Gerald R. Ford’s funeral services have produced some very moving images on TV this past week. The local media did a fantastic job covering the events. I was particularly impressed by the entire WZZM team. Even though I am too young to remember Ford’s presidency, Peter Ross, Juliet Dragos, and Lee VanAmeyde’s reactions and tears helped me understand the connection Michigan citizens felt to their president.
On the national media front, CNN has really fallen out of favor with me recently, mostly because of some very insensitive news coverage (see their “Dead dad” headline for an example of tactless alliteration). Its coverage of the funeral services did nothing to change my opinion, especially since they covered so little of today’s events. MSNBC did a much more respectful job by covering the events fully and providing some warmhearted stories about Gerald R. Ford to help people cope with their grief. Have any of you given MSNBC a try?
Sarah and I didn’t spend Tuesday evening in Grand Rapids (long lines and cold weather may seem like pretty poor excuses), but we were given a special treat this evening. Apparently the Presidential flyover had a northerly flight path, because within minutes of appearing in Grand Rapids, Sarah and I were racing to my deck to watch the jets bank in the sky over Cedar Springs. Very cool.
I know we’re both looking forward to visiting the Gerald R. Ford Museum within the coming weeks.
