authentic story. Imagine how powerful the 60 Minutes segment could have been if every single person featured in the piece, from the blight-busters guy, to Kevyn Orr, to Dan Gilbert would have been working from the same key points. One message. One authentic Detroit Brand.
We have so much more work to do because we are more than the images being portrayed. As Detroiters, we won’t get there until someone steps up and takes control of our message and our brand. Hmmmmm.
- Tim
@smithcastle