Something nearly inconceivable is happening in Metro Detroit next week, a new business is opening. And to make it seem even more improbable, this business is a new daily newspaper – the Detroit Daily Press.

Detroit is without a doubt one of the most dilapidated and economically defunct cities in America right now, and the fact that the owners of the Press, brothers Gary and Mark Stern, are willing to take chance on the city with a new daily paper speaks volumes about where the state of newspapers actually is.

As a journalism student I often hear how newspapers are “dying” and that it will be extremely challenging to find a job because there are fewer papers now than there were five years ago. I don’t believe the newspaper business is dying. Changing? Yes.

The Sterns echo this sentiment of a changing world for newspapers and are making a statement with the Detroit Daily Press.

Mark Stern said he and his brother want the Press to cover local news from an impact perspective, making it more attractive to new readers. The Sterns are also hoping the Press will step in and fill the void left by The Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press when they opted for cutting home delivery to only three days a week.

The Sterns brothers realize they are taking a gamble in Detroit. Financing the Press was actually three-times more expensive that they originally anticipated, but they are determined to offer an affordable daily paper for Macomb, Oakland and Wayne Counties.

Mark and Gary Stern are no strangers to the world of Detroit newspapers, having published a newspaper in Detroit in 1964 when the News and Free Press were on strike. That paper was the original Detroit Daily Press.

I am excited for this new paper in Detroit. It will bring a new fresh look to a landscape often marked with job losses, crime and a horrible football team and desperately needs something or someone to lift its spirits. With all the jobs and people leaving the Detroit area, it is uplifting to see a new business – with 60 new jobs – move into Metro Detroit. Especially because if the Sterns do fill the void left by the News’ and Free Press’s lack of home delivery, they have an excellent chance of being successful and adding a third major paper to the area.

The newspaper is set to debut on November 23, and will begin home delivery on November 30. The Sterns’ goal is to have 100,000 home deliveries and 100,000 single-copy sales, according to the Associated Press.

The City of Detroit needs all the help it can get, and supporting local businesses is part of that help. I encourage anyone who will be in the Detroit area within the next few weeks to pick up a copy of the Detroit Daily Press and give it a chance. As the Sterns are trying to prove, newspapers are not dead. They just hit a speed-bump.

E-mail the author: Michael L. Hoffman