This Tuesday, July 22, Local Media Association in collaboration with Michigan State University, Michigan Association of Broadcasters, Michigan Press Association, Medill Local News Initiative, Rebuild Local News, Graham Media Group, Gannett, Real Times Media, Press Forward, Knight Foundation and many other local news outlets, will host a summit to address the local news crisis affecting Michiganders. The event aims to unite business leaders, media companies and philanthropists to support initiatives that enhance education and information for Michigan citizens.

The summit aims to spotlight the steep decline in local journalism and its widespread consequences for communities across the state.

The event will take place at the Detroit Athletic Club from 3 to 4:30 p.m. and will be live streamed by Detroit PBS thanks to Knight Foundation support.

“This moment demands a united front,” said Tanisha Leonard, Local Media Foundation board chair and president of Pitch Black. “We launched this effort to not only raise awareness but to equip leaders, funders and the public with tools to address the erosion of local journalism. Our hope is that what we build in Michigan can be replicated in other states.”

The summit was inspired by the urgent need to educate the public about the rapid loss of local reporting capacity, a crisis playing out across the country but acutely felt in Michigan, where 41 of 83 counties have just one or no local news outlet, and the state has lost 40% of its newspapers since 2005.

Chuck Todd, former moderator of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” will lead a special conversation with Michigan-based media CEOs as part of the program. The full event brings together leaders from journalism, government, academia, business and philanthropy to explore collaborative, sustainable solutions to rebuild local news.

“This isn’t just a Michigan story. It’s part of a national reckoning,” said Rich Homberg, president and CEO of Detroit PBS. “The decline of local journalism is leaving communities everywhere in the dark. Through this summit, we aim to elevate the conversation and spotlight practical, scalable solutions.”

For more information or to RSVP to the summit, click here.