Michael L. Elrick is a journalist based in Detroit, Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

, for The Detroit Free Press, and WDIV-TV

WDIV-TV

WDIV-TV, virtual channel 4, is an NBC-affiliated television station based in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is owned by Post-Newsweek Stations and is the flagship station and home base of the group with the offices of the group located alongside WDIV's studios; the "Local" branding now...

.

Elrick graduated from Michigan State University

Michigan State University

Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...

 in 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 degree in Journalism.
He wrote for the Concord (N.H.) Monitor

Concord Monitor

The Concord Monitor is the daily newspaper for Concord, the state capital of New Hampshire. It also covers substantial portions of surrounding Merrimack and Belknap counties in New Hampshire's Lakes Region...

, and Daily Southtown

Daily Southtown

The SouthtownStar is a newspaper of the Chicago, Illinois metropolitan area that covers the south suburbs of Chicago and the South Side neighborhoods of the city - a wide region known as the Chicago Southland. Its popular slogan is "People Up North Just Don't Get It"...

in Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

.
His work has appeared in New York Times, Newsday

Newsday

Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...

, Investigative Reporters and Editors Journal, Salon.com

Salon.com

Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...

, Rollingstone

Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...

.com, the National Law Journal, Chicago Magazine and HOUR Detroit magazine.
He taught journalism at Wayne State University

Wayne State University

Wayne State University is a public research university located in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in the city's Midtown Cultural Center Historic District. Founded in 1868, WSU consists of 13 schools and colleges offering more than 400 major subject areas to over 32,000 graduate and...

, Michigan State University

Michigan State University

Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...

 and University of Michigan-Dearborn

University of Michigan-Dearborn

The University of Michigan–Dearborn , is a public university located in Dearborn, Michigan, USA.The University of Michigan–Dearborn is one of two regional campuses of the University of Michigan...

.

He covered for Detroit Free Press

Detroit Free Press

The Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The Sunday edition is entitled the Sunday Free Press. It is sometimes informally referred to as the "Freep"...

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick

Kwame Kilpatrick

Kwame Malik Kilpatrick is a former mayor of Detroit, Michigan. Kilpatrick's mayorship was plagued by numerous scandals and rampant accusations of corruption, with the mayor eventually resigning after being charged with ten felony counts, including perjury and obstruction of justice...

 and his various scandals that ultimately led to Kilpatrick's resignation and criminal conviction.
To break the case open, the reporters filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit that was heard by the Michigan Supreme Court

Michigan Supreme Court

The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is known as Michigan's "court of last resort" and consists of seven justices who are elected to eight-year terms. Candidates are nominated by political parties and are elected on a nonpartisan ballot...

.

He is married and has two children.

Awards

• 2009 Pulitzer Prize
  Pulitzer Prize
  The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
  
   for Journalism
• 2009 1st Amendment Watchdog Award
• 2008 George Polk Award
• 2008 Associated Press
  Associated Press
  The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
  
  Managing Editors Public Service Award
• 2008 Worth Bingham Prize for Investigative Reporting.
• 2005 Clark Mollenhoff Award for Investigative Reporting

External links

• Journalist's twitter
• "Transcript of chat with Free Press reporter M.L. Elrick", Detroit Free Press, Jan. 25, 2008
• Alumnus helps win Pulitzer for Free Press