Michigan Citizen ends publication

The Michigan Citizen, a weekly aimed at African-American readers, and printed since 1978, is folding.

The newspaper's announcement was posted Wednesday on its website under the headline, "The Michigan Citizen ends weekly publication." It was unclear whether the Citizen's website, michigancitizen.com, would continue to operate, but the the short announcement hinted that there would be a future for the enterprise online: "Connect with the Michigan Citizen via social media to learn of future projects."

Officials at the weekly could not be reached today for comment.

The Citizen was founded by community organizers Charles Kelly, who died in 2006, and Teresa Kelly. It was distributed at more than two dozen locations — including shops, bookstores, and restaurants — throughout Detroit.

A silhouette of Africa, and the state of Michigan, was part of its logo.

"They were activists," said Alicia Nails, director of Wayne State University's Journalism Institute for Media Diversity, who added that some of the views presented could be extreme. "But, they would get on a story early. You could get an article in the Citizen when you couldn't get in in anywhere else."

The publication said it, "attempted to hold public officials and institutions accountable," and it "shaped a distinctive voice in Michigan's media landscape."

Nails, who also is an officer in the Detroit Chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists, said that the end of the Citizen is a loss to Michigan, and without a printed edition, it might not have the same reach.

In its online announcement the Citizen said it had "published its last weekly edition," and ceased printing on Dec. 28 "due to the overall decline of the newspaper industry."

The Citizen added: "We have deep gratitude for the hundreds of contributors over nearly four decades, the tens of thousands of readers and the citizens in our community who informed our work and whose voices challenged local and state government to be responsible to all of us."

Michigan Citizen

What: The weekly was aimed at mostly African-American readers and was distributed at more than two-dozen locations in Detroit.

Founded: 1978

Founders: Charles Kelly, who died in 2006, and Teresa Kelly

Website: michigancitizen.com