What happens when one of Michigan's most trusted voices steps away from the anchor desk and speaks his mind without a script? On this episode of The BOBcast, recorded at the 2026 Mackinac Policy Conference, Bob Riney sits down with Devin Scillian, beloved WDIV anchor, award-winning author, musician, and one of the most recognizable faces in Michigan journalism, for a candid, wide-ranging conversation about the state of our state, the crisis facing modern journalism, and the power of storytelling to unite a divided nation. Devin opens up about Michigan's political whiplash, the dangerous disconnect between how Michiganders see themselves and where the state actually stands, and why truth, even when it's uncomfortable, must remain the North Star of journalism. From the anchor desk to the stage, from children's books written after midnight to a song born from the rubble of war, Devin Scillian reminds us that Detroit and Michigan have always needed great storytellers, and that we need them now more than ever.
What happens when one of Michigan's most trusted voices steps away from the anchor desk and speaks his mind without a script? On this episode of The BOBcast, recorded at the 2026 Mackinac Policy Conference, Bob Riney sits down with Devin Scillian, beloved WDIV anchor, award-winning author, musician, and one of the most recognizable faces in Michigan journalism, for a candid, wide-ranging conversation about the state of our state, the crisis facing modern journalism, and the power of storytelling to unite a divided nation. Devin opens up about Michigan's political whiplash, the dangerous disconnect between how Michiganders see themselves and where the state actually stands, and why truth, even when it's uncomfortable, must remain the North Star of journalism. From the anchor desk to the stage, from children's books written after midnight to a song born from the rubble of war, Devin Scillian reminds us that Detroit and Michigan have always needed great storytellers, and that we need them now more than ever.
Time Stamps
Devin Scillian's Multifaceted Career
:22- Bob Riney introduces Devin Scillian, highlighting his diverse career as a journalist, author, musician, and actor.
2:26- Devin shares his love for storytelling, comparing his career to an abstract painting, where all his endeavors are interconnected.
2:50- He discusses his journalistic hero, Homer, and his fascination with storytelling, both fiction and non-fiction.
Michigan's Political and Economic Challenges
3:52- Bob and Devin discuss the political dynamics in Michigan, particularly the "purple conundrum" and the whiplash effect of political changes.
4:40- Devin highlights the economic impact of policy changes, using the example of film incentives to illustrate the whiplash effect.
5:25- They discuss the need for Michigan to focus on forward-thinking strategies rather than nostalgically looking back.
5:45- Devin mentions a poll showing a disconnect between Michigan's actual status and the perception of its residents.
Mackinac Policy Conference and Personal Reflections
6:19- Bob and Devin discuss their experiences at the Mackinac Policy Conference, including the excitement around the Final Four and the achievements of Michigan's Olympic athletes.
8:04- Devin reflects on his transition from being a news anchor to focusing on writing, music, and other creative pursuits.
The State of Journalism and Media Consumption
9:20- Bob and Devin discuss the challenges facing journalism, including the blurred lines between journalism, infotainment, and AI.
11:24- Devin emphasizes the importance of truth and accuracy in journalism and the need for vigilance on the part of consumers.
Devin Scillian's Musical Journey
11:32- Bob and Devin discuss Devin's career as a musician, including his favorite song, "A Tattered Little Shoe," inspired by a child's shoe found during the Iraq War.
13:08- They discuss the importance of acoustics in music venues and Devin's experiences playing in different locations, including a music theater in Lexington and Veterans Park in Saint Clair Shores.
13:50- Devin shares a humorous anecdote about a friend who moved Bob Riney to the back of the house during a performance.
Bob Riney 0:00
My hair loss, and there's plenty of it, comes from these sports games that don't go the way I want. There's nothing logical about this.
Devin Scillian 0:09
Boy, Bob, you look like a fan. Let me tell you.
Bob Riney 0:12
Very good, very good.
