Saviorwatch, 2015: Congratulations, MSNBC, for not 'saving' us

As you may be aware, when media outlets hit any of the metaphorical land mines about Detroit, we let them have it. When online publications talk about "putting Detroit on the map," we give them a good talking-to. (That rant got us featured on NPR's Weekend Edition.) When editors insist on writing headlines about "saving Detroit," we tell them where to get off. (That editorial inspired somebody to compile Detroit's various "saviors" in one provocative piece.)

But what do we do when somebody seems to get things right? When we see a news piece that almost hits that trip-wire that's going to drive us ballistic, and then it retraces its steps and takes a safer path, shouldn't we note it?

Such is the new piece from MSNBC, which is titled: "How two food businesses are helping to revitalize Detroit" … (a search engine identified it as "Food businesses help rejuvenate Detroit," which is even better). It's a piece about the folks at McClure's Pickles and Deveri Gifford and Jason Yates of Brooklyn Street Local, showing that not all the news is bad. A city of 700,000 isn't "saved" in the piece, but clearly many are employed and nourished. (Especially an evidently hungry Bill Lusa, in one cutaway shot.) See? Nobody had to use the S-word at all. Pretty classy, MSNBC.

Now, if we could just see a few more people of color in that segment …