An Insider Look: Talks with Ron Jones

Ron Jones Explains to Students
his job at WDET

     On Tuesday October 30^th, Professor Snorgrass introduced a speaker to his Journalism class at 11:00, that speaker was Ron Jones, the Program Director of WDET in Detroit. WDET is an informative news program that is broadcasted over the air and on the internet to the community- it is a locally produced news station and services over 150,000 listeners. What separates WDET from the rest of the news programs in the area is that it is based on something called public insight journalism as Jones says, “We just want to know what you know”. WDET features music from local contemporary artists, while still reporting on local and world news.

     Jones explained to the class that the media realized a while back that journalists weren’t always right, and they couldn’t always get the stories right or get the info out that people were interested in, so WDET decided to use a different approach to journalism. WDET uses what is called a public insight network; he explains “we get information from people and promise not to sell information or lobby people for money- we simply want to know what you know.” One of the ways WDET allows users to become more involved in the news of the day is by posting a Question of the Day blog- where listeners and web surfers can answer the question and provide feedback to the station; Ron Jones said “people are surprisingly eager to tell you what they know!”  Jones sees this as a new approach to journalism and values building trust in the community.

     The website allows users to respond not only to the broadcasts and blogs posted, but it allows people to come in and send their stories and news that they feel is important to them. The WDET explains that “The Public Insight Network is a group of people from all walks of life who inform our news coverage,” which allows WDET to stand out from the other stations in the area. Ron Jones is a lifelong friend of Professor Snorgrass, and it is a rare treat to have him here to speak at Avila University.

Ron Jones speaks to class