The Clarity Post

General Motors’ Chief Executive Ed Whitacre announced today that GM anticipates”solid” first quarter financial statements. In January, when the then-newly appointed CEO made assurances that GM would turn things around, the auto company had just received $50 billion in federal aid and hadn’t turned a profit in five years. Last year, the auto industry couldn’t keep out of the limelight, but in this present news cycle–dominated by health care, nuclear weapons, earthquakes, and other critical issues–positive signs of improvement in the auto industry and, some say, the economy’s overall health have not warranted much attention.

Though there is still a long road to to recovery for GM and the economy at large, it is worth noting that within a year of declaring bankruptcy, Whitacre is keeping to his predictions of profits. In this post-bailout climate, news of success after government takeover is just as significant as disappointing headlines announcing that corporations given government monies continue their morally and financially bankrupting business practices and the shirking of responsibilities to tax payers.

To get an idea of just what kind of impact the government bailout of the auto companies has today, I interviewed Dan Roseland, owner of the local Sonoma General Motors dealership. The very helpful Roseland gave an overview of this struggle and its impact on this local community. Excerpts from that interview are in this short video above.

Please excuse some distracting ambient noise. This interview experience was an instructive lesson for me as I hone my skills as “backpack” journalist–the writer, producer, cameraperson, interviewer, and editor all-in-one. Alas, in pursuing this newfangled journalistic practice, one could still benefit from a sponsor that might offer a lavalier or boom mic.

Filed under: Watchdogs & Transparency Tagged: | auto industry, bailout, economic health, General Motors, U.S. economy