Media silence
I just read your article on the U.S. Social Forum and would like to thank you. It was a fair, balanced, accurate article. I was there and, although I was a bit disappointed in some regards as to the event schedule, the event was not covered by mainstream media because they are not really interested in any changes in how our country operates or in reporting the reality of what is happening in our country in particular. —Gerald Schneider, Menasha, Wis.
Off our tree
Thanks for your article about the U.S. Social Forum ("Scenes from the social forum," June 30), especially pointing out the Canadian tar-sand oil-Detroit connection. You might want to double-check your reference to "arboreal forests" though. "Arboreal forests" is redundant. (Forests with trees?) You probably meant to say boreal (northern, subarctic) forests. —Dave Gendler, Ypsilanti
Strike force
Fifteen years ago this month, almost 2,500 workers from six different unions struck The Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press, marking a conflict that reshaped the landscape of the city's dailies.
I was one of those workers. I'm not here to rehash the issues, rather I'd like to take a moment to reflect on the time I spent on strike with some of the finest journalists and newspaper workers in the history of Detroit. The people who stayed loyal to the union and its causes go back to a time when it was courageous to stand against corporate evil and greed, when honor, commitment and principles were held in high regard by the public.
I want to thank those who supported us, especially my union brothers and sisters from the UAW.
There are a lot of us who moved from Detroit to other newspaper and media jobs. Scott Martelle, for instance, is an author and involved in a Detroit book project with a major publisher. Three of us work at Newsday. Several at the New York Times, I believe, and the L.A. Times. Many of them would have never left Detroit. In my opinion, the city lost many great journalists in the strike and its newspapers were never the same.
I want to thank those newspaper workers who stayed out on strike with me. Although I experienced dire financial hardship and had great concern for my family and my career, I don't believe I've ever stood taller as a man, nor did I ever stand alongside better people. —Gary Dymski, Lake Grove, N.Y.
Jobs, not war
My husband has been laid off and working a part time job that does not meet our needs for over a year. We should be spending money to help people and families here in the United States, not sending our money overseas and spending money an unwinnable war that most of us don't want anyway. —Julie Scarletta, Grosse Pointe
Errata: In "Meet the fellows" (June 30), we incorrectly identified the director of Kresge Arts in Detroit. Her name is Michelle Perron. In the same piece, we also misspelled the name of Kresge Arts in Detroit's inaugural eminent artist. His name is Charles McGee.
Send letters (250 words or less, please) to 733 St. Antoine, Detroit, MI 48226; faxes to 313-961-6598; e-mail to [email protected]. Please include your telephone number. We reserve the right to edit for length, clarity and libel.