Bob Riney 0:16
Welcome back to The BOBcast. I'm your host, Bob Riney, President and CEO of Henry Ford Health. Today's guest is someone who has touched the lives of countless Michiganders. Whether you watched him on television, listened to his music, or read one of his beloved children's books, Devin Scillian spent decades as the trusted anchor at WDIV in Detroit, becoming one of the most recognizable and respected voices in Michigan journalism. His work also extends far beyond the newsroom. Devin is an award-winning author, a talented musician, and even an occasional actor, having portrayed a journalist in several films.
Movie Clip 0:56
Senator Friedman, you have been a harsh critic of the president recent months over his treatment of Russia. Russia is back. Your president has stated unequivocally their desire to knock us back to 1985
Bob Riney 1:10
After retiring from WDIV in 2024 Devin has continued to pour his energy into writing, speaking, and performing with his band Arizona Sun, a group that is open for artists like Toby Keith and Reba McEntire. Devin, welcome to The BOBcast.
Devin Scillian 1:27
I am honored to be on The BOBcast. Thanks, Bob.
Bob Riney 1:30
Well, you know, you're just an impressive guy, and you're a friend, and someone that always has a way of kind of crystallizing your thoughts into something that people want to listen to, and they want to absorb, and they want to be inspired by, but your career is so multifaceted. You have juggled a lot between being on the air, writing books, making music, and even acting. What's your secret to balance?
Devin Scillian 1:59
I know to a lot of people, it always seemed like I was just all over the place, you know, like an abstract painting, just throwing stuff at the wall.
Devin anchoring the news 2:07
Michigan House Republicans stage a walkout in Lansing today, they're accusing Democrats of not playing ball.
Devin singing 2:17
Together here we are.
Devin Scillian 2:19
But the one thing that all those things that you just mentioned have in common, journalism, writing books, writing music, they're all about storytelling, and at the heart of it, I love stories. I think it's a very primitive and ancient need in humans to tell our story and to chronicle the times in which we live, and to make up stories as well, which is so I've been able to kind of do both things, both fiction and nonfiction. I always talk about my journalistic hero. People go into journalism for lots of different reasons. Some people want to be Edward R. Murrow, some people want to be Woodward and Bernstein. I mean, on and on and on, there's a lot of different.. I wanted to be Homer, and when I give that speech to, like, high schoolers, they're like Homer Simpson, no, Homer, you know who wrote The Iliad and The Odyssey, and you know, but I, but it's an imperfect comparison, because, of course, you know, The Odyssey is not exactly a true story, maybe, maybe there were, maybe there was a Centaur. I am so drawn to that idea of story. I love speaking to story. In fact, a couple months ago, I spoke with a storytellers group up in Troy, and they all just revere the idea of the story.
Bob Riney 2:22
You've also been involved a lot in politics, both in your role as news anchor and just your role as a citizen, as you reflect on the state of Michigan, which you have come to call home. What do you think are the most pressing issues that we're facing right now?
Devin Scillian 2:22
I've become very fascinated by our purple conundrum, and you are like me. I think that we have both enjoyed the idea that Michigan is a purple state. It seems to speak to a kind of diversity.
News interview 3:57
This is the latest incident, and it's in a swing purple state, Michigan, and it just parallels everything that's happening...
Devin Scillian 4:11
A kind of openness, but it also comes with a cost, and that is a whiplash effect every two to four years. If we have a change of party, or you know, a change of direction, whoever's in charge, and it costs us. There's no doubt about it. I'm really fascinated by that dynamic. Can we find a way forward that doesn't include all of these zigzags every couple of years, which come far too expensively to us? However, you feel about the film incentives, maybe you thought they were a great idea, maybe a bad idea, but there's a great example of the whiplash effect. You had a whole bunch of people who believed that those film incentives were going to be in place, they bought catering trucks, they created studio space, they opened casting agencies, carpenters were being called in for all of these productions, and then a chain. Of leadership, and it all went away. That's a whiplash effect that was costly.
Bob Riney 5:04
I could talk for 20 minutes on what a fabulous state this is.
Devin Scillian 5:08
Sure.
Bob Riney 5:08
With great sincerity, but we have to own the fact that we've spent too much time looking nostalgically in the rear view mirror and not really talking about how we're gonna have to collaborate to compete in the forward thinking world.
