In Michigan, in 2025, the worst thing you can do to a journalist is read their work and comment on it.
This we learned when Bridge Detroit blocked Heather Dow on X. You might know her as Patriot Post Girl. When I asked Bridge why they blocked her, they responded that Heather tweeted things that “go against its mission.”
Bridge Detroit never explained what that means, and they don’t need to. The action speaks for itself. Reading from actions alone, her sin is reading the work of Bridge Detroit, and offering visual comment on it. How horrible.
So that’s how to get blocked by a Michigan news outlet in 2025—read its work closely. How did we get here? And how did the people who claim to champion transparency and truth get us here?
Pop quiz: A Lansing reporter wakes up to see that Gretchen Whitmer has blocked him. What is likely to be that reporter’s reaction on X the next day? What about his followers? His news outlet?
He’d probably say something like, “It’s bad that the governor would close a dialogue with the public.”
Yes. It is bad. Even when a media outlet does it.
In 2025, journalism is the ultimate glass house. The people inside the house are comfortable throwing stones at others, while presenting themselves as champions of transparency and truth.
But when calls for transparency and truth come their way, they retreat. They block you and blame you for not supporting the mission, as if that’s your job. As if support can be demanded and doesn’t have to be earned.
News outlets in Michigan have grown soft, insular, and entitled. Last week, a Detroit News editor threatened Heather with litigation for making a meme. Last year, the Detroit Free Press closed down its comment section because it got tired of hearing the voice of the people.
A good newspaper doesn’t just talk at its community, it talks to it. It interacts with it. It looks people in the eye and meets them in the public square. It doesn’t flee the few who dare to notice.
But these days in Michigan, our news outlets have no interest in what we say, and they act victimized as the mildest of criticisms. They claim to be serving the public trust, but they’re not acting worthy of that trust.
To my competitors and counterparts in Michigan, it’s time to put your big boy pants on. It’s time for a mature mindset that knows what’s good for the goose is good for the Michigander.
If Bill Ford can humble himself to interact with the business writers who cover Ford Motor Company, news outlets can humble themselves to listen to their readers on X. Unless you have some other source of sustenance than we the people.
Resist the urge to block people who tell you the truth. Your ego is not your amigo. Stop blocking your blessings. Stop blocking your readers. Or someday there won’t be readers.
James David Dickson is host of the Enjoyer Podcast. Join him in conversation on X @downi75.
