Hold power accountable. Uncover solutions. Connect and empower the community.
Planet Detroit is an independent nonprofit local news organization designed to inform you about the environment and public health in Detroit and Michigan. We focus on accountability, solutions and community reporting, and we have a deep commitment to engaging with the community.
You can read our ethics policy here.
Our Mission
Our mission is to produce quality climate, equity, health and environment journalism in the public interest that centers grassroots voices, holds power accountable, spotlights solutions + serves the community.
Our non-discrimination statement
Planet Detroit is committed to dismantling system racism in our communities and in journalism. We prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, marital status, national origin, mental or physical disability, political belief or affiliation, veteran status, sexual orientation, or gender identity and expression. We proactively work to include marginalized groups in our journalism and our business operations.
What’s our manifesto?
We believe the environment is the most important issue of our time, and threats to it, particularly global warming and the climate chaos it is creating, are real.
We believe that independent journalism is the most critical component of our democracy and that it is only through seeking and exposing the truth that we can overcome the environmental challenges facing us.
To us, independence means we cover issues without bias, with close emphasis on facts, and without a predetermined agenda.
However, this does not mean we don’t think the threats to our environment are real, or that global warming is not happening, or that humans should not address environmental problems.
What it does mean is that we remain agnostic about the solutions we cover. We evaluate them without bias.
Because the environmental issues we face can seem overwhelming and confusing, we are focused on providing background, context and covering solutions (but not advocating for them).
Because environmental issues often disproportionately impact low-income people and communities of color, we focus on making sure their stories are told.
Also, the environment is beautiful and amazing. We’ll try to take some space to appreciate that.
Who is behind Planet Detroit?
Our journalism is mission-driven and rooted in community partnership. Contact Nina Ignaczak at nina@planetdetroit.org to talk about ways we can work together.
Our Editorial Independence Policy
Planet Detroit subscribes to standards of editorial independence adopted by the Institute for Nonprofit News:
Our organization retains full authority over editorial content to protect the best journalistic and business interests of our organization. We maintain a firewall between news coverage decisions and sources of all revenue. Acceptance of financial support does not constitute implied or actual endorsement of donors or their products, services or opinions.
We accept gifts, grants and sponsorships from individuals and organizations for the general support of our activities, but our news judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor support.
Our organization may consider donations to support the coverage of particular topics, but our organization maintains editorial control of the coverage. We will cede no right of review or influence of editorial content, nor of unauthorized distribution of editorial content.
Our organization will make public all donors who give a total of $5,000 or more per year. We will accept anonymous donations for general support only if it is clear that sufficient safeguards have been put into place that the expenditure of that donation is made independently by our organization and in compliance with INN’s Membership Standards.
Staff
Nina Ignaczak
Founder & Editor
Nina Misuraca Ignaczak is an award-winning Detroit-based journalist. She is the founder, publisher, and editor of Planet Detroit, a digital media startup telling Detroit’s environmental stories while building a community of engaged readers who are informed and empowered to take action.
Angela Lugo-Thomas
Community Engagement Reporter & 2023 DETROIT ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT REPORTING FELLOW
Angela Lugo-Thomas, also known as Detroit Boricua, has a Puerto Rican heart with Detroit soul. She lives in Highland Park with her family and enjoys leading walking groups, gardening, dancing, photography, organizing community events, and is a member of several local groups and community organizations. More by Angela Lugo-Thomas
Brian Allnutt
Contributing Editor
Brian Allnutt is a senior reporter at Planet Detroit. He covers the climate crisis, environmental justice, politics and open space. More by Brian Allnutt
Contributors
Eleanore Catolico
2022 Detroit Energy and Environment Reporting Fellow
Eleanore Catolico was Planet Detroit’s 2022 Detroit Energy and Environment Reporting Fellow and is currently reporting for Metro Times. More by Eleanore Catolico
Rukiya Colvin
Rukiya Colvin was Planet Detroit’s 2022 Energy & Environment Reporting Fellow. They are a lifelong east side resident of Detroit with a deep-rooted passion for creating equity in their community. They completed a master’s degree at Wayne State University in urban planning with a concentration on housing and community development. When they’re not working, you can find them connecting with other community members, somewhere people watching, hanging with their son, or in the backyard gardening. More by Rukiya Colvin
Rhonda J. Smith
Rhonda J. Smith, a lifelong Detroiter who resides in the Russell Woods-Sullivan area, where she has served on the neighborhood association board, written for its newsletter, organized activities in its parks and provided residents with tax foreclosure prevention information. With a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in communication, she has been a writer and editor for more than 25 years. Her work has appeared in outlets including The Detroit News, Newsday, Chicago Tribune and Wayne County Community College District publications. She was a 2019 Detour Detroit Emerging Voices Fellow. More by Rhonda J. Smith
Allison Torres Burtka
Allison Torres Burtka is a freelance writer and editor in Metro Detroit. More by Allison Torres Burtka
Nick Hagen
Nick Hagen is a Detroit-based photographer. His work has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Bloomberg Businessweek, Buzzfeed News, and Politico.
