Bridge reporter wins national honors for articles on working poor
Lindsay VanHulleA package of articles by Lindsay VanHulle, a reporter in a joint venture between Bridge Magazine and Crain’s Detroit Business, has won a top prize in a national journalism contest for local business magazines and newspapers that are members of the Alliance of Area Business Publications.
VanHulle won a gold prize in the category for “best local coverage of a national economic story” for her look at the so-called ALICE worker -- the working poor -- referred to as ALICE for “asset-limited, income-constrained, but employed.”
She focused on the impact of those employees on the workforce and the cost of turnover, steps some employers are taking to remove barriers to employment and, at the same time, increase employee retention.
The judges said: “The working poor are trapped, and this piece pulls back the curtain on the daily stresses that undermine low wage workers in staying employed.”
They added that VanHulle shows that the churn of these low-wage workers cost companies and suggests how help for low-wage workers, including transportation and childcare, has a bigger economic payoff
VanHulle, 31, is based in Lansing, and covers the intersection of business and public policy for Bridge and Crain’s. Before starting her current beat in 2015, she worked for the Lansing State Journal and Traverse City Record-Eagle.
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