Local Media Association convenes statewide summit on local news crisis in Michigan

This moment demands a united front. We launched this effort to not only raise awareness but to equip leaders, funders and the public with tools to address the erosion of local journalism. Our hope is that what we build in Michigan can be replicated in other states.”

Tanisha Leonard, Local Media Foundation board chair and president of Pitch Black

DETROIT — Nearly a year in the making, a major statewide summit focused on “The Crisis in Local News and the Impact on Michigan Communities” will take place on Tuesday, July 22, at the Detroit Athletic Club. Convened by the Local Media Association (LMA) in cooperation with Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Michigan State University’s School of Journalism, Rebuild Local News, the Knight Foundation, Detroit PBS, Real Times Media, Graham Media Group, Gannett, Michigan Press Association, Michigan Association of Broadcasters, Press Forward, MLive and Crain’s Detroit Business. The summit aims to spotlight the steep decline in local journalism and its widespread consequences for communities across the state.

“This moment demands a united front,” said Tanisha Leonard, Local Media Foundation board chair and president of Pitch Black. “We launched this effort to not only raise awareness but to equip leaders, funders and the public with tools to address the erosion of local journalism. Our hope is that what we build in Michigan can be replicated in other states.”

The summit was inspired by the urgent need to educate the public about the rapid loss of local reporting capacity — a crisis playing out across the country but acutely felt in Michigan, where 41 of 83 counties have just one or no local news outlet, and the state has lost 40% of its newspapers since 2005.

Chuck Todd, former moderator of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” will lead a special conversation with Michigan-based media CEOs as part of the program. The full event brings together leaders from journalism, government, academia, business and philanthropy to explore collaborative, sustainable solutions to rebuild local news.

Confirmed panelists include:

• Catherine Badalamente, CEO, Graham Media Group
• Sandy Baruah, president and CEO, Detroit Regional Chamber
• Melissa Davis, network manager, Press Forward
• Tim Franklin, senior associate dean, Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University
• Hiram Jackson, CEO, Real Times Media
• Tanisha Leonard, president, Pitch Black
• Duc Luu, director, Knight Foundation
• LaTrice McClendon, program director, Knight Foundation
• Nicole Avery Nichols, executive editor, Detroit Free Press
• Wendy Turner, executive director, Michigan Public
• Tim Vos, director of journalism, Michigan State University
• Steven Waldman, founder and CEO, Rebuild Local News

“This isn’t just a Michigan story. It’s part of a national reckoning,” said Rich Homberg, president and CEO of Detroit PBS. “The decline of local journalism is leaving communities everywhere in the dark. Through this summit, we aim to elevate the conversation and spotlight practical, scalable solutions.”

The summit will run from 3 to 4:30 p.m., followed by a networking reception. While the focus is on Michigan, the issues discussed are relevant to communities nationwide.

Thanks to generous support from the Knight Foundation and Detroit PBS, the full summit will be recorded and then broadcast to the industry on Wednesday, July 23, at 10 a.m. ET.

Learn more and RSVP:

https://localmedia.org/local-news-crisis-and-the-impact-on-michigan-communities-3/