community journalism
There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal.
Toni Morrison
In this episode of Radicals for Good, we're talking about community-centered journalism and how organizers can utilize non-traditional media sources with Ethan Bakuli, an independent journalist whose work has appeared in Prism Reports, USA Today, Chalkbeat, Planet Detroit, Capital & Main, and more.
We prefer you didn’t but if you must, listen on:
YouTube
Who’s in this episode?
ETHAN BAKULI
Independent Journalist & Community Organizer
Ethan Bakuli is a Detroit-based independent journalist, currently covering community issues across climate, health, tech, labor, and education.
Over the past few years, he’s written about regional efforts to address industrial pollution, the health effects of flooding, barriers to tech careers for longtime Detroiters, chronic student absenteeism in under-resourced schools, and healthcare labor shortages. His work has appeared in Prism Reports, USA Today, Chalkbeat, Planet Detroit, Capital & Main, and more.
Shayla Zimmerman
Founder, Host, & Producer of Radicals for Good
Shayla is a Detroit-based community organizer, storyteller, and activist whose work centers community power, collective care, and everyday acts of resistance. She currently leads for good co., a consulting firm for values-aligned organizations. She started community organizing at 15 years old, since then she’s led local and national climate resilience and water justice initiatives and built grassroots emergency response efforts on Detroit’s East Side. Previously, she was producer and co-host of Michigan-focused conversations on United Way’s Virtual Town Halls.
Get out of your comfort zone & take action
Donate and/or get involved with freedom freedom growers: https://www.facebook.com/FeedomFreedom/
Subscribe and/or donate to Planet Detroit: https://planetdetroit.org/
Subscribe and/or donate to Outlier Media: https://outliermedia.org/
Subscribe and/or donate to Chalkbeat Detroit: https://www.chalkbeat.org/detroit/
Further Learning
The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1969), by Sam Greenlee
Black Awakening in Capitalist America Robert L. Allen
The Evidence of Things Not Seen by James Baldwin
The Seven Generations and The Seven Grandfather Teachings by James Vukelich
Sources
Land Acknowledgement: https://geezmagazine.org/magazine/article/waawiyatanong-land-acknowledgement
Palestinian journalists: https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/12/1166481
What is a zine: https://artincontext.org/what-is-a-zine/
Detroit Zine Fest: https://www.detroitzinefest.com/
Independent journalism vs. mass media journalism: https://thisvsthat.io/independent-journalism-vs-journalism
