Skip to main content
Michigan’s nonpartisan, nonprofit news source

Informing you and your community in 2025

Bridge Michigan’s year-end fundraising campaign is happening now! As we barrel toward 2025, we are crafting our strategy to watchdog Michigan’s newly elected officials, launch regional newsletters to better serve West and North Michigan, explore Michigan’s great outdoors with our new Outdoor Life reporter, innovate our news delivery and engagement opportunities, and much more!

Will you help us prepare for the new year? Your tax-deductible support makes our work possible!

Pay with VISA Pay with MasterCard Pay with American Express Pay with PayPal Donate

Bridge Michigan expands again, hires editor of innovation, daily news

Woman headshot
Award-winning editor Lisa Yanick Litwiller joins Bridge Michigan on Jan. 3 as executive editor of innovation and daily news.
  • Lisa Yanick Litwiller has built a career growing audiences and changing culture
  • She becomes Bridge’s executive editor of innovation and daily news on Jan. 3
  • Yanick Litwiller is key member of leadership team charged with continuing growth of Bridge to next generation

Award-winning editor Lisa Yanick Litwiller joins Bridge Michigan on Jan. 3 as executive editor of innovation and daily news, capping an expansion designed to lead Michigan’s premier nonprofit news site into another generation of growth.

Yanick Litwiller, 46, of Mount Pleasant comes to Bridge from the Pulitzer Prize-winning Center for Public Integrity, where she was director of audience since 2021. She had a similar role at the Hearst Newspapers chain of 11 daily and five weekly newspapers in Illinois, Michigan and Texas.

Sponsor

Her hiring follows a year of transition in Bridge that includes the retirements of Publisher John Bebow this month and Senior Editor David Zeman on Feb. 1; promotion of Joel Kurth to executive editor of impact and enterprise this summer and the ongoing hiring of two deputy editors.

Related:

“As we say goodbye to both John Bebow and David Zeman, we’re excited to bring Lisa’s experience to our newsroom and to add a representative of mid-Michigan to the voices at our table,” said Katy Locker, chief executive officer of the Center for Michigan, Bridge’s nonprofit publisher.

“There are endless opportunities for innovation in the delivery of Bridge Michigan’s reporting and our entire team is excited to partner with Lisa to explore these and lead Bridge Michigan to new growth and impact.”

The restructured newsroom is designed to allow Bridge Michigan to continue producing its signature deep-dive investigations into public policy and government, while exploring new ways of reaching readers with different mediums.

Yanick Litwiller has a proven track record of growing audience, fostering culture change and increasing engagement in an ever-changing industry — and she has deep roots in community journalism.  

She not only has helped lead fundraising, engagement and product campaigns, but also led an investigation into child sexual abuse connected to Boys & Girls Club in Connecticut that won national awards.

After years on the national stage, the move to Bridge returns Yanick Litwiller to her roots. 

She grew up in metro Detroit and graduated from Central Michigan University, where she served as an adjunct faculty member for several years. Yanick Litwiller also worked as engagement editor at the Morning Sun in Mount Pleasant and as an on-air personality and news editor at WCFX-FM in Clare and Mount Pleasant.

She is expected to oversee daily production of Bridge Michigan and work closely with Kurth, Growth Strategy Director Bill Emkow and other members of the leadership team.

Sponsor

The moves follow a decade of growth at Bridge, which was founded in 2011 and has won more than 200 state and national journalism awards, including five Michigan Press Association Newspaper of the Year honors and three Michigan Journalist of the Year awards.

In the past three years, Bridge expanded coverage, hiring breaking news, capitol and business reporters and launching new newsletters.

The hiring of two deputy editors also is likely to be announced early next year.

How impactful was this article for you?

Only donate if we've informed you about important Michigan issues

See what new members are saying about why they donated to Bridge Michigan:

  • “In order for this information to be accurate and unbiased it must be underwritten by its readers, not by special interests.” - Larry S.
  • “Not many other media sources report on the topics Bridge does.” - Susan B.
  • “Your journalism is outstanding and rare these days.” - Mark S.

If you want to ensure the future of nonpartisan, nonprofit Michigan journalism, please become a member today. You, too, will be asked why you donated and maybe we'll feature your quote next time!

Pay with VISA Pay with MasterCard Pay with American Express Pay with PayPal Donate Now