30 | JULY 7 • 2022

W

hile attending North
Farmington High School,
Michael Holzman got
involved with TV-10. The school district’s
student-run television channel, which
broadcasts news, sports and entertainment
programs, was something Holzman always
enjoyed working with.
However, the current news producer
didn’t always have his eyes set on media.
At first, he wanted to become an engineer.
“I tried pursuing a degree in mechanical
engineering when I started college, but
that quickly wasn’t working out,” Holzman,
32, explains.
Instead, he turned to his other love:
the news industry. “I decided that I really
enjoyed my time at TV-10 in high school,”
he recalls, “so why not try to pursue a
career in this?”
Graduating from the University of
Michigan-Dearborn in 2014, and with a
year at Specs Howard School of Media
Arts in Southfield, Holzman began to
work on breaking into the news industry.
He first worked as a freelance produc-
tion assistant and videographer for sev-
eral years with a number of independent
shows, such as State Champs Sports Network
and From Glory Days.
In 2018, Holzman got his first big
break and was hired by WILX News 10
in Lansing as a news producer, where he
worked for two years. Since moving to
Lansing, Holzman has enjoyed making it
his home, currently living downtown near
Jackson Field.

BRINGING THE NEWS
CYCLE TO LIFE
As of 2021, he has worked at FOX 47, also
as a news producer. Working an evening

shift, Holzman generally comes in around
3 p.m. and immediately begins pulling sto-
ries for the nighttime show.
“I coordinate with the reporters to see
what they’re working on,” he says of his
job, “and how likely something they’re
working on is going to turn and go on the
air that night.”
In addition to coordinating stories,
Holzman also works on editing stories
that come from outside and writing
scripts for news anchors to read on-air.
As a jack-of-all-trades, working as a news
producer can be extremely busy, but he
enjoys the challenge.
“Sometimes it can be a grind to get
everything done and put it all together,
especially if it’s a slow news day,” Holzman
explains. “But when I see the finished
product on the air at 10 o’clock, and when
it’s all nice and buttoned up … It just feels
rewarding, to see that whole project go out
on the air and be watched by people all
around mid-Michigan.”

The work, however, can often be a lot.
“There are not a whole lot of other people
I can delegate tasks to,” Holzman says. “I
usually just buckle down and roll up my
sleeves and work on it. No matter how
stressed I am, usually it all works out in
the end.”
News producers like Holzman are essen-
tial to making the news cycle possible.
“We’re the backbone of the show
because we’re putting together all the dif-
ferent elements — like the nuts and bolts
— behind the scenes that go into a TV
show,” he explains. “Without us, it would
be all up to the anchor to produce, edit,
put graphics and do everything else on top
of having to anchor the show itself.”

A SIMPLE KEY TO SUCCESS
What he enjoys about working at FOX 47,

Mid-Michigan
News Producer

Persistence is key to breaking into
the news industry, says FOX 47 producer
Michael Holzman.

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Michael Holtzman with
former Red Wing Darren
McCarty on From Glory Days

Michael
Holtzman

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