Day named ELi Interim Managing Editor, Martinez Joins ELi Staff as Investigative Reporter
Lucas Day has been named the Interim Managing Editor of East Lansing Info by the organization’s Board of Directors. Day has served as the ELi City Desk Editor since 2022.
Day has earned both a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and a Master’s of Social Work from Michigan State University. He has reported for The State News, The Graphic and The St. Ignace News. But his interest in writing and reporting began much earlier.
“I just liked to write a lot when I was a kid,” he said. “And this [journalism] is what I pinpointed as the writing field. There was no journalism program at North Central Michigan College [where Day attended before transferring to MSU] but there was an English professor who took an interest in me. He worked with me a little extra to get me ready for MSU and talked to me about opportunities in the field.”
Day continued collecting mentors and excellent educators at MSU’s School of Journalism, including Joe Grimm and Dave Poulson, whom he credits, along with Molly Hauxwell Currier, his Editor at The Graphic, for teaching him how to be a good reporter and how to manage a news team.
“I actually called Molly last week to ask her how she worked with interns, because I was a difficult intern she had to work with, and she talked to me for half an hour,” Day said.
“Lucas was the obvious choice to step in as Interim Managing Editor,” ELi Executive Director Beth Peck said. “He is a great barometer of what readers want to know while also possessing a fine-tuned, ethical compass that will help lead ELi as it continues to grow and evolve.”
Peck recommended Day’s appointment to the ELi Board of Directors, gaining their overwhelming support for the choice last week. His appointment comes after Julie Seraphinoff’s recent resignation.
Seraphinoff, a retired journalism teacher from Haslett Public Schools, is hoping to spend more time with her grandkids, spread out in Florida and Colorado. Day praises his predecessor for what she instilled in him.
“I learned so much from Julie,” he said. “You could tell that she was a teacher for 25 years because she just had the mentorship aspect down. She made really good decisions on what was worth covering. Her writing was extremely sharp; I think she’s made everyone she’s worked with a better writer.
“We covered a lot of tough stuff over the last year, the city manager hiring, the school issues, it was just a really tough news year. Julie did a really good job making sure the coverage was unbiased and focused on what was important. For small publications like ELi, she really knew how to help our really young staff improve with each story and interview. Again, she was just a really great teacher.”
In addition to Seraphinoff’s departure, ELi also bid farewell to longtime Office Manager Jodi Mullett. At ELi, Mullett oversaw bookkeeping and payroll and supported fundraising campaigns. Mullett’s hard work and innovation, particularly in the organization’s early years, was pivotal in making the news source a success.
A new addition to ELi’s reporting team is the talented investigative reporter Federico Martinez.
Martinez is a native of Adrian, Michigan and reported for The Muskegon Times for more than 20 years. He also wrote for the San Angelo Standard Times in Texas, winning more than a dozen AP Awards for Investigative Reporting. Martinez has reported from Haiti, traveled with the Obama campaign during the 2008 election, and written groundbreaking investigative journalism, including series on homelessness and farm workers, spending two months working alongside agricultural farm workers.
“I’m excited about joining East Lansing Info,” Martinez said, “and working with a team of outstanding journalists who are committed to producing accurate, unbiased and quality stories that readers can trust and be informed about the issues that impact their lives.”