Michael L. Elrick (born 1968) is an American journalist based in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, Michigan, where he has worked for the ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' (commonly referred to as the ''Freep'') is a major daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest local newspaper owned by Gannett (the publisher of ''USA Today''), and is operated by the Detro ...

'' and for

WJBK-TV WJBK (channel 2) is a television station in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Owned and operated by the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network through its Fox Television Stations division, the station maintains studios and transmitter facilities ...

. Elrick attended the Grosse Pointe school system; attending Defer Elementary, Pierce Middle, and graduated from GP South High in 1985. Elrick graduated from

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

in 1990 with a

Bachelor of Journalism The Bachelor of Journalism (B.J.) degree is a degree awarded at some universities to students who have studied journalism in a three or four year undergraduate program. In the United States, some schools that do not award the B.J. degree instead c ...

degree. He wrote for the '' Concord (N.H.) Monitor'', and ''

Daily Southtown The ''Daily Southtown'' (formerly ''SouthtownStar'') is a newspaper of the Chicago, Illinois, United States, metropolitan area that covers the south suburbs and the South Side neighborhoods of the city – a wide region known as the Chic ...

'' in Chicago. His work has appeared in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...

'', '' Investigative Reporters and Editors Journal'',

Salon.com ''Salon'' is an American politically progressive and liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events. Content and coverage ''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, includ ...

, Rollingstone.com, the ''

National Law Journal ''The National Law Journal'' (NLJ) is an American legal periodical founded in 1978. The NLJ was created by Jerry Finkelstein, who envisioned it as a "sibling newspaper" of the ''New York Law Journal''. Originally a tabloid-sized weekly new ...

'', ''

Chicago Magazine ''Chicago'' is a monthly magazine published by Tribune Publishing. It concentrates on lifestyle and human interest stories, and on reviewing restaurants, travel, fashion, and theatre from or nearby Chicago. Its circulation in 2004 was 165,000, l ...

'' and '' Hour Detroit'' magazine. He teaches journalism at

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

, Michigan State, and

University of Michigan-Dearborn A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

. With the ''

'' Elrick was one member of a team that covered Detroit Mayor

Kwame Kilpatrick Kwame Malik Kilpatrick (born June 8, 1970) is an American former politician who served as the 72nd mayor of Detroit from 2002 to 2008. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously represented the 9th district in the Michigan House of Repre ...

, and uncovered the scandals that led to his 2008 resignation from office and criminal conviction. Elrick and other reporters filed a

Freedom of Information Act Freedom of Information Act may refer to the following legislations in different jurisdictions which mandate the national government to disclose certain data to the general public upon request: * Freedom of Information Act (United States) of 1966 * F ...

lawsuit that was heard by the

Michigan Supreme Court The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is Michigan's court of last resort and consists of seven justices. The Court is located in the Michigan Hall of Justice at 925 Ottawa Street in Lansing, the s ...

. The ''Detroit Free Press'' staff, which notably included contributors Elrick and

Jim Schaefer Jim Schaefer is an American journalist based in Detroit, Michigan, where he works as an investigative journalist for the ''Detroit Free Press''. Life and career Schaefer graduated from Ohio State University. He was an investigative producer for ...

, shared the 2009

Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting The Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting is awarded to an example of "significant issues of local or statewide concern, demonstrating originality and community connection". This Pulitzer Prize was first awarded in 1948. Like most Pulitzers the winn ...

, which cited the staff's "uncovering of a pattern of lies by Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick that included denial of a sexual relationship with his female chief of staff, prompting an investigation of perjury that eventually led to jail terms for the two officials." Elrick was a news reporter for both stations Fox-2 and WDIV Channel 4 in Detroit. He was considering a run for

Detroit City Council The Detroit City Council is the legislative body of Detroit, Michigan, United States. The full-time council is required to meet every business day for at least 10 months of the year, with at least eight of these meetings occurring at a locatio ...

in 2021. He is married and has two children.

Awards

* 2009

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

for Journalism"The 2009 Pulitzer Prize Winners: Local Reporting"
The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved 2013-11-02. With short biographies and reprints of ten works (''Free Press'' articles January 24 to September 5, 2008). * 2009 1st Amendment Watchdog Award * 2008

George Polk Award The George Polk Awards in Journalism are a series of American journalism awards presented annually by Long Island University in New York in the United States. A writer for Idea Lab, a group blog hosted on the website of PBS, described the awar ...

* 2008

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

Managing Editors Public Service Award * 2008 Worth Bingham Prize for Investigative Reporting. * 2005 Clark Mollenhoff Award for Investigative Reporting

References

External links

*
"Transcript of chat with Free Press reporter M.L. Elrick"
''Detroit Free Press'', Jan. 25, 2008
Alumnus helps win Pulitzer for Free Press
* (?) {{DEFAULTSORT:Elrick, M. L. American male journalists Living people George Polk Award recipients Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting winners 1968 births Wayne State University faculty Michigan State University faculty University of Michigan–Dearborn people Detroit Free Press people Date of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people)