This week’s Writer Wednesday features Nina Misuraca Ignaczak, founder and editor of Planet Detroit!
Nina started Planet Detroit in 2019 to spotlight environmental and health issues in communities most impacted by pollution and disinvestment. Her work helps Detroiters better understand the systems shaping their environment and take action to change them. Read more about Nina below!
What inspired you to launch Planet Detroit, and how has its mission evolved since 2019?
I started Planet Detroit in 2019 because I saw a gap in local coverage around climate, health and environmental issues — especially in communities most affected by pollution and disinvestment. I wanted to create a newsroom that could produce journalism in the public interest while helping people better understand the systems that shape their environment. Over time, our mission has evolved to center civic impact and personal action: we want to help people hold power accountable and take meaningful steps to protect their health, homes and communities.
As the founder and editor of Planet Detroit, what types of stories are you most excited to share with your community?
I’m most excited about stories that uncover environmental harm while also highlighting grassroots efforts to create change — especially when those stories give people tools to act. Whether it's data-driven reporting on air pollution or features on community health workers and neighborhood-led restoration projects, I’m always looking for ways to connect local reporting with local impact.
With your background in urban planning, what role did community voices play in your decision to shift from shaping places to telling their stories through environmental journalism?
In my planning work, I saw firsthand how top-down decisions often excluded the people most affected. That experience pushed me toward journalism as a way to center community voices, especially around environmental health issues that are often invisible in policy and media conversations. Storytelling became a way to help communities be seen, heard and better equipped to advocate for themselves.
Nina presenting at our 2025 Journalism Camp. Photo captured by Ella Miller.
What challenges have you faced as a founder of a mission-driven newsroom, and what keeps you going?
Sustaining a nonprofit newsroom — especially one focused on local, public-interest journalism — requires constant work: building trust, securing funding and staying grounded in community needs. It’s not easy. But what keeps me going is hearing from people who say our reporting helped them make a more informed decision, show up to a public meeting or access a resource they didn’t know existed. That’s the impact that matters.
What advice would you give to emerging journalists who want to cover climate and environmental issues?
Start local. The most powerful stories often come from your own community. Listen deeply, follow the data and don’t assume the answers. Build relationships and think in systems — climate intersects with housing, health, food and more. And always ask: So what? Who needs to hear this story, and what might they do with the information?
What is your favorite non-writing hobby?
Running, especially on trails. It clears my head and reconnects me to the land I’m trying to protect through my work.
Follow Planet Detroit on X (@planetdetroit) and on Instagram at @planetdetroitnews.
— Interview by Jenna Hausmann