Bridge Michigan names Bill Emkow executive editor for growth and audience strategy

The expanded leadership role reflects Bridge Michigan’s continued evolution and growing focus on journalistic impact, innovation and audience reach.

A note from CEO Katy Locker:

I’m pleased to share that The Center for Michigan has named Bill Emkow Bridge Michigan’s executive editor for growth and audience strategy, recognizing both the significant leadership role he has played in Bridge’s growth and the increasing importance of audience understanding, engagement and reach to the future of our journalism. Bill joins Joel Kurth, executive editor for impact, and Kathy Kieliszewski, executive editor for innovation, as Bridge Michigan’s three executive editors.

The structure reflects our growing emphasis on bringing together the impact of our journalism, innovation in how we produce and deliver it, and our understanding of the audiences and communities we serve. Producing excellent journalism remains at the center of our work. Equally important is ensuring that journalism reaches the people who need it, understanding how they engage with it, and using what we learn to inform and strengthen our work. Bill has been instrumental in advancing these efforts, and his expanded leadership role reflects our commitment to making them an even more integral part of Bridge Michigan’s journalism and strategy.

Since joining Bridge in 2018, Bill has led strategies that have significantly expanded the reach of our journalism and strengthened our direct relationships with readers. Today, his work spans audience growth, newsletters, engagement, analytics and revenue strategy at Bridge Michigan, helping connect editorial decision-making with a deeper understanding of the people and communities we serve. He also brings that expertise to shared audience and growth efforts across the Center for Michigan, including work that supports BridgeDetroit, while working in partnership with the leadership of its newsroom.

Bill is a journalist and editor with more than 30 years of experience. Before joining Bridge, he held editorial and digital leadership roles at MLive, the Detroit Free Press and WXYZ-TV. He earned a journalism degree from Michigan State University.

“What excites me about this role is the opportunity to bring great journalism and audience understanding even closer together,” Bill said. “Our job isn’t finished when we publish. We need to understand whether our journalism is reaching and serving people, learn from what they tell us and use those insights to make our journalism and our organization even stronger.”

As executive editor for growth and audience strategy, Bill will work alongside Joel and Kathy as Bridge continues to refine a newsroom leadership model built around three interconnected priorities: the impact of our journalism, the continued evolution of how we produce and deliver it, and our ability to expand its reach and build stronger relationships with the people we serve. The change comes during a period of continued evolution and growth for Bridge Michigan. The newsroom is expanding its regional journalism, experimenting with new approaches to newsletters and audience engagement, and continuing to strengthen the systems and leadership that support its statewide reporting.

That work recently received significant national recognition. In September, LION Publishers — the national association supporting independent local news organizations across the United States and Canada — recognized Bridge Michigan as one of just 11 news businesses among 440 audited in 2025–26 to reach the “Sustaining” stage, the highest stage in LION’s Sustainability Audit maturity model. The assessment examines news organizations across three dimensions: journalistic impact, financial health and operational resilience. The recognition is meaningful not because it suggests that the work of building Bridge is finished, but because it validates the approach we have taken: investing simultaneously in excellent journalism, the audiences and communities that journalism serves, diversified revenue, and the people and systems necessary to keep adapting.

That approach will also be reflected next month at Bridge Michigan’s first-ever Issues Summit, bringing together residents, civic leaders, policymakers and subject-matter experts for journalist-led conversations about the issues shaping Michigan’s future. The Summit builds on the work of the entire Bridge Michigan newsroom to extend the reach and impact of our journalism and deepen our engagement with the people and communities we serve.

It’s one more example of where Bridge Michigan is headed next.

Katy Locker
CEO, Center for Michigan
Publisher, Bridge Michigan and BridgeDetroit