The Role of Interest Groups in Shaping Michigan Politics

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SUSAN J. DEMAS is the Editor and Publisher of Inside Michigan Politics. She has been a journalist for 15 years, covering politics for several national and regional publications. Susan is the only Michigan journalist to have been named to The Washington Post's list of "Best Political Reporters," The Huffington Post's list of “Best Political Tweeters,” and The Washington Post's list of “Best Political Bloggers.” In 2006, she became a Knight Foundation fellow in “The Fourth Estate and the Third Sector” program for nonprofit organizations, finance and media through Marshall University in Huntington, W.V.

Susan built up a successful freelance writing business over the last decade, while working as a full-time editor and reporter, with clients including magazines, nonprofits and universities. Her work has run in or on more than 80 national, international and regional media outlets including NBC News, CNN, Newsweek, Forbes, The Economist, National Public Radio, the Australian Broadcast Corp., Al Jazeera, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Politico, The Atlantic, The Columbia Journalism Review, Guardian U.K., Chicago Sun-Times, Bloomberg News, Reuters, Boston Herald, Seattle Times, Toronto Sun, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, San Jose Mercury News, (St. Paul) Pioneer Press, Des Moines Register and Michigan Public Radio.

In 2010, Susan helped launch the Michigan Truth Squad, which investigates and fact-checks political ads and speeches. The award-winning project is run by the nonpartisan Center for Michigan.

Susan is syndicated political columnist for The Huffington Post, Salon, Taegan Goddard's Political Wire, Deadline Detroit and Dome Magazine. Susan's column has run in many publications, including Real Clear Politics, Detroit News, Lansing State Journal, Battle Creek Enquirer, Impact and MLive.   

Susan started her journalism career at the second-largest newspaper in Iowa, The (Cedar Rapids) Gazette, where she reported on the 2004 Iowa caucuses. In 2004, Demas reported from the U.S. Army Base at Ft. Dix, N.J., on National Guard units training for the Iraq war and wrote a continuing series for several publications until their homecoming in 2006.

She has reported women’s issues, Middle East affairs, politics, health care, human services, nonprofit organizations and business issues for five newspapers across the Midwest, including the Saginaw News, Battle Creek Enquirer and Jackson Citizen Patriot. Most recently, Susan served as Deputy Editor for Michigan Information and Research Service, where she covered national and state politics.

A native of Northbrook, Illinois, Susan attended the University of Iowa, where she conducted research for a 10-year National Institute of Health agricultural health and cancer study through the College of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology. She majored in the highly marketable majors of English and History, concentrating on 19th and 20th century American literature and the French Revolution, and she minored in Women’s Studies. Susan also completed graduate coursework in Sociology, focusing on women’s and family issues.

INSIDE MICHIGAN POLITICS analyzes political and policy trends for several thousand readers, including corporations, trade associations, labor unions, government agencies, the White House and several foreign governments. 

Founded in 1987, IMP has been cited in The New York Times, Detroit Free Press, Detroit News, Christian Science Monitor, The Washington Post, Roll Call, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, HOTLINE and the Associated Press. IMP is published and edited by Susan J. Demas.

Sponsored by: The Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP)

Co-Sponsored by:  The University of Michigan’s Political Science Department and Environmental Law & Policy Program

For more information visit www.closup.umich.edu or call 734-647-4091.  Follow on Twitter @closup

• Michigan
• Michigan Politics
• Interest Groups
• Susan Demas
• NPM
• Nonprofit and Public Management Center