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You can take a writer out of the newsroom, but you can't take the newsroom out of a dedicated journalist. (Trust us, we know.)
Detroit author and freelancer Aaron Foley next Monday becomes editor of BLAC Detroit Magazine after 13 months at an ad agency.
Aaron Foley plans "to help steer the magazine into new directions next year." (Photo by Gary Lichtman)
Foley, 31, announces the move Monday morning on social media. It comes amid a series of appearances promoting his first book, "How to Live in Detroit Without Being a Jackass," being released officially Tuesday. (It has been sent to advance buyers during the past two weeks.)
"I'm really excited to get back into journalism," he posts. "And I'm even more excited to help steer the magazine into new directions next year."
He has freelanced for the monthly, published since 1999 by Metro Parent Publishing Group, founded 29 years ago and based on Woodward in Ferndale. The November issue includes a "Thanksgiving with a Twist" feature in which Foley recalls his grandmother Shirley's "24-hour turkey day marathon" and presents three local chefs' recipes.
The magazine's name stands for Black Life, Arts & Culture. Publisher Alyssa Martina calls it "the premier lifestyle magazine for African-Americans in and around Detroit." It earlier was called African American Parent and African American Family.
The senior editor since January 2013, Emell Adolphus, last month became a digital strategist for the ACLU of Michigan.
The incoming editor's six-sentence Facebook post begins:
It's been a roller coaster year and I was hoping to make an easy cruise through the rest of 2015, but that just wouldn't be me. It's my last week at Team Detroit as I transition to my new role.
Here's how he tells 2,000 Twitter followers:
Some news: I'm becoming editor of @BLACMagazine next week. Excited for this next chapter of the neverending story.
— Aaron Foley (@aaronkfoley) November 30, 2015
Foley's journalism career began more than a decade ago as a Grand Rapids Press copy desk intern after his sophomore year at MSU. The next summer, he interned for four months on The Detroit News' features copy desk, his LinkedIn page shows. Full-time jobs followed at The Jackson Citizen Patriot, San Jose Mercury News, Lansing State Journal, MLive Media Group and Ward's Automotive Group.
A five-page chapter of his book from Belt Publishing in Cleveland is titled "How to Be Black in Detroit" and is posted here.
