Michigan

Michael Symonds

Michael Symonds tackles the rural meets metro beat at WMUK 102.1 FM in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Symonds started his journalistic career as staff reporter with the Western Herald covering news and community, and cultural issues and events on Western Michigan University’s campus. After this position, Symonds worked as the lead Community & Culture reporter for the Western Herald. In addition to this, he worked as a general assignment staff reporter for WMUK 102.1 FM covering life in Southwest Michigan and hosted the talk show Stupid Questions on 89.1 WIDR FM, where he interviewed myriad guests including political experts and registered student organization leaders. Symonds graduated from Western Michigan University in 2023 with a bachelor's in journalism and digital media.

Detroit Free Press

The Detroit Free Press news site, and a paper published three days a week, aims for consistent revelatory enterprise that enlightens and mobilizes readers. During the last five years, it has introduced several initiatives aiming to strengthen democracy, hold more public officials accountable and build trust with audiences who haven't received the attention they deserve from local media. This news organization has earned 10 Pulitzer Prizes.

WMUK-FM

WMUK is southwest Michigan's only locally-owned public radio service. Based in Kalamazoo, we serve the Kalamazoo-Battle Creek metro area as well as the Lake Michigan shoreline, fruit belt and south-central communities of our region. Our mission is to tell stories that engage listeners across our coverage area and beyond. We look past the crime blotter for news we haven't seen anyone else report and turn it into sound-rich features and fresh newscast spots.

Hunter McLaren

Hunter McLaren covers the city of Hastings, Michigan and surrounding Barry County communities for The Hastings Banner. McLaren has reported for Michigan’s MLive.com news site, covering breaking news and community stories, including NASCAR races at the Michigan International Speedway. He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Central Michigan University. There, he worked as a reporter, photographer and associate editor of Central Michigan Life, the student paper. McLaren’s reporting has taken him to Edinburgh, Scotland.

Jennifer Brookland

Jennifer Brookland reports on child welfare in Michigan for the Detroit Free Press. Prior to joining the Free Press, she reported on military and veterans’ affairs and produced a daily talk show highlighting local and statewide issues for North Carolina Public Radio. She has also spent seven years freelancing. Brookland began her career as a special agent with the U.S. Air Force, where she led felony-level criminal investigations and was deployed to the Horn of Africa in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. She holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University, and a master’s from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Brookland says that she vaguely remembers enjoying traveling, reading and theater but adds that she spends most of her time now trying to convince her three kids that she’s in charge.

Joseph Cappelletti

Joey Cappelletti is the state government reporter for The Associated Press in Lansing, Michigan. Before joining the AP, he was a reporter at two newspapers in central and eastern Oregon, where he wrote multiple investigative pieces that were published throughout the state. Cappelletti holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism with a minor in international studies from the University of Oregon. While there, he was an opinion writer for the student paper, and hosted a radio show, interviewing local musicians, leaders and athletes.

Malak Silmi

Malak Silmi covers city and government affairs for Outlier Media, a nonprofit service journalism organization based in Detroit, Michigan. Previously, she was a digital reporter for the San Antonio Express-News in Texas, covering trends and breaking news. Silmi holds bachelor’s degrees in journalism and international studies from Wayne State University, where she was a reporter and news editor of the student paper, The South End. She has interned at Michigan public radio, and participated in The New York Times Student Journalism Institute. Shortly after graduating in 2020, Silmi reported for Outlier Media, providing updates on COVID-19 guidelines, elections and other topics, with information in both English and Arabic. For fun, she enjoys traveling, reading and enjoying the outdoors (when it’s warm).

Michael Indriolo

Michael Indriolo is a multimedia journalist at Flint Beat, a digital publication in Flint, Michigan. Before this, Indriolo worked at The Land, a Cleveland-based nonprofit newsroom, spearheading coverage of Cleveland’s historic 2021 mayoral election and health equity. He began his career at The Portager, which serves Portage County, Ohio, investigating how calls for racial equity in the wake of George Floyd’s murder clashed with the status quo in rural northeast Ohio. Indriolo says that growing up the son of a Lebanese refugee and a parent born in a small town in America left him ethnically ambiguous while offering him unique insights into what being an American means, and if it weren’t for violence ripping through Lebanon in the ‘70s, most of his family wouldn’t be in America. That’s what he seeks to understand through journalism: how violence intersects with communities’ and individuals’ pursuits of the American dream.

Michael Livingston

Michael Livingston covers four rural counties in northern Michigan for Michigan’s Interlochen Public Radio and the Traverse City Record-Eagle. A recent graduate of Central Michigan University with bachelor’s degrees in journalism and international relations, Livingston was editor-in-chief of the college newspaper, Central Michigan Life, and won multiple awards with the rest of his staff. He has interned at WCMU Public Radio/Michigan newspaper collaborations.

Rasha Almulaiki

Rasha Almulaiki covers politics, community policy, and business in Detroit, Michigan as the multimedia journalist at the Michigan Chronicle. She is a second generation Yemeniya living in the Detroit diaspora. Prior to joining the Michigan Chronicle, Almulaiki worked as a freelance journalist for The Arab American News, Outlier Media, and Metro Times Detroit, reporting on such diverse community issues as local campaigns and elections, art and culture, community politics, public city meetings, and on building developments, using data-driven research. Her journalism aspirations stem from a decade of work in community-advocacy organizations including global diplomacy, education, criminal justice, and restorative community safety. These experiences on the ground, among others, inspired her to write stories of marginalized and underrepresented communities of color. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature and gender, sexuality, and women’s studies from Wayne State University.