By Kurt Metzger/Data Driven Detroit Detroit area businessman and philanthropist Dexter Ferry founded the Detroit Science Center in 1970. In 1978, the DSC moved to its current facility in Midtown at the corner of John R and Warren, adjacent to the Detroit Institute of Arts and Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. The […]
Guest Commentary
At Bridge, we believe in listening to voices from all over our state. Got something to say? Contact us and join the conversation (details below)
How to submit a Guest Commentary
What to know:
Bridge welcomes a diversity of voices and perspectives from readers on issues important to Michigan. Guest commentaries reflect the views of the author(s), and are independent of the nonpartisan, fact-driven reporting of Bridge’s newsroom staff.
Commentaries must be the author’s original work and preferably will not have appeared first in other publications. Bridge reserves the right to decline submissions at our discretion.
We reserve the right to edit commentary for grammar, clarity, brevity or to address legal or factual concerns. We may offer editing suggestions, but in the service of making your work more accessible, not to alter your views.
We do not pay for guest commentary.
Here are some guidelines:
- Columns are usually 500-700 words
- They generally focus on a Michigan topic or policy and should avoid ad hominem attacks
- The more direct, distinct and/or intimate your perspective, the more effective your column will be
- The best columns do more than identify problems; they also offer solutions and facts to back them up
- Please include a one- or two-sentence bio, including the writer’s organization or relevant background.
- Authors must show their work, by backing up facts with links to reports or studies
- Bridge does not publish self-promotional columns or candidate endorsements
- Send a good quality, large headshot of the writer(s) as an attachment
- We also ask that, in return for publishing a guest commentary, the author(s) and their organizations generously promote the link to the published column through your Facebook, Twitter and other social or professional networks.
That’s about it. Keep the writing clear, conversational and free of jargon, and sell our smart and receptive readership on the argument you are trying to make.
Who to contact:
Email your submission or idea to guestcommentary@bridgemi.com. Please briefly describe who you are and what you would like to say and put the words “guest commentary” in the email subject line.
Guest column: State's broken tax system favors corporations over families
By Gilda Z. Jacobs/Michigan League for Public Policy As we enter the budget-setting season in Lansing, we need to step back and ask ourselves some important questions. Does our revenue structure keep up with the times? Does it improve our education levels and at least keep our quality of life from eroding? Does it ‘pay […]
Guest column: Don’t play ‘either-or’ game on Michigan energy policy
By Mark Fisk/Michigan Energy, Michigan Jobs Proposal 3 sparked a significant debate in Michigan about what alternative energy sources we could be using to create jobs, reduce our dependence on imported coal and foreign oil and improve public health by decreasing dangerous pollution in our air and water. The Proposal 3 campaign raised important issues […]
Guest column: Right to Work is no guarantee of economic success
By Timothy J. Bartik/W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research Will “Right to Work” boost Michigan’s economic development? What does research say? Research suggests that the economic development effects of RTW are uncertain, with downside risks. Some studies find RTW boosts job growth, while other studies do not. Some studies find RTW reduces wages, while other […]
Guest column: Prison savings to reach $250 million
By Daniel Heyns/Michigan Department of Corrections I know for the past several years the Center for Michigan has been an active participant in the dialogue surrounding lowering corrections costs in Michigan. The Center facilitated the creation of the Corrections Reform Coalition — a collection of business, education, local government and nonprofit groups focused on enhancing […]
Guest column: Replace expensive, unreliable wind power with natural gas
By Kevon Martis/ Interstate Informed Citizen’s Coalition Michigan voters recently defeated a renewable energy mandate by a nearly 2 to 1 margin. Since Michiganders desire cheap, clean, abundant electricity, should we try again to mandate higher percentages of renewable energy? Or is there a wiser path? Industrial wind facilities are similar to that disappointing Christmas […]
Guest column: Getting serious about ‘Agenda 21’
By Brad Garmon/Michigan Environmental Council Depending on where you hang your political hat, United Nations Agenda 21’s environmental recommendations represent one of two things. It could be the playbook of a shadowy global elite working to achieve total “global control,” in the words of former Fox News provocateur Glenn Beck. This is a commonly held […]
Guest column: Flashing yellow turn lights improve driver safety
By James Lake/Michigan Department of Transportation The flashing yellow arrow left-turn signal is becoming more common on Michigan roads. If you haven’t seen one on your travels yet, you will soon. As with anything new, however, the flashing yellow arrow can be a bit confusing at first. But, as drivers encounter them more often, and […]
Guest column: NY Times flubs Mich. tax breaks
By Tim Bartik/ W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research Louise Story, an investigative reporter for The New York Times, recently wrote a three-part series on state business incentives. The series was accompanied by a new database, which reports annual dollar figures for business incentives for each state. This database reports that Michigan’s business incentives total […]
Guest column: Oakland County school helps students thrive in IB curriculum
By Joan Stelzer More than 300 Oakland County high school seniors at the International Academy in Bloomfield Hills recently passed a key milestone when their 4,000-word essays electronically flew to evaluators around the world. Taking six months to research and write, each extended essay was an investigation into a topic never before published. It is […]
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