The Detroit Money Shot

Journalists may be overplaying the desolation of Detroit by lustily photographing a few key ruins and cropping well-kept factories out of the picture.

1 minute read

November 2, 2009, 8:00 AM PST

By Tim Halbur


Detroit reporter Thomas Morton gives readers a tour of the most overplayed shots.

"There's a total gold-rush mentality about the D right now, and all the excitement has led to some real lapses in basic journalistic ethics and judgment. Like the French filmmaker who came to Detroit to shoot a documentary about all the deer and pheasants and other wildlife that have been returning to the city. After several days without seeing a wild one he had to be talked out of renting a trained fox to run through the streets for the camera. Or the Dutch crew who decided to go explore the old project tower where Smokey Robinson grew up and promptly got jacked for their thousands of dollars' worth of equipment."

Friday, September 25, 2009 in Vice Magazine

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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