One of the things I was most impressed with when I came to the Flint Journal in 1989 was the extensive paper and photo library maintained in the newsroom.
It was an incredible resource that slowly withered as people were laid off and the morgue converted to a computer file.
Quite a few of the 'veterans' have wondered to me, both in person and by e-mail, what is to become of all that impotant history. The short answer is, I don't know.
One would hope that maybe someone from the local historical society or library would move in and take care of the newspaper library.
A former editor, now long retired, saved a bunch of old photos when a previous regime wanted them all tossed in the dumpster.
Here's another 'rumor' being circulated to me by e-mail based on "informed sources," which admittedly I don't know personally.
The word is that the Mott Foundation is planning, or in negotiations, to purchase all the current Flint Journal property with plans to hand it over to Michigan State University for use in the medical school.
Again, to be clear, this has been sent to me twice from folks who remain close to those still at the Journal.
Feel free to chime in.
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When the buyouts took place in early 2008, Ron Krueger placed a gold mine in cookbooks and other culinary reading material in the lunchroom for employees to take as they wished. I took a couple of them and have made countless great dishes and liqueurs for gift-giving from these books. I am very grateful to have them.
I hope the report that Mott Foundation is about to purchase the FJ building to hand it over to MSU is untrue. This fine philanthropic foundation must have no direct ties to the paper. How can the FJ report objectively on Mott or MSU's new med school if both are players in the sale of its building? I question the paper's reporting of Mott over the years simply based on the heavy-hitters who either run Mott or sit on its board. Now they're doing real estate deals together? This stinks. And does MSU really need Mott's help? If MSU does get a break thanks to Mott, it should finally reduce its tuition accordinly. Ha!
MSU just paid $12 million for the Grand Rapids Press building and parking lots for its med school there.
I'm betting the building will be sold, like in Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids. As for the library and priceless photo archives, in Ann Arbor the entire collection was donated to the Ann Arbor Public Library. My sense is the same will happen in Flint.
The new Mlive? Underwhelmed. A yellow AnnArbor.com.
Has anybody noticed at MLive that most of the columns and blogs on the business site http://www.mlive.com/business/ are by people who no longer worth there? It looks like some of them have been gone for a long time, too.
Not only is old stuff on there, but a name search links that name to any Facebook comments you made on mlive material ...
Something to keep firmly in mind.
Jim: Several area institutions are interested in the Journal material. The Journal never responded to letters or telephone calls. The Saginaw paper's material was divided and went to the Library and Historical Society. Rumor has it that a local university (Not U of M) is trying to get the material. t would be great if it could stay in Flint and not end up as landfill.
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