Crim coverage once again superb

In addition to breaking news, the one thing the Flint Journal did very, very well from my earliest employment was the coverage of the Crim Festival of Races.

To be fair, this year was really good again. Undoubtedly part of that was due to the coverage, anchored by Bill Khan, who is a veteran reporter who knows this event inside out. It helps he is a runner as well. As always the Crim Special Section (except for the misspelled word "downton" in the caption) was a marvel in quick turnaround.

Two other contributing reporters, Dan Nilsen and Greg Tunnicliff are also veteran sports reporters who have a long history with the event. I do miss former columnist Dean Howe's (took the first buyout a couple years ago) reflections on the event. The front page color story was also well done by a veteran reporter, Sally York, and had the annual (I've done it to when I was there, so I'm not criticizing Sally) predictable story about someone who overcame great odds to compete and finish the race. It's one of those things you can't help but do each year.

So while this is a serious compliment for the coverage, it also points out the need and reason for keeping veteran staff.