The city of Flint was — and is — integral to the development of the United States as we know it. Some of the most influential inventors, leaders, artists, educators, athletes, entertainers, entrepreneurs, and thinkers were born right here in Flint. That spirit of creativity truly exists and continues to expand to this day.
Our job at Flintside is to authentically tell those stories — to center the people who embody the talent, hustle, culture, and resilience that make Flint one of the strongest, closest-knit, and enduring communities anywhere. We specialize in neighborhood-level journalism — stories told by Flint people about Flint people.
Flintside’s ambitious role is to tell the unending supply of stories about the inspirational people here who make our neighborhoods better, our business community prosperous, our education institutions thrive, and our city shine.
Please share story suggestions with us at [email protected] and subscribe to our weekly newsletter, which is distributed every Wednesday.
Flintside is an award-winning weekly online news magazine published by Issue Media Group. Our first issue was published on March 3, 2017. Our news coverage is supported by generous community partners, who underwrite coverage of topic areas that include business and entrepreneurship, education, neighborhoods, public health, arts and culture, and recreation.
Our current funders are: The Ruth Mott Foundation; The Community Foundation of Greater Flint; 100K Ideas, Hamilton Community Health Network; Genesee County Parks; The United Way of Genesee County; Genesee Intermediate School District; the Flint Institute of Arts, and the Flint & Genesee Group.
Underwriters help support our mission, but do not influence coverage — our staff maintains editorial independence. If you are a potential funder or partner interested in supporting our work and mission, please email [email protected].
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Tia Scott is the managing editor of Flintside. She also blogs about her own personal account of Hip Hop and Flint culture. Her work has been published in several online publications, including her own music platform, The Dope Show. She is a Flint native and resident who lives with her daughter and trusty MacBook. Follow Tia on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. Email Tia.
Current Contributing Writers: Briana McNair, Brianna Nargiso, Jarielle Tasha Nettles, Sherrema A. Oom-Dove, Dezha Peterson, Jeff Piechowski, Xzavier Simon, Sarah Spohn, and Jerimiah Whitehead.
Current Contributing Photographers: Anthony Summers, Bryce Mata, Ray Gray, Mike Powell, and Travis Ricketts.
Founding Editor: Marjory Raymer
Emeritus Editors: Xandr Brown, Patrick Hayes
How to Pitch us Freelance Stories
Flintside receives valuable contributions from a network of talented freelance writers, photographers, and videographers. We encourage anyone interested in contributing articles, personal essays, photos, videos, social media projects, or any other creative method of storytelling on a topic related to the city of Flint to email [email protected] with a pitch describing the story you want to tell, how you plan to tell it, and why you think our audience will be interested. If you are looking for examples of the types of stories we run, below are some pieces we’ve loved.
- This in-depth photo story by Xandr Brown, examining what has kept residents in their northside neighborhood for generations.
- This historical deep dive by Marjory Raymer, detailing the history of Flint’s Civic Park neighborhood.
- This sports feature by Patrick Hayes that has a new, fresh take on a well-known Flint topic, the city's basketball history.
- Pieces on historic Flint businesses, like this one by Ashley Schafer on James Lumber or this one by Jenifer Veloso on Luigi's restaurant, highlighting the things that have kept longtime businesses in the community for generations.
- This essay by Tia Scott, chronicling a trip back to Flint and the changes -- and hope -- she saw after she'd moved away. We love to run personal essays on a variety of topics. See more examples here.
- This feature by Xzavier Simon, about how a Flint native is carving out his own niche and identity on a global stage in the world of dance.
- This photo story by Jenifer Veloso, looking at some of the Latinx leaders in Flint and the challenges the city's Spanish-speaking community faces.
- This interview with a local accountant by Patrick Hayes, sharing tips that residents -- particularly low-income residents -- may find helpful during tax season. We accept pitches on a wide range of subjects for Q and A-style stories. See more examples here.
Awards
Flintside’s editorial team won six awards in the 2020 Michigan Press Association Better Newspaper Contest. Individual awards are listed below.