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David Lawrence (Left), Jeanne Findlater, John Lindstrom (bottom)
The Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame inductees for 2026 include former Detroit Free Press executive editor and publisher David Lawrence and former Gongwer News Service reporter, editor, and publisher John Lindstrom.
Other inductees include Jeanne Findlater, former vice president and general manager of WXYZ; photographer Steve Jessmore, who worked for different publications, including The Flint Journal; and Bill Kubota, a video journalist at Detroit Public Television, who previously worked at WXYZ and WJRT in Flint.
Lindstrom, who currently writes guest columns for the Detroit Free Press, rose through the ranks at the Lansing-based Gongwer, spending 36 years there, first as a reporter and then an editor. His last 10 years he served as publisher.
Lawrence was a highly respected old-school executive editor and publisher at the Free Press, who later headed up the Miami Herald before retiring from there in 1999. He went on to become a leading national advocate for children.
In 1979, Findlater became the general manager and vice president of WXYZ and was the first woman in the country to head a major-market station or one owned by a television network, according to a bio on the Women's Hall of Fame website, to which she was inducted in 2014.
"During Findlater’s eight-year tenure, the station focused on broadcasting news and information much of its 24-hour day," the bio said. "Many programs were locally produced, reflecting that she moved up the ranks in programming."
The Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing on Sunday, April 19th.
