Where are we going?

Hello subscribers,

It was an emotional week. We gave thanks with our families. Michigan beat Ohio State. And it's the one-year anniversary of the Oxford school shooting.

Some just want to move on. Others fear just that.

Anniversaries of horrible events are a time to take stock of where we are, where we've been and where we're headed.

No story this week moved me more than that of Keegan Gregory, whose parents shared the text messages exchanged while he and Justin Shilling hid. Keegan survived; Justin did not. It's a story of grief, bonding and recovery.

A grieving father's plea

Anniversaries also are a good time to remember those we lost and those left behind, as Jennifer Chambers did here.

They remind us, also, that school threats are on the rise, as are prosecutions. And that the urban center of our community has more homicide victims than many cities in the country, and several are teens whose deaths often get far less attention.

I spoke this week with a grieving Oxford father. One of his messages was this: Don't let people forget. Or nothing will change.

About that, Kaitlyn Buss has a poignant column today.

A court victory

As a former publisher once told me: "Saints and sinners, we talk to 'em all." But will the sinners discuss their misdeeds if journalists routinely hand over our notes to lawyers and police who are looking for clues?

Of course not.

That's why The News challenged an attempt by an outside lawyer to depose us and compel us to produce all communications and internal documents related to an opinion piece written by a third party on the Flint water crisis civil trials. "Burdening the news media with a subpoena such as this could potentially inhibit the newspaper staff’s roles as members of the media," Judge Judith Levy ruled in supporting our position.

It's a welcome relief in an emotional week.

Regards,

Gary Miles ∣ Editor & Publisher ∣ gmiles@detroitnews.com