Investigative teams shrink as TV stations cut costs

BY M.L. ELRICK – FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

After nearly a decade of busting bad guys, bulldog Channel 7 investigative reporter Steve Wilson is losing his job.

 
But he’s not losing his sense of humor.

“Isn’t it ironic that Kwame Kilpatrick still has his job after I’m losing mine?” he observed wryly this week. “That will teach you a lesson in fairness.”

In a way, Wilson outlasted the man perceived to be his nemesis. Arriving just before Kilpatrick finished first in the 2001 mayoral primary, Wilson stuck around as chief investigative reporter at WXYZ-TV (Channel 7) well after Kilpatrick resigned as mayor, spent 99 days in jail and moved his family to Texas.

That’s cold comfort in a television market that just a few years ago bristled with investigative reporters. Wilson’s imminent departure in what he characterized as a cost-cutting move, coupled with Scott Lewis’ sign-off at WJBK-TV (Channel 2) in December and cutbacks in the investigative unit at WDIV-TV (Channel 4), show that one way local stations are dealing with financial pressures is by shrinking the high-impact — but high-cost — special project teams.

Characteristically, Wilson is not going quietly. After his contract expires on March 31, he will focus on raising money for the Michigan Center for Investigative Reporting, a nonprofit foundation that he says will allow him to continue digging wherever his nose for news takes him.

Reporter not ready to leave

Wilson has had better holidays.

 
“On Christmas Eve — which I thought was a wonderful touch — I got a certified letter at my place in Florida that said, ‘In accordance with the terms of our contract, here’s notice that we don’t intend to renew,’ ” the longtime chief investigative reporter at Channel 7 (WXYZ-TV) said this week.

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