by
Chad Livengood
Chad Livengood, whose high-impact Lansing scoops in The Detroit News include the first report in August 2015 that drove state Reps. Todd Courser and Cindy Gamrat from office, is joining Crain's Detroit Business.
Livengood, 34, switches newsrooms Dec. 26 to cover a new beat on efforts to restore Detroit's economic, cultural and political vibrancy, Crain's reports.
The award-winning journalist grew up in Chelsea and graduated in 2005 from Central Michigan University, where he was editor of the student newspaper. He joined The News' capital bureau in 2012.
Livengood was cited as Journalist of the Year in October 2015 by Wayne State University.
He lives in Lansing with his wife, Amanda Liz Draper-Livengood, and their daughter Madison.
"From afar, for several years now, I've been watching Chad's coverage with awe and admiration," Crain's Associate Publisher and Editor Ron Fournier says in the announcement story.
"He is one of those rare reporters who breaks news and then uses his sources, data and dogged determination to crank out enterprise stories that give his readers keen and unique insights. He uses every platform from Twitter to the newspaper to inform his readers and build a sense of community around his coverage. In other words, he's a perfect fit at Crain's."
Livengood is the second high-profile Detroit News reporter poached by Crain's in the past year or so. News reporter Robert Snell defected to Crain's in November 2015, only return to the News seven months later.
Those congratulating and saluting Livengood on social media include Sara Wurfel, former press secretary to Gov. Rick Snyder, who tweets: "Smart and fair -- always." Keith Naughton, a Bloomberg News correspondent i Detroit, hails him Friday as "a first-rate reporter."
Praise also comes from a Flint pediatrician who gained national attention for outspoken advocacy of families harmed by her city's tainted drinking water:
@ChadLivengood We will miss your excellent #FlintWaterCrisis coverage. Hopefully you will work in a few Flint stories. Best of luck.
— Mona Hanna-Attisha (@MonaHannaA) December 9, 2016
The editor of Gongwer News Service in Lansing posts:
1. What a huge hire Crain's has made in landing @ChadLivengood. Tremendous loss for coverage of MI government and politics.
— Zach Gorchow (@ZachGorchow) December 9, 2016
2. But huge gain for coverage of Detroit. Chad has left those of us who compete with him admiring him and cursing him in wake of his scoops.
— Zach Gorchow (@ZachGorchow) December 9, 2016
These are among other reactions from Michigan journalists:
Congrats to a great colleague. Happy for him and Crains, bummed for the big loss in Capitol press corps https://t.co/CbOeOXnjXe
— Jonathan Oosting (@jonathanoosting) December 9, 2016
@ChadLivengood @ron_fournier @crainsdetroit Bravo! This is a wonderful match.
— Cynthia Canty (@CyndyCanty) December 9, 2016
@ChadLivengood @crainsdetroit Best of luck. Will enjoy reading you there. You've been the best part of The News.
— Lisa Brody (@lisabrody) December 9, 2016
