Nicole Avery Nichols was named Executive Editor of the Detroit Free Press on Wednesday, making her the first Black woman to run the newspaper.
Over her 25-year media career, Nichols has reported and edited stories about culture, the culinary arts, the COVID-19 pandemic, and education in Detroit, according to Detroit News. She is returning to the Free Press after serving as editor-in-chief of Chalkbeat, a countrywide journalistic organization focused on education, for more than two years.
Nichols joined the Free Press newspaper in 2000 after being recruited from the Detroit News, and he stayed for 20 years, holding positions such as editor, current affairs editor, and senior news director.
She oversaw a diverse roaster of award-winning editors and journalists covering a wide range of beats at Free Press, including courts and corruption, immigration, gender equity, religion, public health, travel, race, popular culture, restaurants, entertainment, and politics.
She also oversaw efforts to shape how some of the most significant local stories were covered, such as the opioid epidemic, the Flint water crisis, the “Me Too” movement, the racial reckoning following the death of George Floyd, the attempted kidnapping plot against Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite leaving the Detroit Free Press for Chalkbeat in February 2021, Nichols remained in the Detroit area with her husband, Free Press contributing columnist Darren Nichols, and their twin children.
At Chalkbeat, the seasoned journalist played the role of top editor, and was responsible for newsroom operations, as well as a national reporting team with offices in Detroit, New Jersey, Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Tennessee, Colorado, and Indiana.
“I firmly believe in centering people and their experiences within the heart of journalism, and I am thrilled to be leading one of America’s most powerful newsrooms as we tell the stories that matter most. I look forward to engaging new audiences amid our ever-changing and diversifying media landscape,” the newly appointed executive director said.
Chief content officer at Gannet and the USA Today Network, Kristin Roberts, commended Nichols for her deep knowledge of issues in the Detroit area and for her “fearless and unflinching commitment to journalism.” She added, “I am confident that under Nicole’s leadership, the Free Press will deliver exclusive and solutions-focused journalism that our readers, viewers, and listeners want.”
The recently appointed executive editor began her media career in 1993 as a weekend reporter at the Utica Observer-Dispatch in upstate New York, subsequently becoming the features writer at The Syracuse Newspapers.
She graduated from Tuskegee University in Alabama with a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in newspaper journalism. Nichols is also a member of the National Association of Black Journalists in Detroit.
As editor, Nichols stated that she plans to maintain the Free Press’ increased emphasis on community-level reporting that offers important information and fosters reader trust. “My goal is to deliver relevant news that is relevant to people’s daily lives,” she stated. “It appears simple, but it is not. It took a lot of eye contact and face-to-face reporting.”
In 1996, the late Bob McGruder became the newspaper’s first Black executive editor since its inception in 1968. Carole Leigh Hutton became the paper’s first female executive editor in 2002. Nichol’s nomination comes decades later, making it a significant step forward for the paper in an era where diversity and gender equality are heavily supported.