{"id":15258891,"date":"2026-08-17T20:18:30","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T00:18:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/the-metro-he-came-to-wdet-as-an-intern-he-leaves-as-its-news-director\/"},"modified":"2026-08-17T23:34:59","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T03:34:59","slug":"the-metro-he-came-to-wdet-as-an-intern-he-leaves-as-its-news-director","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/the-metro-he-came-to-wdet-as-an-intern-he-leaves-as-its-news-director\/","title":{"rendered":"The Metro: He came to WDET as an intern. He leaves as its news director"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In 2001, Detroit opened its polls with a big question on the ballot. Twenty-one people were running for mayor. Dennis Archer was stepping aside after two terms, and Detroit was about to pick somebody new.<\/p>\n

But that wasn\u2019t the focus for long. Because the day was Tuesday, Sept. 11, and the twin towers came down that morning. So, WDET had to turn east and<\/em> stay home at the same time: cover the deadliest attack in the country\u2019s history, and cover a city that was still, that same afternoon, quietly choosing who would lead it.<\/p>\n

Jerome Vaughn helped run that coverage. It won an award, though the award isn\u2019t the part he remembers. He remembers that the voting didn\u2019t stop \u2014 that was the story underneath the story. \u201cDemocracy goes on,\u201d Vaughn said.<\/p>\n

He joined WDET in January 1992, when he walked into this building as an intern and \u2014 apart from one year away at Michigan Radio \u2014 never left. He\u2019s run the WDET newsroom since 2007, through stories that defined Detroit:\u00a0Rosa Parks<\/a>; Aretha Franklin<\/a>; Kwame Kilpatrick<\/a>; a bankruptcy, and a city working to rebuild. Through it all, he was in the room, or he led someone who was.<\/p>\n

He also spent those years mentoring generations of Detroit journalists who credit him with their entry into media, and created the Detroit Evening Report<\/a> so that Detroiters of color would hear about their own city in their own voices<\/p>\n

On his last day at WDET, he joined Robyn Vincent on The Metro <\/em>to look at how the city changed over his three decades in journalism, and what he learned along the way.<\/p>\n

Hear the full conversation using the media player above.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand. Never miss an episode \u2014 subscribe to The Metro on<\/em> Apple Podcasts<\/em><\/a>,<\/em> Spotify<\/em><\/a>,<\/em> YouTube<\/em><\/a>, or<\/em> NPR<\/em><\/a>, or wherever you get your podcasts.<\/em> Have thoughts? Email the show at metro@wdet.org.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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Support the podcasts you love.<\/h2>\n

One-of-a-kind podcasts from WDET bring you engaging conversations, news you need to know and stories you love to hear. Keep the conversations coming. Please make a gift today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Give now \u00bb<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n
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