Jeanne Findlater

The Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame announced Thursday (2/26) that it will induct five members in 2026.  The five include Jeanne Findlater, former VP/GM of WXYZ (Detroit); photographer Steve Jessmore, who worked for different publications, including The Flint Journal; Bill Kubota, a video journalist at Detroit Public Television, who previously worked at WXYZ and WJRT in Flint; former Detroit Free Press executive editor and publisher David Lawrence; and former Gongwer News Service reporter, editor, and publisher John Lindstrom.

All five have consistently spent decades using journalism to elevate lives and communities.  

Jeanne Findlater reached from her platform as a TV Vice President and General Manager to raise up lives with news content. Working from WXYZ-TV, Channel 7 in Detroit, her teams enlightened millions about literacy, teen pregnancy, high school graduation rates and vaccinations. Content she championed was shared or syndicated coast to coast. As a pioneering woman executive, Findlater encouraged and mentored a generation of women and men to make journalism do more.  Editor's note:  Findlater was recipient of the MAB Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015.  This followed her 2001 induction into the Michigan Broadcasting Hall of Fame. 

Steve Jessmore has focus. While many photojournalists train long lenses on distant shores, Jessmore zeroes in on worlds close at hand. His images show us what we all experience but sometimes miss: our communities. In his local-first approach, Jessmore creates national-caliber photography. His haunts have included Central Michigan University, Bay City, Saginaw and Flint. Jessmore’s photojournalism and his encore career in wildlife and bird photography have drawn the nation’s eye to Michigan.  

Bill Kubota is a video journalist who makes people look at what they might not want to see. He learned to tell stories at Michigan State University. He chronicled the rise of cellphones and crack addiction, the coalescence of neo-Nazis and the Klan, of Vietnam veterans’ broken-hearted homecomings. He keeps honing his work on anti-Asian hate and the 40th anniversary of Vincent Chin’s brutal killing, which fostered a U.S. pan-Asian identity. Kubota’s training grounds have been the streets of Lansing and Flint and DPTV’s One Detroit. 

David Lawrence Jr. is intense. He goes full-out whether engaged in a struggle between the country’s biggest newspaper chains or helping its smallest children. He led the Detroit Free Press as Knight Ridder and the Gannett-owned News battled for supremacy. He battled systems that discourage newsroom diversity. He helped create a high school journalism program and Children First advocacy that became national models. He works so intently on children’s learning that a K-8 public school has been named after him. 

John Lindstrom is a reporter’s reporter. He has earned – and shares – deep knowledge of Michigan government and politics. Lindstrom helped make Gongwer News Service the hands-down, must-read, go-to source on state policy. He explained how the Single Business Tax, Proposal A school funding and other policies affect lives. As statehouse reporting is diminishing across the country, Lindstrom may be the last of a breed we will miss. 

The 2026 Hall of Fame class will be honored at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing on April 19. According to the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame, all five exemplify extraordinary journalism careers and have remained true to their professional values for decades. The website is https://mijournalismhalloffame.org/. Registration questions may be directed to Betsy DeSantis at 517-353-6431 or email at desant39@msu.edu. 

The Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame was established to recognize those who have advanced the legacy of a free and responsible press and who have elevated Michigan journalism. Induction memorializes extraordinary and clearly outstanding careers.