Tuesday open thread: Which reporters, outlets do the best job covering the Detroit Lions?

The Detroit Lions media gets a bad rap for being hateful or “running players out of town.” And while that may be true of some outlets, I continue to preach that the handful of individuals who cover this team every single day are excellent at their jobs. I may not be completely unbiased in this opinion, seeing as a share a workplace with most of these people, but I admired all of them before Pride of Detroit was credentialed.

There’s a difference between Detroit Lions “media” and Detroit Lions beat writers. Generally speaking in Detroit, the beat writers—who spend just about every day of the regular season at Allen Park—cover this team in a fair, fruitful, and informational way. They devote a ton of their personal lives to covering this team, and they do a damn good job doing it. Unfortunately, these people often get lumped in with the “media,” which tends to be the sources of some of the hot takes that make both fans and players angry.

So today’s Question of the Day is:

Which outlets and reporters do the best job covering the Detroit Lions?

My answer: Seeing as I work closely with all of these people, I’m not going to publicly play favorites. Instead, I’ll list all of the daily beat writers I see on site and list my favorite thing about them and their coverage. Note: I am just listing the primary writers for each publication to keep this relatively short. I’ve got just as much love for guys like Ben Raven (MLive) and Nolan Bianchi (Detroit News).

• Dave Birkett (@davebirkett), Detroit Free Press: One of the hardest-working people on the beat. Always chasing down leads and breaking news more than anyone else on the beat.
• Justin Rogers (@Justin_Rogers), Detroit News: Does a great job understanding everything about the game of football, from salary cap to film breakdowns. Asks the best questions during press conferences.
• Kyle Meinke (@kmeinke), MLive: Does a great job relating to the players, which, in turn, gets them to open up. Has written some of the best personal profiles on Lions players of anyone on the beat.
• Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman), DetroitLions.com: Enjoy talking ball with him a lot. He knows his stuff as a former QB himself. Also, I think he does an excellent job talking to Lions players and staff in his “Twentyman in the Huddle” podcast.
• Colton Pouncy (@colton_pouncy), The Athletic: Only been on the beat for a year, but I can tell he’s already settled in nicely. He also knows ball, and he and Nick Baumgardner are a great pairing for that publication. Very much enjoy the “One of These Years” podcast.
• Eric Woodyard (@E_Woodyard), ESPN: Another guy who is great at developing relationships with players, which leads to him often getting players who typically wouldn’t talk to the media to speak up a little more.

Who are your favorite writers and publications for Detroit Lions football? Share in the comment section below.