Dateline' story on Detroit causes an uproar

Chris Hansen and NBC won't receive the key to the city anytime soon. (Not like Saddam Hussein or anything.) Anyway, the "Dateline" piece on Detroit has caused a bit of a stir and a lot of people are unhappy. The Mayor's press people sent a letter to NBC, Rochelle Riley donated some of her time to write a column about it, The Huffington Post dropped some ink. It was everywhere. But, they all have a point. Hansen focused on nothing new. The info he gave to the nation could have been given two years ago with little change.

"Dateline" missed the mark on Detroit. And a lot of people are upset.

Excerpt from the Mayor's letter here:

While we acknowledge our challenges, which mirror or even pale to those in other urban cities, we also recognize our potential and accomplishments. Nowhere did the story include those who are buying into and supporting the city's rebirth. No energy or excitement surrounding the Riverfront, Eastern Market, Tech Town, Avalon Bakery, Indian Village, the DIA, Campus Martius, and the list goes on and on.

We are not perfect, nor do we desire to be portrayed as such. But, we also find no value in being incorrectly painted as a city whose residents must resort to hunting racoons for food. It is this image that contributes to fueling decisions to not return, invest or remain in our city.

In all fairness, it would be great for Chris [Hansen] to return and tell the rest of the story--where people are not struggling on $200 every two weeks to feed their families, shooting racoons to eat, contributing to government corruption, or attending a struggling school system. This may be the reality for some of Detroit, but it is not the reality for all of Detroit.

The letter to NBC from Karen Dumas, Mayor Bing's communications executive, is here.

Some of the others:

The Freep's Rochelle Riley says let the "Dateline" piece become a call to action here.

Luther Keith, from Arise Detroit, wrote into the Freep. His piece says balance was show but ignored here.

Local comment from the Freep saying that Detroit must stand up to slanted reporting here.

State Senator Irma Clark-Coleman sent a letter to the Detroit News pointing out "Dateline's" one-sidedness here.