Devin Scillian 5:25
In fact, not just romantic, nostalgically about what's behind us. I think we still think romantically about what's ahead of us. We sort of have this arrogance that we've got all this, we're in great shape, we're gonna have all these climate refugees coming our way, we've got the world's biggest repository of fresh water around us, we're going to be fine. And our poll that showed that just before this conference began showed us that there is a real disconnect between where we are as a state compared to our all of the other states and territories and where people believe we are. So many Michiganders think we're doing fine, and we're really not. The house, as you have put it, the house is on fire
Panel discussion at Mackinac Policy Confrence 6:02
Somewhere, this disconnect is not only out of phase but dangerous too, right? It is. I mean, it's been a decades long slide. It's kind of that frog in a boiling pot of water. You don't jump out and have that urgency or that crisis.
Bob Riney 6:18
What's been your favorite part of the Mackinac Policy Conference so far?
Devin Scillian 6:22
I really enjoyed the opening night of listening to everybody getting excited about the Final Four next year. I'm a college basketball addict, so listening to the group that we had talking about that, and then also Megan Keller and Connor Hellebuyck talking about winning the gold medals at the Olympics for the men's and women's hockey teams. I love the Olympics like very few other things in life, and I just was so enchanted to hear them talk about the experience of it,
Bob Riney 6:48
And one thing they both spoke about in their own words was the gratefulness for their journey, the parents that made sacrifices, their siblings that put some things aside, and that's common ground in its own right, and so I was, you know, I don't know their parents, but I want to tell them, "Good job. I know I've always joked with people that there's probably some truth to this, leading one of the largest employers in the state of Michigan, and obviously, like everyone else, dealing with family dynamics, but my hair loss, and there's plenty of it, comes from these sports games that don't go the way I want. There's nothing logical about this.
Devin Scillian 7:29
Boy, Bob, you look like a fan. Let me tell you.
Bob Riney 7:32
Very good, very good.
Bob Riney 7:37
You went through a transition after having a long decades of habits of being on TV every day,
Devin anchoring the news 7:47
I am currently in my 30th year here at WDIV, but I've decided it's time to move on to the next chapter of what has been a most enjoyable and gratifying book. You know, my wife, Corey, and I..
Bob Riney 7:57
What surprised you about being off the air that you weren't expecting?
Devin Scillian 8:04
Well, I thought that I was going to miss the daily adrenaline rush of a newsroom and never knowing what's going to happen in any given moment, and then trying to find a way to chronicle that, but I'm really enjoying having the creative time that I used to have to squeeze into the nooks and crannies of my life. Most of my children's books were written well after midnight, and to now be able to focus on that sort of thing, I've written a play, I'm writing music, I'm really enjoying the freedom of that. And my wife is a ceramic artist, and so I had always kind of dreamed to this day when we might have this little ceramic hub at our house with her studio and me writing and playing music, and that's kind of what we have right now, and I could not feel more grateful or blessed.
Bob Riney 8:47
That's really cool to hear, because you know some people have plans, but then they find that they've just lost the habits, you know, you're used to squeezing in the book set, but it sounds like you've converted to finding the quality time in a poor healthy place to do it.
Devin Scillian 9:04
I think I still write better at midnight. I don't know what that's about, but yes, now I've got the a little bit more freedom for it, and I could not feel more lucky.
Devin introduced at Mackinac Policy Conference 9:13
Please welcome journalist and author Devin Scillian. Thank you.
Bob Riney 9:19
Yesterday, I had a chance to hear you on stage, and you were so eloquent about your genuine concerns for what's happening to journalism.
Devin speaking at Mackinac Policy Conference 9:30
There's nothing new about the struggle for truth. Any reporter's work is, of course, going to be held up to all kinds of scrutiny, but one thing, truth and accuracy had to be my North Star.
Bob Riney 9:44
The fact that we can't even distinguish anymore journalism from infotainment and AI from real, this genie is out of the bottle, and we're all seeing the damage of it. I mean, you know, we're seeing what it's doing to divide us. Is there a way to get this genie back in the bottle, and how do we all begin to take steps to see that happen?
