Carol Cain Interview

Muaz Halees

As many of my closest friends can attest, I can be so persistent that it borders on annoying. But this time my annoying persistence led to a wonderfully informative interview with Carol Cain. I was honored that she decided to take some time out of her busy schedule to spend with The Method.

She has parlayed her position as editor of her third grade school newspaper into an illustrious journalism career, working at United Press International, The Detroit News, Detroit Free Press, and CBS. I read her insightful Detroit Free Press column religiously, and wholeheartedly recommend it to you (http://www.freep.com/section/COL24). She is also the Editorial and Community Affairs Director of Detroit’s two CBS owned stations, WWJTV and CW 50, (www.cbsdetroit.com).

She is the host and creator of Michigan Matters, a metro Detroit based television show that focuses on political, educational, and business issues concerning Detroit and the state of Michiagn as a whole. Show clips and poignant viewpoints from Carol Cain and her regular panelists can be found on the website (http://wwjtv.com/shows/detroit.shows.michigan.2.7080.html).

She received a 2009 National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Michigan Chapter Emmy Award for her work on the WWJ-TV Eye on the Future series. The initial installment of the “Eye on the Future” series was “Building Bridges: From the Great Lakes to the Great Wall,” and should be required viewing for anyone remotely concerned with the Michigan economy and its future. The series can be seen in full at the website: http://wwjtv.com/buildingbridges

She has appeared on C-Span, CBS, NPR, and CNN; and we at The Method are extremely grateful that we had the opportunity to interview her.

The Method: I’m sure you’ve been asked this before, but why, as a journalist, did you choose to return to school (The University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business) and earn your MBA?

Carol Cain: Ironically when I started to get my MBA a lot of people were scratching their heads, as to why someone in journalism would want an MBA. At the time when I got it the economy was shifting dramatically and there were so many more business stories that I was starting to write about and edit and I didn’t have a full understanding which makes me uncomfortable. So the reason why, was so I knew more about the kinds of stories and things that were going on- the shifting economy. And even back then when I started it was obvious that the economy of Michigan was changing; and I couldn’t plan to be in one place forever so the MBA made me stand out going forward. But I believe it made me a better writer, a better editor, and a better manager. The University of Michigan has a wonderful MBA program and I am glad I did it.

TM: So it gave you a clearer view of the business world?

CC: Yes, an understanding of the business world as a whole and from the standpoint of writing and commentating on it as I do. I think it’s foolhardy to think once you’re done with your undergrad degree that that’s it you’ll never go back to school. I enjoy the process of learning I think that a good journalist is always into learning and evolving. It’s just part of an evolution and the MBA has helped me a great deal. U of M being a heavy quantitative program gave me exposure to a wide variety of contacts- to engineers and accountants –the kind of people that do not often work side by side with a journalist.

TM: The path a writer is on barely ever crosses into the quantitative, math based path.

CC: Michigan (The University) had a focused, group project mentality of doing things, and you realize no one person is good at everything, therefore you learn how to work better in a team. It’s like the real world you learn how to juggle and work with people towards making the end product, your project, whatever you’re working on better. It was a very helpful learning process. As we know working in the real world is a collaborative process, putting out a newspaper is a collaborative process, my TV show Michigan Matter is a collaborative process. It may be Michigan Matters with Carol Cain, but there are many more behind the scenes working together towards the goal.

TM: Detroit is a city whose economy was predicated on the entrepreneurial spirit- do you still see that spirit today?

CC: I see the entrepreneurial mindset being reborn in many ways. As we shift in this economy with the traditional auto manufacturing base dramatically changing and being affected by the economic tsunami, not just by globalization but by technology and the major economic woes and impacts of the credit market- people are realizing they can’t go work for a “GM” and expect them to take care of you forever. It has forced people to tap into what made this state so great a hundred years ago. I think the state in many areas lost touch of that spirit because things were going so well. The economy has gone bye-bye and it’s not going to come back in the broad based way – so where to go from here. The entrepreneurial mindset is coming back and will help save this state.

