Local in Ann Arbor

Our blogroll had, I admit, gotten stale and old.  It was last assembled a couple of years ago when we were contemplating local media in the paperless age.   Then we last meditated on local blogs with the famous “porch couch” post (still an occasional hit), published in February 2010.

Meanwhile, a number of new blogs have come along, and online publications have changed from time to time.  So the Blogroll now contains a number of new blogs.  In addition, I’ve revisited some of the other online publications to make sure they follow my criteria.

1. They should be mostly about Ann Arbor.  (After all, we are “Local in Ann Arbor”.)

2. They should be reasonably current.  I have my own “blog lacunae” times but there should be updates at some interval.

3. They should shed a little light on the life of the city.

4. They should meet my completely arbitrary taste (preferably little or no nastiness, and should make me think a little).

Most of the online media that were previously listed (Ann Arbor Chronicle, AnnArbor.com, Arborweb, Concentrate, Current, and the Michigan Daily) fill needs for news and information, and the Ann Arbor District Library home page still lists many current events in Ann Arbor.  I’ve eliminated a few others.

In alphabetical order, the new additions are:

Damn Arbor, a group production by graduate students that has sometimes been touted as the inheritor of Arbor Update, but is actually very different.  It is irreverent, light, sometimes very thoughtful, and fun.

Edward Vielmetti’s blog, which goes through name and format changes periodically but is one of the oldest surviving blogs in Ann Arbor.  It is eclectic and usually thought-provoking.

Motown to Treetown “A blog about Detroit, Ann Arbor, and the forty miles in between”.  A satisfying dense blog often about civic issues and reminding us that we are part of a greater metropolitan area.

The News of Ann Arbor, a spoof that attempts to avoid confusion by writing “This is Satire” all over its heading.  New and funny, also penetrating.

Honorable mention to Mark Maynard‘s venerable blog, which is however usually about Ypsilanti or general subjects.

Not a blog but not to be missed: the Ann Arbor Newshawks.  I gather that one can follow them on YouTube.    Here is the Summer 2011 report. Wicked satire, often aimed at our civic deficiencies.

UPDATE:  Another local blog, ECONJEFF,  most often features musings about economics and national issues, but also picks up Ann Arbor issues and recently had a run of Ann Arbor topics.  The economics is often interesting, too.

Not a blog but frequently updated and containing a wealth of information,  the Neighborhood Alliance website is worth checking out.  The Neighborhood Alliance is a very loose association of Ann Arbor folks: “Our fundamental goal is to have the City treat neighborhoods as stakeholders in decision making.”  

SECOND UPDATE:  I’ve added ECONJEFF to the blog roll and also Ann Arbor Schools Musings.  The latter is a very up-to-date and thoughtful discussion about Ann Arbor schools, with forays into general educational subjects.

THIRD UPDATE: I’ve surrendered and added Mark Maynard to the blogroll.  Just too much good stuff about our region, our state, and our sister city, mixed in with a lot of other amusing musings.

FOURTH UPDATE: Mary Morgan’s thoughts on the local media scene are worthwhile contemplating.

This entry was posted on August 3, 2011 at 5:42 pm and is filed under media. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.