Rick Brewer
News DirectorRick Brewer is the news director at WCMU Public Radio, where he has led the newsroom since February 2024.
Under his leadership, WCMU’s news team consistently delivers high-quality local journalism for communities across central and northern Michigan and regularly contribute stories to the Michigan Public Radio Network, Harvest Public Media, the Northern Michigan Journalism Project and NPR. The work on his team has also been recognized with a regional Edward R. Murrow Award from the Radio, Television and Digital News Association.
Prior to becoming news director, Brewer served as WCMU’s general assignment reporter, covering a diverse range of beats including breaking news, local politics, agriculture, the Great Lakes commercial fishing industry, Camp Grayling and more.
Brewer also leads the Michigan News Group Internship Program, which pairs students from Central Michigan University with partner newsrooms across the region, including Bridge Michigan, The Alpena News, and The Traverse City Record-Eagle. These student reporters contribute to a wide array of platforms—from WCMU’s radio broadcasts, newspapers to digital outlets and social media.
Before coming to Mount Pleasant, Brewer was a news producer at Iowa Public Radio, where he helped shape hundreds of interviews for the daily talk shows Talk of Iowa and River to River. While in Iowa Brewer helped organize special coverage of the 2020 Iowa Caucuses, served as a producer on multiple IPR podcasts and covered the first MLB baseball game on Iowa soil at the Field of Dreams movie site in Dyersville. Brewer's work on River to River was recognized with an Eric Sevareid Award from the Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association.
In 2025, Brewer was selected for the Public Media Champions fellowship through the University of Vermont’s Center for Community News. As part of the program, he established the CMU Reporting Project, a collaborative initiative between WCMU, CM-Life, and the students and faculty at Central Michigan University’s School of Communication, Journalism & Media, which helps publish student journalism and fill gaps in the local news ecosystem across the region.
He is an active member of the Public Media Journalists Association. He also sits on the host committee for Press Forward Northern Michigan, a coalition dedicated to strengthening the local news ecosystem in the region.
Brewer holds multiple master’s degrees from Indiana University Bloomington and is an alumnus of Denison University in Granville, Ohio.
📩 Send story ideas to rick.brewer@cmich.edu
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The freighter sank in Lake Michigan on Nov. 18, 1958, during a treacherous storm that produced 65 mph winds and 25-foot waves. -
The 10,000 square foot facility is home to maritime exhibits and historical artifacts after being closed for over 40 days due to the government shutdown. -
Two events, a memorial service for the public, and a separate private ceremony for the families of the crew, were held to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the tragedy. -
The MBS International Airport in Freeland is home to 48 federal employees, all of whom are receiving an influx of free lunches and supplies from soup kitchens, restaurants and small businesses across the Great Lakes Bay Region. -
Food pantries across the region are preparing for an influx of demand as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is set to run out of funding due to the ongoing government shutdown. -
Although northern Michigan's ice storm initial appeal for individual relief and utilities has been denied by the Trump administration, utilities are still eligible for other types of relief from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. -
The Michigan Economic Development Corporation said in a letter made public on Thursday that the Chinese company Gotion Inc. has not met its contractual obligations. -
The new $20 monthly charge is helping the Presque Isle Electric & Gas Co-op pay down $150 million in costs accumulated from the March ice storm. -
U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Caledonia) said in an email that the town hall will be an opportunity for people to ask him questions about how federal agencies are being impacted by the shut down. -
Officials say the chatbots are not going to replace dispatch workers but rather help them manage calls.
