Free Press Express job was wired

As the print edition of the Gannett paper here in Detroit dies a slow death, they've put efforts into the next logical direction for news organizations: television. If you care, you can search around and find that they are doing the morning news block on CBS's WWJ 62 in Detroit.

Before this started, they promoted it via Twitter. Some of the staffers talked about a job posting for the anchors. So I sent back a tweet asking where this posting was. One of them messaged back on April 1. I replied to her Free Press email address:

http://twitter.com/elishaanderson/status/1435127961

> elishaanderson@worldmikel please send me your email address and I'll get you the posting.

Thanks, Mike

I never got a response. Then I saw this post that was well-hidden at the Free Press site:

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090424/FREEPRESS/90424087&template=printart

That was posted on April 24, 2009.

The guy who is the "anchor" of this broadcast, posted this on the Free Press Express page on Facebook on April 17th, a full week in advance of the job posting:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1935312&id=74756923105#/pages/Free-Press-Express/74756923105

Free Press Express Getting ready to start our newscast with WWJ-TV on May 5 at 5 a.m. Check us out!

April 17 at 7:45pm · Comment · LikeUnlike · Show Feedback (1)Hide Feedback (1)

You and Mark W. Smith like this.

Mark W. Smith likes this.

As the State of Michigan is doling out gratuities and preference to contractors that are located within the State, the Detroit Free Press not only went out of the State to find two of its anchors for this news block, it chose them before legitimately posting the job openings! Something smells funny with this one... Especially with all the talent lay-offs in Radio and TV right here in Detroit.

The paper that won a Pulitzer for exposing the shenanigans of the former mayor turned around and pulled a Kwame-style hiring on this one!