10 Years of City Pulse

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Plain and simple, working at City Pulse made me really fall in love with journalism. Sure, I complained about everything because I complain most of the time. However, the level of passion we had for the paper – in and out of our old office on Turner Street – was off the charts. In a world of shrinking staff and shrinking space for storytelling, City Pulse was different. We were growing slowly and steadily with the help of a budding community of reporters and writers. No story was too dull or too weird. We didn’t hide behind the myth of objectivity. If we wanted to give a story a lot of space, we just did it. And we would find local artists to illustrate the writing. With every issue we published, I always felt proud and like we were making a difference. When I was still the editor of What’s On at the LSJ, I saw the prototype of City Pulse and showed it to some co-workers. We had recently cut our budget for our arts and entertainment reporters. “This thing is really going to kill us,” I said about the potential of City Pulse. But it was dismissed as a rag that wouldn’t last six months. When I ended up at City Pulse a few months later, that discussion fueled my passion to make our arts and entertainment coverage the best in Lansing. So I am beyond thrilled that CP is turning 10! The “all local” philosophy of City Pulse – and the blunt style of writing - was the right fit for me. To get out there, meet the people you are covering, hear what they have to say and see things for yourself. And because of that, I met amazing people and really discovered what makes Lansing tick. Keep kicking ass and telling the meaningful stories. If you don’t do it, who will?

Elaine Yaw was the first City Pulse A&E editor. She is now an assistant professor of media studies at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in Indiana.


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