Laughter turned to sadness - mixed with spells of goofiness and relief - as Ann Arbor News employees put out their final edition this morning.
After 174 years of publication, the News' final edition is due on the streets this afternoon. The city's new media company, AnnArbor.com, launches by morning.
For the many employees ending their News careers today, the morning saw both the usual routine and some memorable moments.
"It's sad, but in a way it's kind of a relief," reporter Dave Gershman said between trips to his car. "We've known for four months this was coming. It's kind of a relief that it's here."
In the early morning hours, FedEx and UPS trucks dropped off packages. Page designers got pages ready for print. Reporters did their normal rounds of visiting local police agencies for news. Editors edited stories and posted them to the paper's Web site. Circulation managers worked to making sure the last paper would be safely delivered to doorsteps across the area.
Right at 8 a.m., the final page was sent electronically to the printing plant. And just like that, the daily work of producing a paper - from selling advertising, designing ads, taking photographs, reporting stories, putting it all together and printing a paper - was done.
Boxes covered desks all over the building. Cars drove up to entrances, and employees - many wearing black and several wearing black T-shirts saying, "No News is bad news" - hauled their personal belongings to their cars.
And they hugged, employees said as they left the building.
The morning saw a range of emotions, said reporter Tracy Davis.
"It's a weird mixture. People are laughing. People are crying. People are having a good time. Like I said yesterday (during a radio interview), it's a lot like the end of high school," Davis said. "People are saying goodbye."
In the newsroom, staffers released stress by playing a Wii, brought in by copy editor Colleen Ericson.
"I thought it would be a chance to laugh together," she said. "It's nice to laugh on a day like this."
Around 10 a.m., most employees left the building for a day of parties and remembrances.
"Some people are excited (about the future), some people are dreading it," Ericson said. "Really, it's a pretty mixed day, with all the emotions present."
Photo 1: Ann Arbor News photographer Lon Horwedel, center, and the last of the newspaper staff react after taking the last photo of the newsroom Thursday. Photo by Leisa Thompson, The Ann Arbor News.
Photo 2: Graphic artist Sonia Gottfried says goodbye to her good friend, Tammy Graves, before Gottfried leaves The Ann Arbor News for the last time Thursday. Gottfried came in to produce local pages before going in for a caesarean section to give birth to her third child. Photo by Leisa Thompson, The Ann Arbor News.
David Jesse is a former Ann Arbor News reporter who now works as a digital journalist for AnnArbor.com.
This is an emotional ending to a great newspaper. I looked forward to reading the Ann Arbor News every day. There is no way that an online "version" will ever take place of a 174 year old newspaper. My life will have a huge void as a result. Goodbye. I will miss you all.
I came from a town where in their paper was nothing in it then me and my family relocated to ann Arbor and we started getting the paper a few mo ago and i found out therre w as and is more in the Ann arbor news then there is in the Daily Telegram in any given day they are stll in getting the local papeer out in adrian dont ask me how cause there nothing in it .some of the great news Papers in the Detroit and Ann Arbor area has either closed or stopped production that doesnt make alot of sense to me thank you very muchfor closing youre doors while other papers are still being printed that are not worth the time or the paper they are printed on thanks again.
Good luck everyone
The day is here. It feels surreal to me. I can't imagine life without the Ann Arbor News. My heart and prayers go out to everyone.
Thank you to the Ann Arbor News for your wonderful coverage of events throughout the region. While in High School, it was the Ann Arbor news, and Not the local paper in Livingston County that my family and I went to for the latest on sports and other local happenings. You will be missed.
A kind welcome to what is hopefully a great future to AnnArbor.com
I delivered the Ann Arbor News for three years in the early seventies in some of the largest remaining "walking" routes on the West Side...and a few years later worked alongside some fine reporters from the paper when I was just a fledgling radio news guy. My best of wishes to AnnArbor.com, and a fond farewell to the people of the Ann Arbor News. I'll never forget the smell of fresh newsprint in the afternoon.....
Goodbye, Ann Arbor News. I look forward to the new annarbor.com but holding my Blackberry will be nothing like reading a newspaper on my lap. I will truly miss you. It will be nice to continue getting local news though. I was worried that I wouldn't have any way of knowing what was happening in my home town. Good luck to everyone in the future.
I first entered the front doors (!) of the Ann Arbor News on July 31, 1978, to pitch my first story idea in my brand new job as PR director for Washtenaw United Way . I hand-delivered a two-page news release to then City Editor Bob Romaker. So many changes since then. So many memories. So many wonderful people! Thanks for keeping our community informed for such a long time.
Even I'm surprised by how much this is hitting me in the gut. I interned as a photographer at the AA News and it was a wonderful experience personally and professionally. Beyond the fact that Ann Arbor is my favorite city in the world (hey, I'm a Michigan grad), the people at the paper were fun and friendly, and always inspired me with the quality of their work. I now work as a photographer in another Big Ten town, and I worry about the future of our profession. My heart goes out to those who are leaving for good. I hope annarbor.com thrives and continues a tradition of great journalism, but I'll miss the News. Good luck to all of you, and thank you for the great memories.
We started getting the newspaper on July 14, 1962 and have had it ever since. I'm not sure what my husband is going to do in the afternoon when he usually read the paper. Its sad that the times have change so much. Good Luck to everyone even though we didn't know you we read your writing and enjoyed them.
We'll miss you!
Best of luck to all. We will miss you, AA News.