In the eighth episode of “A Drink With – Detroit” we catch up with television journalist and WDIV Local 4 anchor Devin Scillian before he heads to the newsroom. We talk about the headline he’d like to report on, the monumental moments for Detroit over the last 20 years of his career, the future of mobility in Detroit and how he’s not in the opinion business. He too asks the question… “How many cities get a chance to completely remake themselves?”
Whether you’re a native Detroiter, a transplant or a boomerang, you can’t deny that what’s happening in the city is history in the (re)making. From the work ethic to the entrepreneurial spirit, Detroiters are rolling up their sleeves and rebuilding the city with the same determination as Henry Ford and Berry Gordy before them. And in the end, those visionaries, similar to the ones you’ll meet this season, not only shaped Detroit, they shaped the world. Once the fastest growing city in the world; the place that created America’s middle class. Detroit is still a city that breeds innovation.
Just like the city of Detroit, our guests have stories of perseverance and creativity. Why should you care? You’ll find motivation and inspiration to apply to your own life from listening to the dreamers, future leaders and risk-takers who are making a direct impact on the community. We talk about lessons learned the hard way, what it took to reach success, business advice and what makes Detroit special.
This season we’re partnering with Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit whose mission is co-creating independence and dignity through the power of personal and workforce development. Goodwill Detroit works to ensure that every neighborhood of Detroit experiences the kind of renaissance that we’re seeing in downtown and Midtown. We welcome Jessica McCall, the vice president of marketing and external affairs at Goodwill Detroit, as our special co-host. We’re asking listeners to use “#WhatsGoodDetroit“ when you come across something inspiring, notable or just plain good in the city.
We’re recording in the Foundation Studio at Detroit Foundation Hotel. Our official podcast studio is located within the beautiful boutique hotel which is the former Detroit Fire Department Headquarters and Pontchartrain Wine Cellars.
Just a taste…
As a journalist, what are your favorite questions to ask?
I have what I refer to as the “Grand Canyon theory of life.” It’s really easy to show up to the Grand Canyon and just kind of assume that it has always been this way or that it will never change. The Grand Canyon changes every day and you can look at the Grand Canyon and see all of these layers and how it has been formed by the erosions of wind and water and time and we’re all that way. Most of us are the way we are because life has eroded or shaped the way that we think, what our surroundings have been and formed the way our priorities may be and the way we think that the world should be arranged or aligned. I’m really fascinated by the way that people arrive at who they are. So a lot of my questions I guess — once I get past the who, what, where and why because of the news event of the day— I really like trying to figure out why people think the way they do.
“How many cities get a chance to completely remake themselves? Not too many. And yet, you don’t want to completely remake yourself because it needs to be done with respect to who you are and the people that have stayed and have been a part of all that. So it’s a really complicated cocktail that we’re trying to mix here.”
If you could create the headline, what news would you like to share within the next five years in Detroit?
Lions winning first Super Bowl would be really nice. There are a lot of great sports cities in America but few of them are quite like this one because we need the connectivity that a sport provides. When there’s a playoff run going and you see two people who step into an elevator who may not otherwise cross paths but they find themselves talking about, “Who do you think the Tigers are gonna start tomorrow night?” it really creates this level of connectivity that’s really, really vital. We’ve probably made sports too important in American society and yet in this town it really does provide us linkages that are really great.
Photography by Derrick Busman
Listen to the full conversation on Apple Podcasts or SimpleCast.
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