by Carol Gillis and Marissa Campo, AWC Detroit Marketing

News is consumed in a number of different forms nowadays – printed papers, email newsletters, digital magazines, blogs, social media posts and phone apps – but small, local publications still exist and are more important than ever to help us stay connected. Lisa Brody is working to keep community journalism alive as the News Editor at Downtown Publications, a growing news magazine publishing group in Birmingham, Michigan.

Brody entered the marketing and public relations world at a young age before branching out into freelance editorial work while maintaining her advertising job. As a driven young mother, she freelanced while raising children, honed her skills and talents, worked for dozens of local and regional publications, and developed a plethora of industry connections.

Living in her Downtown world

Her hard work and dedication have clearly paid off. David Hohendorf, the publisher at Downtown Newsmagazine, has worked with Brody for over a decade and knows first-hand how dedicated she is to her craft.

“Lisa’s decades of experience in the field of journalism, both as a reporter and a mentor for others, have allowed Downtown newsmagazine to position itself as the go-to publication for residents seeking a well-rounded source of news,” said Hohendorf. “We cover everything happening in municipal government and politics, as well as long-form features tackling critical issues often ignored by much larger news organizations.”

In each issue of the publication, Brody is responsible for researching and writing the long-form cover story. Some of her recent pieces include:

“Brody hews to a traditional view of her role as a journalist — providing readers with essential information so they can determine a course of action when the need arises,” he continues. “Her reporting and dedication have helped shape the public agenda at the local, county and state-level of government.”

Career-defining moments

 She mentions two specific moments in her career where she felt the proudest: the first is when Downtown began publishing and the second is when she began mentoring young reporters.

“Readers started reaching out and letting us know what an important source of local news and information [Downtown] had become to their lives. At times, people stopped me on the streets of Birmingham or Bloomfield to tell me how much a story had meant to them or interested them. As a journalist, that is what we live for!”

As for mentoring the next generation of journalists, Brody loves helping them thrive and seeing “the light bulb come on as they learn to tell the stories and communicate to readers.”

Facing curveballs head-on

 “Challenges? Welcome to journalism in 2021!” Brody responds to this question with a light-hearted joke before sharing her true thoughts on overcoming challenges in her field.

“From the realities of the journalism industry and remaining sustainable in a ‘clickbait’ world, to avoiding the daggers of social media trolls and threats of ‘fake news,’ it’s important to hold our heads up high and remain true to our journalistic and human ethics — even if we write something someone doesn’t like.”

Nurturing young voices

“The most valuable lesson I’ve learned during my journalism career is to always read. Read everything from local to national journalism every day. When we’re informed, we can inform others,” Brody shares. “Know that your job is to be a reflection of the society or community in which we work and a sieve in which we filter out the extraneous noise to make the difficult comprehensible.”

“Believe in yourself and your abilities because you wouldn’t be there if you weren’t a smart, strong woman.”

Congratulations to Lisa on her Media Room Spotlight recognition!