Bianca Garcia
Bianca García is a freelance writer, journalist, and consultant living in Detroit. As a journalist, she has written and produced for PBS, NPR, Fox News Latino, and Bridge Detroit. Garcia also has experience in voter outreach, political campaign strategy, and nonprofit communications. More by Bianca García
Randiah Camille Green
Randiah Camille Green is a writer and poet who has written about travel, community, and culture from Detroit to Tokyo. She currently reports for Metro Times. More by Randiah Camille Green
Patricia Jewell – Detroit River Story Lab
Patricia Jewell grew up in rural New Hampshire and now attends University of Michigan as a graduate student in the joint PhD program for Women and Gender Studies and English. She is working in partnership with Planet Detroit and the Detroit River Storytelling Lab at the University of Michigan this summer to produce a series of oral histories about local Detroiters’ stories and memories of the river. More by Patricia Jewell
Tom Perkins
Tom Perkins is a freelance reporter living in Hamtramck. More by Tom Perkins
Bridget Quinn
Bridget Quinn (she/her/they) is the descendant of european settlers and immigrants to Amerika whose feet touch the earth on so called Warren, Michigan — land of the Anishinaabe people. She is founder of the A.W.E. Society (awe-society.com), a platform for her experiential and collaborative eco-art projects. More by Bridget Quinn
Gary Wilson
Gary Wilson is a Chicago-based contributor who has reported on Great Lakes issues for public media since 2011. More by Gary Wilson
Zaire Talon Daniels
Zaïré Talon Daniels is a Detroit-based freelance writer and photographer. Previously, he reported for The Devil Strip, a cooperative newsroom based in Akron, Ohio. He received his bachelor of arts in Multidisciplinary Studies with an emphasis in Anthropology, Photography, and Art History. He is passionate about exploring sustainable lifestyle, Brazilian Jujitsu, and arts and culture from around the world. More by Zaïré Talon Daniels
Jena Brooker, BridgeDetroit
Jena Brooker is the environmental reporter for BridgeDetroit. Previously, she was the first Midwest fellow at Grist, and the first intern at Planet Detroit. Her writing highlights issues affecting vulnerable communities and includes diverse voices. She writes in a variety of styles but particularly loves creating in-depth news stories that make the reader feel personally and emotionally connected to the topic. She also writes about cool nature stuff. Her professional background is varied- from racial justice work to teaching to farming. She has a Bachelor of Arts in environmental studies from the University of Michigan. More by Jena Brooker
Aaron Mondry
Aaron Mondry is a Detroit-based freelance writer. Aaron is the editor of The Dig at Outlier Media, a weekly newsletter about Detroit real estate, housing and development news. More by Aaron Mondry
Eve Washington
Eve Washington was Planet Detroit’s 2020 Emma Bowen Foundation Fellow. The Emma Bowen Foundation was founded in 1989 to diversify the media industry by giving talented students of color the opportunity to intern at some of the nation’s leading media companies. Washington grew up in Bloomfield and hopes that this internship will be a chance to connect with the Metro Detroit community through her passions. She now works in data journalism for the New York Times. More by Eve Washington