If you have followed many of the University of Michigan’s controversies in 2024, you may be familiar with some of the news the Michigan Review has broken. The first-ever removal of a student government president in the 207-year history of the University of Michigan and the unprecedented student judiciary case against a duly-elected party—those were two of the defining stories that the Review broke before anyone else—both of which were picked up by national media outlets.
One could call this self-reflection on our previous year and our New Year’s resolution on our pledge to continue our elite student journalism in 2025. But this is only possible through the talented team we have at the Review and the consistent positive feedback from our core audience. We hope to grow both our team and our audience in the coming year, expanding to a point never before seen in the 40-plus-year history of the Michigan Review. Let’s take care of some housekeeping first.
The Bad News:
Although many people have told us to ignore the negativity and keep up the good work, I feel the need to stress the importance of what we do here and the consequences of accurately reporting the details of stories involving powerful figures. Both publicly and privately, I have had anonymous detractors attempt to discredit our work despite us not having to issue a correction on any major story. I even received an anonymous threat of violence, which brought up my gender and racial identity as a part of their issue.
Though the negativity may scare, the sources of this negativity are ones that are to be expected. Whether it’s politicians, their supporters, or fierce ideologues, our intent at the Michigan Review is to let the facts shape our stories. We pledge to never let such actions discourage us from reporting the truth, no matter how controversial or charged a topic may be in the public discourse.
The Good News:
Throughout the past calendar year, we have received countless replies on our work. Dozens of readers have contacted us in regards to our articles. Half a dozen disabled students responded to our information gathering on social media and spoke of their experiences with ableism and inaccessible campus systems.
We expanded our information network to include the top policymakers on campus—students, faculty, and administration. We had quotes from student leaders mere hours after the removal of the Central Student Government (CSG) President/Vice President, which no other publication obtained. We wrote the most comprehensive breakdown of the November student government elections, resulting in thousands of views from both new and current students alike. We intend to continue this for the next election cycle.
Lastly and perhaps most importantly, we have expanded the Review’s roster of contributors, on top of laying the groundwork for the Review News Crew. Our victories in 2024 are notable, but the proliferation of our operation is only possible with the next generation of journalists willing to do whatever it takes to inform the student body.
What’s Next for the News Crew:
In 2025, the Review will be bigger than ever before. We intend to cover every CSG meeting, with updates on potential legislation from your representatives weeks in advance. We plan to attend the University of Michigan Regents’ meetings every month, with each decision’s ramifications laid out clearly in our coverage. I will be moderating both presidential debates for CSG, along with interviewing dozens of representatives. Lastly, we intend to achieve these goals while setting further milestones for ourselves. We openly invite stakeholders and policy authors to write for the Review, to express their views to the people, or to pitch their solutions to campus issues. In the future, we intend to cover Ann Arbor City Council meetings and update the students on their local campus community.
This is a big step—there is no doubt about that. But together, with the support of our readers and new faces contributing to the Review, we can set the standard for student journalism at one of the biggest public universities in the world. Thank you for a victorious 2024—here’s to an unprecedented 2025!
Tyler Fioritto founded the “Michigan Review News Crew” in 2025 to cover breaking stories at the University of Michigan and beyond. If you are interested in joining, please contact tfioritt@umich.edu.
