Today I join a new venture with hopeful expectation. 

It begins with sad news:  our local paper, the Ann Arbor News, printed its very last edition this week after 174 years.   It was a pretty good paper, made by some really great people, that fell victim to the double whammy of the struggling newspaper industry in a dismal economy.  I felt a lump in my throat when I saw Thursday’s headline: 

–FINAL EDITION–

Farewell, Ann Arbor

It felt like saying goodbye to an old friend.  Many are mourning the loss from so many different angles. 

Fortunately, I’ll also be saying hello to some creative new friends. 

A new venture launches today called AnnArbor.com:  a digital media service with two print editions per week that will include traditional news, bloggers, and ”hyper-local” journalism shaped by the community.  I’m not quite sure what all that means yet, but I’m thrilled to serve on the Parenting team with some other cool folks and share my random thoughts a couple of times per week. 

So please, visit me at my new gig and say hello.  I’m a little nervous about my first day on the job.