Happy Thanksgiving, readers, and let me tell you how grateful I am that you let us into your homes and your lives. I have the privilege to talk to you every week via this column, but I never lose sight of the fact that I am simply a representative of the journalists who work on your behalf every single day for MLive. My aim is to highlight the work of our talented journalists and to show the passion that motivates them. Media has changed remarkably in the 40 years I’ve been in it, but the mission-driven dedication of curious, principled journalists remains the same. Their contributions and sacrifices seem more meaningful to me than ever this year, as we emerge from COVID and return to our newsrooms to get reacquainted, re-energized and catch up: There are new babies to celebrate, new employees to welcome, new challenges to tackle in our ever-changing industry. To celebrate this Thanksgiving, I’m turning over this column on gratitude to MLive’s staff members. Maybe you’ll see your life or family in these blessings, and maybe you’ll have a deeper appreciation for the people who work on your behalf every day. Lee Thompson, sportswriter, The Bay City Times: Being a father is my greatest blessing. Being a sportswriter is a close second. Grateful for being able to do what I love and finding my niche in my community. What we do in this industry is important, and I'm grateful for all those who are in it alongside me. Danielle Salisbury, supervising reporter, statewide reporting team: I'm grateful for a spouse who copes with my many maddening flaws and my three crazy kids. I also am grateful for work that is challenging and meaningful, a hard-charging team of smart and capable people and managers that always have my back. Andrew Kahn, University of Michigan sportswriter: I’m thankful for my wife and two young daughters, one of whom recently described my job as “an artist who knows how to read.” Take notes with pen and paper and you, too, can be called an artist. Ryan Stanton, reporter, The Ann Arbor News: I'm grateful after all these years to still get to tell my community's story, to have an 11-year-old dog who still drags me on epic long hikes, to have a refrigerator filled with a week's worth of vegan pumpkin pie, and mostly grateful just to be. Caitlyn French, reporter, The Bay City Times: I’m grateful for all the animals I’ve gotten to work with this year doing rescue, including my precious baby squirrels. I’m also thankful for all the natural beauty our state has to offer. Neil Blake, photographer/videographer: I'm so grateful for my guys – 4, 2 and almost 3 months. If you're looking for us this winter, you'll find us at the YMCA down the street taking full advantage of the kids pool. They love it there, and I'm grateful to have the resource so close. Sara Scott, director of state news: I'm thankful for my daughter who I picked up from Alma College yesterday — and, at age 20, was still willing to decorate our Christmas tree with me. I'm also very thankful for this career, which has challenged me and helped me grow in ways that I didn't know was possible. Sam Dodge, reporter, The Ann Arbor News: I am grateful for my 3-month old son, James, and how I got to spend the first eight weeks of his life with him and Jessica pretty much exclusively. Very special time. John Counts, news leader, The Ann Arbor News and Jackson Citizen Patriot: I'm grateful for my wily daughters (who are now old enough to watch PBS murder mysteries with me! Yay!), my wife and my two dogs. But I'm also grateful to work with such smart, funny and dedicated reporters and photographers who bring the fire every day. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! 🎧 Prefer to listen to your journalism while cooking or commuting? Try listening to John Hiner's Behind the Headlines podcast each week. It's free! Just click here for Spotify or here for Apple podcasts to listen. You can also find Behind the Headlines wherever you get your podcasts!
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John Hiner is the vice president of content for MLive Media Group. If you have questions you’d like him to answer, or topics to explore, share your thoughts at editor@mlive.com. | 