Daily newspaper coming to Detroit

We started our weekly (my boss and me, plus an advertising person) a year ago last Saturday. Not the best time, and in a town that had lost two papers in two years. We're still around, stopped doing free complete stories on our web site during the summer and we're still trying to gain traction (up against 3 TV stations and a well-established daily) in terms of advertising. We have a bit north of 700 subscribers and ads seem to have really picked up lately, hope I didn't just jinx it. As far as full-time staff still three people, only me on the editorial side. Fortunately I had a good recent grad who mainly covers sports as an unpaid intern.
IMO the new daily in Detroit is starting too big for its resources, maybe go fewer days to start (say 4-5 days), but to each their own. Best of luck to them.

 

Gawd, you are a boring, unoriginal PITA.
That said, I know a lot of the people on this site -- worked with a bunch of them at a Lean Dean site that's been closed 15 years. I wish them luck ...

 

Picked up the first two copies today. The guys at the gas station said Monday's paper arrived at about 8 a.m.; it arrived today at about 7:15 a.m., just as I was about to leave, so I went back in. I live in an inner-ring suburb.

I didn't look too closely at content because I'm editing for our paper on deadline today, but the overall look was good. For both days, it was a 12-page A section and an 8-page B, led by sports. They landed some solid sports names - Rob Parker (regardless of what you think of him), George Cantor and Keith Gave (the latter two are great pickups). Cantor had a good, long analysis of the U-M football season. Two of the guys I used to work with in Ann Arbor, Dave Holzman and James Briggs, are great pickups, too. There's even a news-sider I used to work with who's a very good reporter.

The print job was very, very clean - cleaner than the Detroit papers. The layouts were good, too.

Overall, a very solid start. The worry, though, is money. Here's hoping that they manage it well.

 

Did they have many ads?

 

A decent amount, but they'll need more to stay viable.

 

Hungry.
Determined.
Excited.

Everyone's comments here are, as usual, instructive.

 

I'd estimate that the advertising-editorial percentage, not counting house ads, is 20-80. Not good, but it's a start.

 

Do you actually think you're the ONLY person that has worked with these people? Give it a break man. IT GETS OLD!!!!

 

Says the guy who knows EVERY person at EVERY newspaper EVER.

Take your own advice.

 

Son, you STILL haven't a clue. I have nothing to prove to you and you have nothing to prove to me. GROW UP AND STOP INSTIGATING. That too gets old.

 

I don't have half of Rob's resume because I haven't been fired from a dozen jobs yet.