Welcome to the Detroit Football Network
My name is Justin Rogers and this website is the continuation and constant evolution of my childhood dream. After two decades of working in corporate media, for local powerhouses MLive and the Detroit News, I opted to take a bold leap into independence in July, 2024.
Who we are and why we’re here
I started at MLive in 2005, without so much as an interview, working four hours per week doing data entry for the website’s restaurant database. All I ever needed was a foot in the industry’s door. I used the other to kick the damn door down.
Four hours turned into eight after a couple weeks. I doubled it twice from there and was at a full 40 within six months, doing a variety of barrel-scrapping tasks for multiple departments. Two years later, I was running the online sports department and carving out my first writing opportunities, providing supplemental coverage on our Pistons beat led by A. Sherrod Blakely.
In 2010, MLive went through a merger of sorts, with the online division melding with the entity’s eight local papers. Within that restructure, I was moved into a permanent writing role. The move came with a raise, too.
Suckers. I might have done it for free.
A year later, tragedy struck. Longtime Lions beat writer, industry icon, colleague and mentor Tom Kowalski passed away shortly before the start of the regular season. Until a replacement could be found, I was called out of the bullpen.
I only served as a sub the first five games of the 2011 season — the Lions started 5-0 that year, if anyone cares — before shifting to my previous role when MLive hired Anwar Richardson. But when we forged a fast bond, I was moved back to Lions as Richardson’s full-time backup starting in 2012.
I stayed at MLive four more years, going from working under Richardson to alongside Kyle Meinke. During those first years on the beat, both my football knowledge and reporter ability grew exponentially. That led to an opportunity to blossom further when the Detroit News called and offered me the paper’s vacant beat reporter position in 2017.
I’d like to believe my career has been defined, first and foremost, by my work ethic, but also my diligence, even-keeled reporting and creativity. Never content to persist in an established status quo, I’ve constantly devised ways to reach the audience through multimedia, interaction and going deeper on topics other local reporters weren’t touching, such as film reviews and salary cap.
But during the 2023 season, I started to grow discontent. I never stopped loving what I was doing, but I had interest and ideas to grow within it. I had productive talks with my management at the News, and even though our visions overlapped, we couldn’t find a shared path to get there.
So I decided to go at it on my own, and here we are, the birth of something new, something rooted in everything I’ve ever done and believe in, but something I believe can and will be better than I’ve previously accomplished.
My foundation as a journalist will remain the heart of everything I do, but this venture will carry a personal touch. I’m going to let you behind the curtain of the process, sharing in the stories, the comments and a weekly newsletter the whys of the job.
Why am I asking the questions I’m asking? Why am I writing the stories you’re reading and how did I choose the topic/angle? And ultimately, I want you to be part of the process, too, helping pick the subjects covered.
That’s the “Network” component of this publication’s name. We’re in this together, I’m just the one who has the access, but I serve as your conduit to the team you love, here to enhance your fan experience.
I’ll always be looking for the best stories — hopefully many you didn’t even know you wanted to read — and trying to tell them in a creative way. Maybe that means I’ll hop in an ice bath if that’s the best way to tell them.
There are going to be twists and turns I can’t even imagine, and I’m thrilled to know you’ll be along for the ride. Welcome to the Detroit Football Network. I’ll be covering the Detroit Lions, but you’ll be coming with me.
