Best in Detroit Coverage

D-DOT

We’ve been in and out of town this fall, so we rely on wise reporting to keep up to speed on what’s happening on the daily Detroit, without the hype of exaggerated decay.

We’ve included both publications and individuals in our lists. The reasoning behind this as media institutions crumble, writers forge ahead to tell stories despite the lack of institutional ink to tell them.

Here’s our primer for parsing together the news bits on Detroit:

Best in Local Politics:
Michigan Citizen. Detroit politics are soap-opera worthy. However, under the antics are real stories of injustice and the Citizen is all over the issues.

Best in Breaking Detroit News:
Detroit Free Press. Kwame-gate. Enough said.

Best Detroit columnist:
Charlie Le Duff, ex-pat Livonia Churchill grad, has returned to Detroit with a strong critical eye and coverage for the Detroit News.

Best Detroit by Design:

Model D Media All Detroit things architectural and interesting.

No coverage of Detroit is complete without the sweetness of a musical backdrop. Without further adieu, here’s the Best in Detroit Music Coverage:

Hip-Hop:
Detroit Metro Times
If you’ve made a stink in the Detroit hip-hop community in the past decade, chances are the Metro Times has given you some ink. With in-the-know writers such as Khari Kimani Turner, Hobey Echelin and Carleton Gholz, the knowledge is usually quite indepth. And when the links work, we like the DIY approach of Detroit Rap. On the national front dream hampton has been our fearless leader, revolutionizing the industry, never forgetting to take Detroit along with her for the journey.

Detroit Techno
We all know a pub is only as good as it’s writers — Tamara Palmer, Tim Pratt, Mosi Reeves, Mike Rubin, Jonas Stone, and Noda for their honorable words on the beats over many years. (Ed. note Scott Sterling is high among these ranks.) They preach the gospel. Josh Glazer, a Detroit transplant, continues to give love to his native scene at Urb. Urb’s longtime coverage of Detroit artists pushed by publisher Raymond Roker has been consistent from Cali. We give props to Pitchfork.

Rock
Creem Magazine anyone? How about the great voice of Detroit Gary Graff?
Motor City Rocks – the links alone offer an expansive glance at the breadth and depth of Detroit music. We also must mention Scott Sterling in this category – who has a keen ear for bands. Detroit music knows no boundaries.

Rhythm & Blues Music
Soulful Detroit Hours can be sent whiling away the nostalgia and information collected here. No surprise the UK owns the rights to this one. British monthly Mojo Magazine killed the coverage of Motown’s 50th, sans the sappiness, with real insight into the politics of the music business, interviewing the greats and providing a comprehensive well-thought out Top 100, while most U.S. mags curtailed their words at 700 words. The Detroit Free Press made some excellent video segments to commemorate the anniversary.

In more recent times, while primarily a pop culture critic, Emmy-award winner Kelley L. Carter is the voice we look to for her coverage of r n’ b, gospel and hip-hop intersections, formerly of the Freep, now worldwide. Her piece on Aretha Franklin commanded respect.

Jazz
W. Kim Heron’s prolific works (now at the Metro Times) spans across a sizeable chunk of the modern Detroit jazz age.

Best in Detroit Parties
Detroit Luv This is the real deal up-to-the-minute scoop on where Detroit goes in the wee hours. When the Movement begins, stop here.

Best of Detroit Sports Coverage:

Sports are the essence of socialization in Detroit. It’s hard to top Mitch Albom at the Detroit Free Press for sentimental, heart-felt Sports Illustrated style moments. The Freep has excellent Twitter updates and it’s sports coverage is always up-to-date and insightful. We also must mention Jemele Hill, who left the Freep for the big time at ESPN.

Winging it in Motown is a more provincial approach to Hockey Town. And any Detroit fan worth their snuff gets the Bless You Boys and Bad Boy references. It’s fun to follow players like Curtis Granderson on the blogosphere, too. (ed. note, but too bad as of 12/9 he’s no longer wearing the Old English D.) We omitted the Detroit Lions. Oops.

Best Car Coverage.
Industry wise, Automotive News and Ward’s provide the scoops. Mark Phelan (Freep) and Scott Burgess (Detroit News) and Sarah Webster (Freep) have the insider insight, product and otherwise. At the AutoWeek offices in the Easter Market, road test editor Natalie Neff reinvents the art of automotive prose with her on-point assessments.

Best Out-Of-Towner Blog:
It’s a toss up: Ms. Jackson AKA O Street has been holding it down for several season at the Free Press, a Detroit transplant, who laments on driving foreign cars.
Time has committed two important resources to Detroit – time and money.

More Gotryke Detroit Coverage:

Detroit: Where Art is Made and Extorted

Detroit Departed

Tagged as: Curtis Granderson, Detroit, Detroit Free Press, detroit hip hop, detroit journalism, Detroit News, detroit rock, detroit sports, dream hampton, khari kimani turner, Metro Times, mike rubin, Mitch Albom