Pulitzer Prize-Winner Stephen Henderson Departs WDET After a Decade Amid Program Changes in Detroit’s Airwaves

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Stephen Henderson has departed from Detroit’s public radio station, WDET, after ten years of reporting on issues of equality and opportunity in the city. The Detroit News reports that Henderson left after a contentious contract dispute ended, during which the station suggested cutting his “Created Equal” program to a weekly format, a move Henderson believed would restrict the program’s reach.

Henderson’s show, which has been the most popular local program on the station, may soon be shut down. Henderson said he was disappointed by the station’s “disinvestment” in the show in a Facebook statement. “Budgets are moral documents that represent our priorities and values, as well as the items we value and those we consider disposable. Henderson wrote, “WDET has decided not to provide Created Equal with the resources it needs to succeed,” according to the Metro Times.

As part of a larger plan to revitalize local content, the station is going through a number of changes, most notably the extension of “The Metro” and the addition of new music programming. Interestingly, this drive coincides with a period when the station’s financial health depends heavily on listener and member support, particularly in the lead-up to their Holiday On-Air Fundraiser. According to BridgeDetroit, WDET General Manager Mary Zatina said that the decision to make these programming and staffing adjustments before to the fundraiser was taken in the interest of openness.

The programming adjustments, which include “Created Equal” going off the air, are a reflection of WDET’s attempts to adjust to a difficult financial climate. Henderson has said he will concentrate on other endeavors, such as his partnership with BridgeDetroit, his hosting of “American Black Journal” on Detroit Public Broadcasting Service, and his partnership with Nolan Finley, Editor of the Detroit News Editorial Page, on the Great Lakes Civility Project. According to BridgeDetroit, Henderson and Finley are also working on a book that Wayne State University plans to publish in the spring of 2025.

WDET intends to increase its local programming as Henderson wraps off his ten years there. This change coincides with Detroit’s and the nation’s media’s struggles to meet community needs in the face of inequality and economic constraints that affect journalism in the digital age—problems that were at the heart of Henderson’s initiative. Henderson’s daily conversations on equality and opportunity will no longer be a part of WDET’s local involvement, but it will still continue under this new strategy.

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