The Michigan Press Association (MPA) announced last week it would not present its annual Peter Pettalia Memorial Sunshine Award to a public official leading the charge on open government after another 12 months of no meaningful advancements on transparency reforms.

Most Americans agree, 80 percent, that news is important, but the extent of the agreement ends there, according to a Pew Research survey. It isn't a one-off and help is needed from the Legislature to fix the problem.

Three Michigan news talk stations this week were turned into affiliates of Detroit’s largest sports talk radio station, 97.1 FM this week, a move that takes, at least temporarily, conservative talk host Steve Gruber off the air in Battle Creek and Kalamazoo and alters his range in Lansing.

Younger generations are increasingly getting their news from news influencers on various social media channels, according to the Pew Research Center and Reuters Institute, which is pushing public relations into more complex territory.