Good luck Steve.

[Full Statement copied here for the benefit of those who may not be able to open a Word document]

Although it won’t be at Channel 7, before I leave Detroit where there’s so much work to be done, I’m exploring a new way to continue investigating government corruption and other waste and frauds that have so badly hurt this region.

Before I explain the new concept I’m developing, I must say a heartfelt thank you for the opportunities and support I’ve received from managers here inside Broadcast House. I want my colleagues especially to know that were it not for those past and present managers here, people with the courage to stand up for Channel 7’s long tradition as a Detroit leader in investigative reporting [[and my own willingness to quietly accept a substantial pay cut I’ve lived with for the last two years), I would not have been on the air at WXYZ-TV this long. Nonetheless, my own experience has made me even more mindful of the countless families whose lives have been virtually devastated through absolutely no fault of their own, either.

Although it is deeply disappointing to see the further reduction of local investigative reporting—Channel 2 recently parted with its chief investigative reporter, a veteran with 22 years in Detroit, and newspapers across the region have made well-publicized cutbacks—I am not at all bitter and fully respect the right of my corporate managers to meet their business goals as they see fit. I’m sure they also appreciate my right to wonder, even in a tough economy, how a decision to reduce or eliminate investigative efforts as they are also doing at other stations in the group squares with the company’s promise that it remains “committed to…providing high-quality content…and public service.”


I’m leaving a wonderful newsroom full of journalists unlike any other I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with and a station that’s home to so many folks I admire and deeply respect. I know they will continue to do their best to make “on your side” more than a slogan.

Finally—and most important—to the people of Southeast Michigan: Thank you for showing that you still enthusiastically favor news organizations that exhibit the courage to serve up hard-hitting, no-nonsense reports about issues that really matter. I will be forever grateful for the support and encouragement that so many of you have voiced on the phone, in writing and personally wherever I go. I hope I can count on you to help me establish a new home for more tenacious local reporting before it disappears to an even greater extent.

Inspired by similar models that are already working in New England and Texas and California, places where investigative reporting was withering, I’ve begun the work to establish a Michigan Center For Investigative Reporting. As a 501[[c)3 non-profit organization, it would be home to a first-rate investigative reporting team that would have the time and resources to tenaciously dig deep into issues of real importance, to uncover what would otherwise remain hidden. I'm talking about picking up where I've left off and concentrating on stories I've promised to do, like the insurance crisis in Detroit.

This plan will require partners at local broadcast and print outlets that would carry the stories without any one of them having to bear the full cost. The lion’s share of the funding would come from grants from various sources and foundations…but to some extent, The Center will also need to count on “support from people like you,” as they say on public television and radio.

I’ve already begun conversations to help this happen…and I believe with real community support, it can. Detroit is a place that’s seen how tenacious investigative journalism is sometimes the only way to know what we’ll never hear from any politician’s soundbite, and to hold accountable the people who put their special interests ahead of the public interest.

There is so much to be done and I know the job of launching a new model to invigorate local investigative reporting here will not be easy. If you’re so inclined, I’d certainly appreciate reading your thoughts here, especially about whether such a model for investigative reporting can work in this area at this time...and your best suggestions and advice for making it happen. You can reach me with an e-mail to wilson@investigatemichigan.com.