TM: How do you feel about the growing support for more open source funding initiatives?

CC: Anything we can do to help create more businesses is a good thing. Part of the challenge is that Michigan has not been on the forefront in the venture capital market. I think the challenge is how to get dollars to the hands of small businesses. But where there is a will there is a way, they have a tenacious spirit. What they (entrepreneurs) have and I don’t know if they are born with it or learn it, but they have this fearlessness about the challenge of finding capital, employees, someone to add support- but they charge ahead. An entrepreneur is a special type of person. I think we are going to see more of those people with the state of the economy being what it is.

TM: From what I’ve gathered many people on the outside view the business world as an old boys club- but I think a lot of those are external views- I think that the internal reality is that the business world- more than any other is a strict meritocracy- regardless of sex. But your piece on Mike Cox and the fact that he has zero women on his finance committee brought light to an issue I thought had passed. You have a unique vantage point of the business world, do you believe there higher hurdles for women than for men?

CC: Sexism, higher hurdles, I think the higher you go in the echelon of corporation the less women you see running the GMs or the Dominos- is there a reason for that along the way, is there a glass ceiling, are they finding other successes away from the traditional corporate structure- I don’t know. My article referenced The White House Project, which is geared towards getting more women involved in politics and policy making positions. The representative I talked to in the article believe that women aren’t necessarily raised to think politically which may be why none were available to be on his finance committee. Women have made many advancements and continue to make many inroads, but again there are still challenges ahead. But when we have a tough economy it makes things a lot more difficult for everyone. A lot of good things can come from tough times – 20 years from now we will be able to see what came out of all the things we are juggling today, as a state and as a country.

TM: So would you give different advice to a graduating female MBA than a male MBA?

CC: No in fact, when you look at success, you want someone who believes in what they’re doing and works hard. Many successful people don’t walk into it. They work harder, more diligently, and smarter; it’s not the 7 days a week 24 hrs a day worker; it’s thinking out the box, and finding a balance in your life. It is difficult for many driven people to not work 24/7. I do think that having an MBA is a very good thing. I never regret doing it and I would advice a young person going forward, starting out, to do it. To me it has given me something else that has made me a deeper journalist and a better manager.

TM: In your “Building Bridges: From the Great Lakes to the Great Wall” special you spoke about how Michigan’s economy can grow through Chinese partnerships. Why China?

CC: I had started writing a column about the entrepreneurial mindset in the Free Press, and I started getting all of this information from small business and business people setting up operations in China. We know that GM, Amway, and those types of large companies had operations in China, because of China’s population. But I was perplexed that small businesses with barely enough employees to set up in China were moving there. I read hundreds of articles about Michigan and China and there connections. At the time Michigan’s economic sector was already dwindling, so I came to a point that I had to go see it not just write about it. I have been over there 3 times. The CBS station I work with in Detroit decided to do it as part of its Eye on the Future series. So I went over there and talked to many people from Michigan residing over there and many people in China coming to Michigan to work. Why China, because I believe going forward this relationship is one of the things that will help save Michigan’s economy. They hold Michigan and the auto industry in such high regard; they know Henry Ford more than they know Bill Gates. We spoke with 3 governors, Rick Wagoner, the Chinese ambassador to the US, DeVos was in there; tons of people. The Chinese economy is still growing and building by leaps and bounds, and they are looking for things to buy and we have a lot of things available in this state, so I see the building bridges continuing and the opportunity for Michigan’s economy to grow in tandem with China’s.

TM: If we become too heavily invested in China do we not risk another global financial meltdown along the lines of the current one with all the other countries heavily vested in the US performance? Chinese lending continues to accelerate even though corporate profits as a whole are shrinking – there is a threat that they are incubating a financial crisis that may be triggered when the initial stimulus high wears off.

