Journalist and Detroit resident Sam Robinson has joined the Michigan Chronicle as senior reporter. Together with current senior reporter Ebony JJ Curry, the two will continue the Chronicle’s ongoing political coverage during a historic moment for Detroit’s government and civic life.
Robinson, who brings more than a half-decade of experience covering politics and culture, joins the Chronicle at a critical inflection point for the city. With Mayor Mike Duggan stepping down after more than a decade in office, and several seats on Detroit City Council up for grabs, Robinson says this moment demanded that he return to local, print-focused journalism rooted in community.
“This is an important election year,” Robinson said. “We’ve had the same mayor 12 years, and the city of Detroit is going to change at the end of this year. We’re going to get a whole new administration as well as several new council members. I think it’s really important that that’s reflected inside the pages of the Michigan Chronicle.”
A Reporter Rooted in Detroit
Born in Baltimore, Md., and raised in Midland, Mich., Robinson has reported for Axios, MLive, and the Detroit Free Press, where his coverage focused on local government, elections, and cultural trends shaping the Motor City. He also founded Detroit One Million, an independent media project dedicated to documenting a generation of emerging Black leaders in Detroit and dissecting the city’s population trends throughout the decades.
His return to print journalism with Michigan Chronicle marks a full-circle moment—not just professionally, but personally.
“I’m really excited to have my name back in a print news product,” Robinson said. “I think the first time since I left MLive was 2023. My grandma gets a kick out of it.”
Robinson’s arrival comes as the Michigan Chronicle nears its 90th anniversary. He says the publication’s deep legacy and accessibility were both key motivators in joining the paper.
“A lot of Detroit’s political history—especially from the perspective of Black Detroiters—is in the pages of the Chronicle,” Robinson said. “Even early 2000s mayoral campaigns, like in ’05 or ’13—you’re more likely to find that stuff on the Chronicle’s website than you are on other sites, which are locked behind paywalls.”
For Robinson, keeping journalism accessible to the public is essential to civic engagement.
“The Chronicle doesn’t have a paywall. I’ve been writing under a paywall for the last eight months and I’m excited to not have to say, ‘Sorry, you can’t read this,’” he said about the stories he will be writing for the Chronicle.
A Mission to Tell the Full Story
At the Chronicle, Robinson will focus primarily on political reporting—covering the 2025 Detroit mayoral race, city council elections, and broader civic trends across the region. But for Robinson, political journalism is more than campaign updates. It’s about capturing the voices and concerns of everyday people.
“I try to be personal. I try to use real words and talk like I’m talking to you right now,” he said. “I want people to understand not just who wins, but why they win. What matters to voters? What changes in the city?”
He adds that his approach will be especially critical in helping Detroiters understand who their next leaders are—and what they stand for.
“A year from now, we’re going to be months into a new mayoral administration and a brand new city council,” Robinson said. “I hope people know who these folks are because of my reporting.”
In many ways, this next chapter builds on the foundation he laid with Detroit One Million, where he sought to elevate the stories of young changemakers and community voices often left out of traditional news coverage.
“That project was about capturing not only the future generation as we grow our population and leadership,” he said, “but also understanding the legacy—what came before us. A lot of that is already inside the Michigan Chronicle. That’s why it felt right to come here.”
More Than Politics
While Robinson is deeply immersed in Detroit’s civic issues, he brings a multidimensional lens to journalism. Outside of work, he studies the behaviors of Generation Z and has a self-proclaimed admiration for the “genius of SpongeBob SquarePants,” a reflection of his belief that media and culture are deeply intertwined.
Whether writing about elections or Gen Z trends, his mission remains consistent: to make the news feel relevant and real to the people living it.
“I want the Chronicle to be the go-to place for Black professionals and residents of Detroit who want to be civically engaged,” he said. “That’s my goal—to send them back here.”
As Detroit enters a year of political change, the Chronicle strengthens its newsroom with a journalist whose reporting is shaped by clarity, curiosity, and community. And for Robinson, the assignment is simple: tell the story of Detroit’s next chapter—and make sure it’s one the people can actually read.
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