A Tale of Two Stories: A City Considers its Priorities

There was a lot going on in Birmingham last weekend.

headed to the finals in two competitions: and . Friends of the hosted its bi-annual book sale. The community had a chance to And oh yeah, if you couldn't tell by the mob filing into The on Thursday through Saturday, there was this little thing called the .

As I rushed from one event to another this weekend, I had to consider the perennial question: Which of these events is important to my readers? The easy answer is, of course, all of them.  This is why I made sure Birmingham Patch was everywhere. My readers — already discriminating media consumers — wouldn't have it any other way.

The real question is: Which of these events was more important? Which story deserved to be posted first, and what should have been housed in the top spot? With our readers in mind, this is a judgment call all journalists make. Sometimes picking the "top" story is easy. Other times, it's like tossing a coin. Editors tend to mull over these decisions for days afterward, debating the pros and cons long after the story has been published. 

I faced one of those decisions this week and, like I said, am still dwelling on its ramifications. This decision goes to the heart of what it means to be a Birmingham resident and where our priorities lie.

Everyone knows the Elmore Leonard festival was important.  For one week, Birmingham became the center of regional attention. We had writer and Hollywood types from all over the country strolling through . Leonard fans and film buffs from all over Michigan made their way to our cozy hamlet to pay homage to, arguably, one of the most famous living writers today.

It was a big deal. But while Mitch Albom and Charlie Matthau were debating tax incentives for filmmakers Friday night, some of Birmingham's most influential residents and policymakers were quietly honoring Tom Markus at the , who will be leaving in December after serving as Birmingham city manager for 22 years. 

Birmingham Patch covered both of these events, but led the next day with a . We were probably right to assume this was a story people would be looking for; Leonard certainly has taken Birmingham by storm, and the festival was the story of the week. But I still wonder: Which issue — Elmore Leonard or an outgoing city manager — was more important for Birmingham residents? Sure, there were a lot of people at the Elmore Leonard festival, but I can't tell you how many of them were not from Birmingham. Although it was an honor for Birmingham and The Community House to be the site of a discussion on the Michigan film industry, I didn't hear of any plans to start shooting the next Brad Pitt film on Old Woodward Avenue.

The upcoming change in city management, on the other hand, is an issue every Birmingham resident should be following. The City Commission will be holding a special session tonight to discuss plans to hire the next city manager, and I hope to see more than the usual round of suspects watching the meeting.  Those at the community reception Friday night learned how hard Markus worked to reinvent during his tenure. Shain Park is now a staple of downtown Birmingham, a public space residents use every day. When we consider hiring a new city manager, we have to ask ourselves: What will be the next Shain Park? How are our lives as Birmingham residents going to change?

While not denying the clout of the Elmore Leonard festival, these kinds of questions seem more important to me than panel discussions and film screenings. So, as we move forward, I hope to gear my coverage to being as Birmingham-centric as possible. While I appreciate Birmingham's many visitors, I want to make sure I cater to the people who work and live here first. I'm going to need your help, of course. Let me know what we're doing right or wrong, what you care about and what issues actually impact you. I live here, too, you know, but sometimes all journalists need a little reminder.