- The Center for Michigan released its annual report, highlighting impactful journalism, staff additions, revenue growth
- Bridge Michigan and BridgeDetroit increased community engagement through events, drawing thousands of attendees
- Staff across both newsrooms earned recognition, including journalist of the year honors and fellowships
The Center for Michigan, the nonprofit publisher of Bridge Michigan and BridgeDetroit, has released its latest annual report outlining newsroom performance, finances and community engagement in 2025.
The 36-page report details impactful journalism, revenue growth, staffing additions and outreach efforts over the past year.
“The challenge facing journalism right now isn’t just producing great reporting — it’s making sure it actually reaches people in a fragmented, declining media environment,” said Katy Locker, CEO of The Center for Michigan.
“What this report shows is how we’re building the infrastructure to do that at scale across Michigan, because a healthy democracy depends on people having access to reliable, nonpartisan information,” Locker said.
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The Center for Michigan raised more than $1 million from more than 9,000 individual donors in 2025, extending a multi-year streak of increased giving. The report lists contributors who donated more than $1,000 as part of the organization’s ongoing transparency efforts.
Other highlights:
- In September, Bridge Michigan, BridgeDetroit and Center for Michigan staff moved into a brand-new shared office in Detroit’s Midtown neighborhood. Bridge Michigan also maintains an office in Lansing, near the state Capitol.
- Bridge Michigan expanded again in 2025, adding Eli Newman as a second health reporter, Kim Kozlowski as a second education reporter, Laura Herberg as an Outdoors Life reporter on the environmental team and regional editor Justin Hinkley, who launched new regional coverage of northern and western Michigan.
- With the ongoing emergence of artificial intelligence, Bridge Michigan and BridgeDetroit staff researched, wrote and adopted a formal AI policy. Among the tenets: “We will never publish content created or assisted by AI without verification by journalists.”
The report highlights continued emphasis on civic engagement: More than 4,000 people attended Bridge Michigan’s various engagement events, which covered topics ranging from President Donald Trump’s policies to the state’s disappearing whitefish. BridgeDetroit hosted 12 gatherings that drew more than 1,200 attendees and also distributed about 5,000 voter guides.
The Center for Michigan also emphasized expanding its reach on social media as a key part of its growth strategy, according to the report. Both Bridge Michigan and BridgeDetroit increased investment in platform-specific storytelling, including short-form video, graphics and audience-focused explainers designed to meet readers where they consume news.
Staff from both Bridge Michigan and BridgeDetroit were recognized for their contributions to journalism. Among the honors:
- Reporters Ron French and Robin Erb were named journalists of the year by the Detroit chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists for their investigative coverage of how opioid settlement funds were being spent across Michigan. The recognition marked a second consecutive year that Bridge Michigan reporters received the top honor.
- Center for Michigan journalists won numerous awards in the Michigan Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest.
- Former Bridge Michigan editor David Zeman was inducted into the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame. Former Bridge editor Lisa Yanick Litwiller, who died in 2024, was posthumously inducted into Central Michigan University’s Media Hall of Fame.
- Jena Brooker of BridgeDetroit was selected for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network fellowship, one of five journalists chosen nationwide. The investigative project examines how heavy industry, zoning and pollution impact health and quality of life in Detroit.