Devin Scillian 10:08
Well, the first thing it's going to take, and I don't know how, if we can get the genie all the way back in the bottle, but it's going to take vigilance on the part of not the tech powers that be, but the consumer side of it, we have to be vigilant, and this was the example that I used here yesterday. We have to be Diogenes, searching for one honest man, carrying our lantern all around Athens, Greece, in 400 B.C. We have to search out the truth, and not just the one that comports to our worldview. It is really easy to surround yourself by information that just makes you happy and feel good, but it might not necessarily be true, and the truth should occasionally make you very uncomfortable.
Devin speaking at Mackinac Policy Conference 10:50
If the truth is not making you miserable every once in a while, I'm not sure you're getting the truth, but we can handle it.
Bob Riney 10:58
I share those worries. I do think that ultimately consumers, if I was king or queen for a day, I would find a way to make sure that critical thinking skill development is infused in every part of curriculum, because ultimately we're all going to be subject to more complexity, but if we have our own honed screening process, our own filters, our own guardrails. We're going to be better off.
Devin Scillian 11:23
We need to develop an appreciation for the people who know what they're talking about, you know. Mostly comes down to if everyone's an expert, no one's an expert.
Bob Riney 11:30
Absolutely. Well, let's end on a couple of light notes. You know, you are very, very talented musician. What's your favorite song that you've written, and why is it your favorite?
Devin Scillian 11:40
I wrote a song called A Tattered Little Shoe that actually was inspired one day I was in the newsroom, and this was during the Iraq War, and I was watching CNN, and the cameraman zoomed in on a child's shoe amid all of this combat rubble.
Devin singing 11:57
Ten clicks out of Baghdad, a million clicks from home, just me and Sergeant Lee out on patrol alone, standing in the rubble of where a family used to be. I found a tattered little shoe that keeps on haunting me...
Devin Scillian 12:24
And that shoe just kind of haunted me for a while, and I finally sat down and wrote a song about a tattered, what it was, a soldier who found a shoe, and what did that shoe mean? That's one that has stayed with me, and I grew up in a military family, so maybe a little more attached to that sort of thing than otherwise,
Devin singing 12:43
And all the things that I have seen, the nightmares I've lived through. The thing I can't get over is a tattered little shoe.
Bob Riney 12:57
You've played in a lot of different venues, probably in your own shower, but we won't talk about a lot, but what venue that you've performed music in has turned out to be your favorite.
Devin Scillian 13:08
There's a music theater up in Lexington. It was designed by a musician with the acoustics in mind, and there have been all kinds of people who've now played in there. In fact, Rare Earth showed up and decided that was where they wanted to record a live album, because the acoustics are so insanely good. That one is definitely way up there, but we also have played some summer festival kind of things. Last time we played up at Veterans Park in Saint Clair Shores, I think we had about 3000 people there, so you know those kind of things on a beautiful Michigan summer day. That's a hard venue to beat, the Ford House up in Grosse Pointe Shores.
Bob Riney 13:42
The Ford House is awesome for music.
Devin Scillian 13:44
Tough place to beat, right? Yeah, so there's quite a few of them. Yeah, we're very lucky there too.
Bob Riney 13:48
I gotta just close by telling you that, you know, I got a picture sent from some friends of ours that live up in Rochester, and they went to hear you perform at some music venue out there, and they came up, and they were in the third row, and they said, "You know, we know Bob Riney, and they said, "You moved him to the back of the house. I mean, it was.. I was really insulted, man.
Devin Scillian 14:12
You know, that story wasn't supposed to get back to you, Bob.
Bob Riney 14:14
I have eyes and ears everywhere. Thanks so much for being on The BOBcast, and for everything you do for this community, Devin. You are a storyteller at a time we need the right stories told.
Devin Scillian 14:27
I'm grateful to be on the program, and really grateful for the friendship that you and I've had over these many years.
Bob Riney 14:32
Thanks so much.