Top Five Public, Employee IdeaQuest Finalists Named; Winners To Be Announced April 29

DETROIT, April 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The top five public and top five employee submissions have been identified in Detroit Media Partnership's search for the best two ideas -- to help the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News better serve the community and grow their audiences, and much more. To get there, it took just two months filled with more than 450 ideas submitted by more than 450 public and staff registrants, more than 90,000 page views, two weeks of public voting, and thousands of votes.

On April 29, these ten finalists will be invited to pitch their concepts to a judging panel comprised of Patrick Doyle, President and CEO Domino's Pizza; Susie Ellwood, Chief Executive Officer, Detroit Media Partnership; and Myron Maslowsky, Senior Vice President, Group Finance & Administration, USA Today.  The two winners of IdeaQuest will be announced and awarded $10,000 in prizes at the downtown offices of the Detroit Media Partnership.

"We're very excited by the number and the quality of ideas and conversation that have come from our readers and our staff," said Susie Ellwood, Chief Executive Officer, Detroit Media Partnership. "We can't wait to see what the finalists have to say. We're eager to select two of these concepts to pursue."

"I'm very impressed by the quality of the ideas," said Patrick Doyle, President and CEO Domino's Pizza. "They've proven there is some great creativity in Michigan."

Random order of PUBLIC finalists

"Pick my politico" by Bianca Espinoza
http://ideas.michigan.com/forum/index.php?topic=299.0

"Reinventing the Detroit Newspapers Using Micro-Donations" by Ben Kronk
http://ideas.michigan.com/forum/index.php?topic=396.0

"Coupon recycle library" by Susan Benes
http://ideas.michigan.com/forum/index.php?topic=206

"Project Green House" by John Langs, Lindsay Aspegren and Steve Hamp
http://ideas.michigan.com/forum/index.php?topic=268.0

"Vote it up: Now this is a cool idea" by Samer Bazzi and Mira Mikati
http://ideas.michigan.com/forum/index.php?topic=238.0

Random order of EMPLOYEE finalists

"Make a Difference" by Laura Sutherly
http://ideas.michigan.com/forum/index.php?topic=132.0

"i-Reporter: Cutting Edge Neighborhood Level Reporting" by Aimie Rosner and Kent Walter
http://ideas.michigan.com/forum/index.php?topic=277.0

"Creative Detroit 365 -- A daily showcase of metro Detroit creativity" by Donna Zetterlund
http://ideas.michigan.com/forum/index.php?topic=478.0

"FEAST: Food and dining website with coupons" by Patricia Montemurri
http://ideas.michigan.com/forum/index.php?topic=416.0

"Student and community strategic multimedia interaction" by Gail Wiener
http://ideas.michigan.com/forum/index.php?topic=281.0

For the latest information regarding IdeaQuest, please visit http://ideaquest.michigan.com.  Please contact Georgette Adkins at 313-223-4443 if your media organization plans to attend the presentation of winners April 29 at 2 p.m.

Detroit Media Partnership, L.P. manages the business functions of the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News. As the largest newspapers in Michigan, with two of the most visited Web sites in the market, the Free Press and The News combine to reach a weekly audience of 1.9 million people; 50% of adults in this market see our products.*  Detroit Media Partnership is also the advertising sales agent for the following suburban Detroit publications: Observer & Eccentric, Novi News, Milford Times, Northville Record, South Lyon Herald and Livingston County Daily Press & Argus. Gannett Co., Inc., owner of the Free Press, is the general partner in DMP; MediaNews Group, owner of The News, is the limited partner.

*SOURCE: 2010 Scarborough Report - August 2010 - July 2009 - Detroit DMA

SOURCE Detroit Media Partnership, L.P.