• Christofer MachniakPatch Staff Verified Patch Staff Badge

  • Brighton, MI

 

<b>E-mail — </b>christofer.machniak&#64;patch.com<b><br></b>

<b>Phone — </b>810-623-1385<b><br></b>

<b>Hometown — </b>I&#39;ve lived in a number of places that I came to call home at the time: East Lansing, Mackinac Island, Albuquerque, N.M., and Flint. That&#39;s what happens when you&#39;re a journalist and write about the area. But if you want to know where I grew up, it was Livonia, Mich., although I was born in Detroit and hold a special place for that city as well.<b> </b>And of course, Hartland Township is now my home, especially because it&#39;s where my wife, Elaine, and I were married — at Waldenwoods — and because it&#39;s the only place our daughter, Lily, knows as home.

<b>Birthday — </b>Are you crazy? Honestly, with identity theft and all …

<b>Bio —  </b>I&#39;m a husband and father of a 1-year-old daughter whose passion for journalism started when I crafted my first newspaper headline in the sixth grade. Before becoming your Local Editor, I worked for more than 10 years at The Flint Journal, mostly as a reporter writing about Flint government, higher education and the Fenton area. I wrote about big controversies — such as a mayoral recall, state takeover in Flint and one of the student riots at MSU (The tear gas was not fun). I also chronicled the lives of regular people of a community like a chef at Mott Community College or efforts to help others like a cystic fibrosis teen who needed a double-lung transplant.

I also worked as a copy editor where I laid-out newspaper pages, edited stories and wrote headlines, and as the interim opinion editor, mostly editing columns and letters to the editor. I left the paper in 2009 when the paper reduced staffing.

From little to big and then to now, I believe that each story is important in explaining and understanding who we are as a community.

Educationwise, I earned my high school diploma from Livonia Churchill in 1993. I earned a bachelor&#39;s degree in journalism from Michigan State University in 1998, and I completed a master&#39;s degree in English at the University of Michigan-Flint in August. I also teach journalism part-time at the UM-Flint and Eastern Michigan University.

<b> </b>My hobbies include marathon running and triathlons — although I have not done either much lately. I also enjoy trying to play the piano — although it&#39;s been even longer since I&#39;ve rivaled our two cats in making sometimes uncomfortable noise.<br><br><b>Your Beliefs</b>

At Patch, we promise always to report the facts as objectively as possible and otherwise adhere to the principles of good journalism. However, we also acknowledge that true impartiality is impossible because human beings have beliefs. So in the spirit of simple honesty, our policy is to encourage our editors to reveal their beliefs to the extent they feel comfortable. This disclosure is not a license for you to inject your beliefs into stories or to dictate coverage according to them. In fact, the intent is the opposite: we hope that the knowledge that your beliefs are on the record will cause you to be ever mindful to write, report and edit in a fair, balanced way. And if you ever see evidence that we failed in this mission, please let us know.

<b>Politics </b>

How would you describe your political beliefs? It&#39;s complicated … for instance, I hold liberal beliefs when it comes to a social safety net and education but some conservative leanings in thinking about giving too much power to the government, corporations or unions. And yes, I feel the irony tugging on how those principles don&#39;t exactly mesh. Given that, I try to be open to new ideas or candidates on any issue because I believe in dialog, compromise and democracy.

Are you registered with a certain party? No.<br><br><b>Religion</b>

How religious would you consider yourself? (casual, observant, devout, non religious) I have a strong faith in God. I have had one ever since I was a small child, but while I consider myself a Christian and was born Catholic, I don&#39;t regularly practice any specific tradition. I also believe there are many religious paths to the same positive place.<br><b><br>Local Hot-Button Issues</b>

What do you think are the most important issues facing the community?

Jobs, home prices and foreclosures. My wife and I bought our house five years ago and it&#39;s now worth $75,000-$100,000 less than what we agreed to pay. So, now what? We are grateful, though, that we both have full-time jobs, especially after I didn&#39;t work full-time for 15 months.

Where do you stand on each of these issues?

I&#39;m concerned because no matter who is leading, our political leaders tend to over-promise and under-deliver when many factors are out of their control. At the same time, I remain optimistic because our individual lives and actions collectively add up to a resiliency, spirit, and ability to change that makes us who we are and undeniably American.

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