By Carol Gillis and Marissa Campo, AWC Detroit Marketing

No matter what your beliefs are or which party you are affiliated with, politics have come center stage over the past few years. Citizens are becoming more interested in their elected officials and the policies that those officials want to campaign for. That’s why well-respected editorial writers like Nancy Kaffer are more important than ever.

Kaffer, a columnist and member of the Detroit Free Press Editorial Board, is working hard to share honest, informed and carefully curated opinions on current events in local, state and national politics. She discusses a wide range of topics important to metro Detroiters including:

  • Restorative justice and criminal reform
  • Housing policies and what they mean for renters
  • Pros and cons of major bills like the pandemic response bill
  • Voter regulations and reform
  • Discrimination in the workplace

Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, meets Nancy Kaffer after the NAACP 110th Annual Convention in 2019

Before embarking on her journey as a columnist, however, Kaffer spent the early part of her career reporting at publications like the Dearborn Press & Guide, Metro Times, the Hattiesburg American and, most notably, Crain’s Detroit Business. In 2012, she joined the Free Press staff and has been blazing a path to success ever since. She has also been a regular guest on WDIV-TV’s “Flashpoint,” NPR’s “Detroit Today,” Michigan Radio’s “Stateside” and Detroit Public Television’s “MiWeek” and a contributor to @CNNOpinion and The Daily Beast, writing about state and national politics, policy and culture. To hear Nancy’s “voice”, listen to recent podcasts she has been featured in.

Her work and dedication clearly resonate with the local community here in Detroit, and have  earned Kaffer several valuable awards. Kaffer’s coverage of the Flint water crisis won two awards: the 2015 Scripps Howard Walker Stone Award for Opinion Writing and the 2016 David Nyhan Prize for Political Journalism from the Harvard Kennedy School Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy. She also won third place for Best Columnist of 2020 by the Michigan Press Association. 

Congratulations to Nancy on her Media Room Spotlight recognition!