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GRAND RAPIDS | KALAMAZOO | MUSKEGON | 4.2.23

When we chose the stories for this edition, all the events and dates were accurate. As always, find the mostup-to-date information on the event/activity website, Facebook page or other direct information source.

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Letter from the Editor: Live local, eat local, report local – our teams know their towns BY JOHN HINER | MLive.com

Delivering news that impacts our neighbors, our families, our communities, has always been at the heart of MLive.com. As our VP of Content explains in the Letter from the Editor below, this is our home too. We also count ourselves lucky to live in a time

when there are many ways to deliver this news – on our website, delivered to your doorstep, social media, eNewsletters to your inbox, and podcasts. We’re especially excited with the possibilities that the podcast medium opens up; we can explore, in depth and we can

They live here, too, and this is the job they’ve always wanted to do.

t’s very gratifying when I order a Caesar salad at a restaurant and the server says, “No anchovies, dressing on the side – right, John?” There’s a special comfort one feels when familiar knowledge personalizes a common experience. MLive’s local news team is leaning into that approach with some new approaches to content, and it’s

producing some satisfying results. For us, and for readers. Earlier this year in Ann Arbor, our journalists had discussions about what makes the community unique: What particular interests, both culturally and as a news town, color the experience of living there? This is not an academic exercise – it’s as relevant to our employees as it is to you. “What we report on affects our

speak to more timely, in the moment topics. Inside this edition is an introduction to our current podcast options, and a QR code and links to listen for yourself. We hope you’ll find something that interests you and know that we are adding to our podcast library every day.

our normal day-to-day coverage of Ann Arbor reader – a breaking news government, crime and other local update, and weekly letter from Counts news and features. The intent is to lean called “Hello, Ann Arbor,” delivered into what makes living in Ann Arbor every Friday morning. not only special, but what makes it a Counts writes “Hello, Ann Arbor” in communal experience. a conversational “We send out our education tone that reporter, Marty Slagter, to captures What we report the bars to take on the tough our most assignment of sampling a interesting on affects our cocktail every week,” Counts stories of the reporters the said. “These tavern owners see week, along him come in are like, ‘Hey, we with personal same way it know who you are, experiences affects the rest of Marty – you’re the and insights cocktail man for from someone the community The Ann Arbor who lives News! So that feels here, too. kind of good.” “My 8-yearTraffic and road old falls off construction may seem a bunk bed and breaks her like common topics for arm – very, very painful. At the any community, but it same time, we were writing about the has special significance in nurses going on strike at the University Ann Arbor, where getting of Michigan Hospital,” he said. “She around is compounded had to have this elaborate surgery, so by a sprawling campus, that’s obviously going to bleed into the diagonal and one-way weekly column because I was just at the streets, ubiquitous bike hospital.” lanes and maddeningly Readers in Ann Arbor have multiple street closures responded positively in all the ways out of the blue. we can measure – with metrics, and Speaking of bikes, Ann anecdotal responses – showing there is Arbor has a very active great engagement around topics that outdoor community. matter in daily life. That led us to offer more We are encouraged, but not content this summer on surprised. Local news is based on It’s not simply bike trails, connector local knowledge, and every one of loops and other useful MLive’s eight traditional communities more – it’s more information for recreation, are different than any other. That has in touch with you. spring, and that proved popular been reinforced with our Ann Arbor reporters with readers. Last, you can’t content exploration this year, so we at The News turn your head in Ann Arbor plan to bring the approach to all of our have written without seeing a construction communities in coming months. stories on topics they know are site or a business being refitted for It’s not simply more – it’s more in of high interest to people who live a new tenant. So, our staff at The touch with you. in and around Ann Arbor – food and News leaned in with more stories on “Our staff loves the fact that we’re drink, traffic and road closures, outdoor commercial development. getting deeper on a community level,” activities and recreation, business Another part of this effort is how we Counts said. “They live here, too, and development. get the information to you. We have this is the job they’ve always wanted to This has been in addition to launched two newsletters geared to the do.” reporters the same way it affects the rest of the community,” said John Counts, who along with Leanne Smith is a news leader for The Ann Arbor News. “We’ve got reporters who were born and raised in Ann Arbor and still live here. We have reporters who live in Ypsi and all over the county. So, it’s that kind of local engagement.” Because we’re journalists, we turned those discussions into coverage. Since

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