The Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame, housed in Michigan State University’s School of Journalism, has announced that it will induct five members in 2026. They are Jeanne Findlater, Steve Jessmore, Bill Kubota, David Lawrence Jr. and John Lindstrom. All five have consistently spent decades using journalism to elevate lives and communities.
The Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame was established to recognize those who have advanced the legacy of a free and responsible press and who have elevated Michigan journalism. Induction memorializes extraordinary and clearly outstanding careers.
- Jeanne Findlater used her platform as an ABC vice president and general manager of WXYZ-TV to advocate for social justice in her editorials and locally produced programs. She was the first woman in the country to lead a major television station. She created the “Learn to Read” series seen nationally by millions that addressed adult literacy; produced programming and editorialized on civil rights, fair housing, teen pregnancy and women’s health issues. A proponent of locally created programming, the station aired hours of newscasts, public affairs and information shows throughout the day.
- Steve Jessmore has focus. While many photojournalists train long lenses on distant shores, Jessmore zeroes in on worlds close at hand. His images show us what we all experience but sometimes miss: our communities. In his local-first approach, Jessmore creates national-caliber photography. His haunts have included Central Michigan University, Bay City, Saginaw and Flint. Jessmore’s photojournalism and his encore career in wildlife and bird photography have drawn the nation’s eye to Michigan.
- Bill Kubota is a video journalist who makes people look at what they might not want to see. He learned to tell stories at Michigan State University. He chronicled the rise of cellphones and crack addiction, the coalescence of neo-Nazis and the Klan, of Vietnam veterans’ broken-hearted homecomings. He keeps honing his work on anti-Asian hate and the 40th anniversary of Vincent Chin’s brutal killing, which fostered a U.S. pan-Asian identity. Kubota’s training grounds have been the streets of Lansing and Flint and DPTV’s One Detroit.
- David Lawrence Jr. is intense. He goes full-out whether engaged in a struggle between the country’s biggest newspaper chains or helping its smallest children. He led the Detroit Free Press as Knight Ridder and the Gannett-owned Detroit News battled for supremacy. He combatted systems that discourage newsroom diversity. He helped create a high school journalism program and Children First advocacy that became national models. He works so intently on children’s learning that a K-8 public school has been named after him.
- John Lindstrom is a reporter’s reporter. He has earned — and shares — deep knowledge of Michigan government and politics. Lindstrom helped make Gongwer News Service the hands-down, must-read, go-to source on state policy. He explained how the Single Business Tax, Proposal A school funding and other policies affect lives. As statehouse reporting is diminishing across the country, Lindstrom may be the last of a breed we will miss.
The 2026 Hall of Fame class will be honored at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center in East Lansing on April 19. Send registration questions to Betsy DeSantis at 517-353-6431 or desant39@msu.edu.
Co-sponsors of the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame are the Michigan chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association; the Detroit chapter of the Association for Women in Communications; Central Michigan University’s School of Communication, Journalism and Media; the Detroit chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists; the Detroit and Mid-Michigan chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists; the Detroit Press Club; Wayne State University’s journalism program; the Michigan Association of Broadcasters; and the School of Journalism at Michigan State University.
MSU’s School of Journalism has been the home of the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame since 1985, reprising the Michigan Newspaper Hall of Fame, which became dormant in 1968. The Michigan Press Association and the MSU School of Journalism established the original Michigan Newspaper Hall of Fame in 1952.
