Former AN staffers to join journalism hall of fame

Two former Automotive News staffers, Edward Lapham and Marjorie Sorge, have been named to the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame.

Lapham, Sorge and five other inductees will be honored at a ceremony in the fall. Other inductees this year will be:

• Tom Henderson, longtime reporter for sibling publication Crain's Detroit Business. 
• Al Allen, a radio and TV reporter on the streets of Detroit for 50 years.
• Joanne Gerstner, multiplatform sportswriter, educator, scholar, mentor and author.
• Jean Jennings, 40-year automotive writer and editor.
• Susan Whitall, former editor of Creem magazine, music historian, columnist and author.

Lapham joined Automotive News in 1977 as the newspaper's first financial editor.

He served in many capacities over 36 years, including marketing editor, managing editor, executive editor and editor.

He won several awards for reporting and opinion writing. He became internationally known for his reporting and expertise about the financial maneuverings of DeLorean Motor Co. founder John DeLorean.

Lapham served two terms as president of the Detroit Press Club. He was also a founding board member of the Automotive Press Association and an original juror for the North American Car, Utility and Truck and of the Year Awards. In addition, he taught investigative reporting as a part-time instructor at Wayne State University in Detroit.

Lapham, who is now 72, retired in June 2013.

On the day of his retirement, he contributed his final Friday commentary to Automotive News TV. The segment ended with his signature closing, "I'm Edward Lapham, and that's how I see it," as he headed out on his Harley toward the streets of Detroit.

Sorge, now 70, worked at Automotive News from 1977 to 1985. She became features editor in 1979 and was named the paper's first labor editor in 1981.

From 1988 to 1995 she was at Ward's AutoWorld, first as managing editor and then executive editor. Sorge was editor-in-chief of Automotive Industries magazine from 1995 to 2000.

In 2009, she launched the Detroit Regional News Hub, which helped connect journalists writing about Detroit and Southeast Michigan with experts, data and other information about the region.

Lapham and Sorge have been married for 40 years. They met at Automotive News.

They will join three others from Automotive News in the hall of fame. The late John K. Teahen Jr., longtime managing editor and senior editor, was inducted in 2006. Editor-in- Chief Keith Crain entered in 2008. Peter Brown, who led Automotive News for a quarter-century until he retired in 2013, was inducted in 2019.