In a time when many news operations are being forced to cut back on staffing, Michigan Radio is pleased to announce the hiring of three new members of our journalism staff.
Beenish Ahmed has been hired as a new Detroit-based reporter for the station. Since 2016, she has been a reporter for WNYC Public Radio in New York and also a freelance journalist. Her stories have appeared on NPR, as well as in The New Yorker, Harper’s, The Atlantic, VICE and The Daily Beast. Additionally, Beenish spent two years in Islamabad, Pakistan, working with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, covering the country’s first democratic transition of power as well as Pakistan's education system.
Much of her reporting has focused on covering under-reported stories and adding nuance to major headlines. That included covering stories related to DACA and the #MeToo movement as well as reporting on the personal challenges Muslims in metro Detroit faced intaking a public stand against President Trump’s so-called “Muslim ban.”
She is a graduate of the University of Michigan and has a master’s degree from the University of Cambridge. She was also a Spencer Fellow at the Columbia School of Journalism in New York, and an NPR Kroc Fellow.
Beenish joins Sarah Cwiek as Michigan Radio's Detroit-based reporters. She will begin work at Michigan Radio on January 11, 2021.
Nisa Khan is joining Michigan Radio as the station’s first full-time data reporter. In that capacity, she will be reporting on data-driven news stories as well as working with other news staff to acquire and analyze data in support of their journalism.
Most recently Nisa has been working at the Detroit Free Press analyzing COVID-19 data. Additionally, she was a digital intern at Michigan Radio and worked with Michigan Radio's Peabody award winning Believedpodcast team.
Nisa is a University of Michigan graduate in information science and has a master’s degree in journalism from Stanford, where she focused on data and multimedia. She was a City University of New York (CUNY) Journalism Fellow at ProPublica where she did data journalism, as well. Nisa will be starting at the station on January 4, 2021.
Erin Allen comes to Michigan Radio as a new producer for the station’s Stateside show. She is an experienced communicator driven by her curiosity about stories of people.
Since 2019, Erin has been the executive producer of the Detroit Podcast Festival which focuses on amplifying the stories and voices of Detroit. She also co-curates Radio Campfire, a live listening event series featuring creative audio stories of all kinds. Erin has worked as a content producer at WDET public radio and has experience in radio and podcast production, as well as event organizing, managing and coordinating.
She holds a BA in psychology from Grand Valley State University. Erin starts at Michigan Radio on Monday, January 4, 2021.
These new hires continue to ensure Michigan Radio’s commitment to quality journalism.
