Longtime Detroit broadcast journalist Jerome Vaughn is leaving the airwaves, WDET announced Thursday.
Vaughn, a Detroit native who spent 34 years at WDET, including 20 as the station’s news director, is retiring, WDET said in an online article. His final broadcast will be on Monday’s edition of “All Things Considered – Detroit,” which airs from 3-7 p.m.
Vaughn joined WDET as an intern, working his way up as an underwriter, a producer and an editor before landing the news director job, the station said.
“WDET is really a special place,” Vaugn said in the article. “And Detroit is my favorite place on the face of the Earth.”
The award-winning broadcaster was inducted into the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame in 2018.
WDET said Vaughn will be remembered as a force for “ethical, accurate reporting,” ensuring that Detroiters of color were represented fairly and honestly.
“Jerome’s impact on WDET is deep and lasting. Furthermore, the whole Detroit journalism industry owes a lot to this man, who lives and breathes news. WDET will do its best to continue along the path Jerome helped set while missing his wisdom and humor,” said WDET General Manager Mary Zatina in the article.
Vaughn isn’t the only voice leaving WDET, Detroit’s flagship NPR station and a community service of Wayne State University.
Reporter and anchor Russ McNamara resigned from the station in July after seven years. He was a senior news editor and anchor of “All Things Considered – Detroit.”
“His work helped tell the stories of Detroit and Southeast Michigan during a period of tremendous change, from major civic events and elections to the challenges of the pandemic and constantly shifting national and local politics. We are grateful for his dedication and the many contributions he made during his time at WDET,” said a staff-written article posted on WDET.org about his departure. “We thank Russ for his years of service and wish him success in the next chapter of his career.”
After a broadcasting career that spanned six decades, Jay Butler also retired this summer. He spent 20 years at WDET and worked at WJLB when he arrived in Detroit in 1966. The final broadcast of his show “Jay’s Place” aired on Aug. 2.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: News director Jerome Vaughn’s last day on WDET is Monday
Reporting by Melody Baetens and Max Reinhart, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Melody Baetens and Max Reinhart, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