CC: China is already heavily invested in the US and vice versa. If the Chinese were to cut and run from all they were doing in this country our economy would falter in a major way. There is a lot of investment going on in both ways. There middle class is just coming into their own- spending wise. They are growing, Rick Wagoner (former GM CEO) said China was there number one market. A construction crane may as well be the national bird for all the growth, and expansion going on in China. They love, and I mean love US products. I tell people until you see it, you will never understand the opportunity available. Business is about looking for opportunities and I believe there will be more building of bridges between Michigan and China moving forward. But there is also India, Brazil, and Russia, more of those relationships will grow as we move forward.

TM: You wrote a piece about Doug Rothwell, president of Detroit Renaissance and he said -“You can be effective at advancing change without having to be a politician.” This was regarding the reestablishment of the Michigan Business Leadership Counsel. I may be cynical but I don’t believe it possible without being tied to politics, especially since the first counsel fell apart and all of these business leaders have significant political ties already and pronounced self interests, for legitimate change to occur on a national or global level.

CC: They are going to meet in September; many things are on the table, who knows what’ll come out of it. But I think the headliner is this – Michigan has tons of unique challenges beyond what the country faces. No one person is going to solve this; it’s going to be more of a collaborative sort of thing. If everyone stays in an “us versus them” mentality nothing will get done for either group. They will have to come up with a strategy different form the current one. Politics will have to come into play. But I think they are going to try and change the state’s tax policy, which many view as anti business. Whether you talk to Rothwell, DeVos, or Livernis; they are all trying to do things now to better position the state for the future.

TM: How far removed can these leaders get from the partisan disagreements to actually get something done?

CC: Regardless of party ties, we need creative ideas to get us moving in the right direction. And that is the goal of their meeting.

TM: Moving in the world of journalism now. With the way media and new media is developing- all fast paced and quick blog/twitter type of reporting are we losing good journalists? Do you believe we will ever see another Halberstam or Woodward and Bernstein or even another Hunter S. Thompson?

CC: The way information is being delivered is evolving. When I give speeches to universities I tell them not to get tied to the way news is being delivered. There will be new ways we can’t even comprehend today. I went to a conference in the mid 90s with every major US newspaper in attendance, and they were giving a lecture about the internet, and its effects on journalism. I looked around and all the faces were like “when is this over, this doesn’t affect us.” Now 15 years later it is dominating our lives. I think we will always have journalists, although the vehicle will continue to evolve. Whether it’s through print, online, or digital methods, they will persevere.

TM: Could Woodward and Bernstein receive the support in today’s climate to research and develop All the President’s Men over the time that they did?

CC: I think they will always have resources to do so. All media entities are challenged today. The big issue is that it is a money making operation- yes it furthers the freedom of speech, but its goal is to be profitable; and that is a challenge especially in this environment. Readership is up, people are reading more things, not necessarily just newspapers, maybe your book if it’s a best seller. But it’s all becoming so niche. So if you are only interested in sailing you will be able to get anything you want on sailing sent directly to you, whether that is print, online, or digital. Journalism has been around for so many years, and it will continue to be around in the future- it is too important, which is why our forefathers made free speech an amendment.

TM: People focus too much on breaking news- when groundbreaking news is what is remembered and fuels sales. Breaking news is overrated – accurate groundbreaking news is what we want. Newspapers can’t compete on speed, but they can compete and differentiate on quality. I fear that the two years it took to write All the President’s Men will not be available to today’s journalist. I am afraid that the attention to detail that newspapers have will be lost as they try to compete with blogs.

CC: Things change. Recently I looked at a paper from 70 years ago; there is nothing but text, and about 25 stories on this nut grass type of thing. The info that we are getting will be packaged differently. On a regular basis people may not want long stories. There will be a number of vehicles used to get news to people. From the 140 character twitter posts to a number of longer news options available. The industry has changed and will continue to change dramatically. I speak to many high schools and universities and my message to students looking to get into this field would be to get used to change because that is the name of the game going forward.