Meet the Organizers
We are a group of civic minded professional journalists who have joined together for the sole purpose of educating members of our industry and getting expert guidance to cover the complexities of the 2024 election. Our goal is to educate fellow journalists and our next generation of journalists to better serve our communities and the electorate. We are NOT an established organization nor a non-profit. We have all volunteered our time and talents for this important endeavor.
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Ryan Cole
Ryan Cole is the Executive Producer at ABC12 News in Flint, Michigan, where he leads the newsroom's election coverage on air and online. He is dedicated to bringing election information to the viewers of Mid-Michigan in an easy-to-understand, balanced manner. He is also a member of the Michigan Association of Broadcasters Foundation Board of Directors.
Ro Coppola
Ro Coppola is a born and raised Michigander. The multi-Emmy winning and regional Edward R. Murrow Award recipient retired from WDIV TV 4 in 2024. She walked through the doors of the Detroit station 35 years ago as a 21 year old intern to rise through the ranks as a special projects executive producer, director of digital and director of local programming with commitment to all forms of journalism. Known by her peers as the big-event guru, Ro is a master multi-tasker who sat at the helm of various fireworks show productions, America's Thanksgiving Parade show productions, as well as numerous sports specials and unique community projects. She is an avid swimmer and devoted aunt.
Rob Davidek
Rob Davidek has been the News Director at WWJ Newsradio 950 in Detroit since 2007 and added Brand Manager duties in 2013. He also is in charge of providing newscasts and stories to the Michigan News Network which consists of 51 radio stations across Michigan. Rob is the Secretary-Treasurer for the Michigan Association of Broadcasters Board of Directors and Secretary for the Detroit chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Casey Jones is the President and CEO of Michigan Association of Broadcasters. He arrived at the MAB in June of 2024 after serving 3 years as Director of Community Affairs at WOOD TV8 in Grand Rapids, where he was involved with community partnerships, initiatives, and outreach efforts like Clear the Shelters, Angel Tree Toy Drive, Community Spotlight, and more. While in Grand Rapids, he was an active participant in MAB activities and is the recipient of several Broadcast Excellence Awards. In 2022, he was named the MAB Foundation Young Professional of the Year. He also served as morning anchor and weekend sports anchor. Casey Jones is a 2011 graduate of Grand Valley State University.
Casey Jones
Rachel Krause
Rachel Krause is the Executive Director of Programs at the Michigan Association of Broadcasters. In this role she oversees all association events, award programs, and online training. Rachel studied Business Marketing and Apparel Merchandising at Dominican University in River Forest, Illinois and has a background in marketing and advertising. She currently resides in Lansing, Michigan and enjoys spending time with her husband and three young children.
Vincent D McCraw
Vincent D McCraw is a journalist with more than 40 years’ experience in print and digital media, working in newsrooms in Detroit, Atlanta and Washington, D.C. A Morehouse College graduate, he started his career as an intern at the Atlanta Journal in 1980, eventually becoming a reporter and city editor at The Atlanta Daily World, one of the nation’s oldest Black newspapers. Later he accepted a reporting position in his hometown at The Washington Times covering D.C. politics, government and community affairs, Congress and the White House on issues impacting the District. He also served as an assistant city editor. In 1999, he joined The Detroit News as an assistant city editor directing a team of reporters covering Detroit government, politics and community affairs. He served in several editing roles at the paper. In 2009, he joined the News’ Digital Breaking News Desk as an editor-producer. In 2021, he joined Report for America as a regional manager. RFA is a non-profit committed to local news sustainability and places emerging journalists in local newsrooms nationwide. McCraw joined the National Association of Black Journalists in 1980 and has been a member of several local chapters. In 2015, he was elected vice president-print of the Detroit chapter and has served as its president since 2016. In 2018, he led a team that was instrumental in the planning and execution of the NABJ convention in Detroit. McCraw serves on the board of Directors of the Detroit chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and on the advisory board of Outlier Media, a digital news site in Detroit.
Paula Tutman
Multi-Emmy winning and multi-Emmy nominated broadcast journalist, Paula Tutman has spent more than 42 years in front of the camera as a broadcast news reporter and was inducted into the Michigan Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2024. Paula also participated in a Team Murrow for coverage of the Oxford High School Mass shooting in 2021.
Paula is dedicated to the craft and responsibility of professional journalism. With vast experience in numerous reporting genres, she spent 8 years as a police reporter in Louisville, Kentucky and Baltimore, Maryland. She was a charter reporter for WDIV Detroit’s First-at-4 news broadcast as a specialty correspondent with a focus on interesting and relevant topics with a deep regard for stories that have elements of human interest and social justice. Tutman was part of the structuring team for the new program in 2014. She retired as from WDIV TV 4 in Detroit in 2024 as a reporter, but not from the commitment to journalism
As the founder of North On Woodward training and consulting, Paula teaches media training and a Master Your Message Communication Course© to organizations and corporations.
Paula has collected adventure points competitive sailing, horseback riding, flying (not riding, flying) an F-16 fighter jet, crashing a motorcycle, performing in an opera, and opening the circus as a clown. She’s witnessed the great polar bear migration in the Canadian sub-Arctic and photographed Bushmen in Senegal. An avid flower-freak, she raises orchids which she believes are nature’s most sensuous blooms. She gardens to produce vegetables for her favorite food bank and loses herself in clay ceramics she affectionately calls Ugly Ceramics.
Tracy Wolf
Tracy Wolf is an integrated communications manager at Franco, an integrated communications agency in Detroit. She provides her expertise in programming, media relations and storytelling to support Franco’s nonprofit and consumer teams. Tracy has helped the agency earn recognition for award-winning work, including the IABC Heritage Region Silver Quill Awards, PRSA Diamond Awards and a very special PR Daily Agency of the Year Award. A proud alumna of Wayne State University, Tracy earned a Bachelor of Arts in public relations with a minor in new media. She lives in Livonia with her husband and two cats.
Jeremy Whiting
Jeremy Whiting is the general manager of Michigan State University’s student-run radio station, Impact 89FM. He is the former adviser of the broadcast, yearbook and online news programs at Ovid-Elsie High School. He has previously served as president of MIPA’s board of directors, and he currently serves on the Michigan Association of Broadcasters Foundation Board of Directors.
Acknowledgments
Editing provided by Christina Coppola and Coppola Productions
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Live streaming production provided by the team at Connected Geek - Larry Miller and Jeff Schniers
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Graphics created by Paul Snyder/WDIV Design Manager
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Website design by Delaney Rogers
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Resources shared by Eric Freedman/Michigan State University School of Journalism, Fernanda Camarena/Poynter, Tina Barton, Mark Jacob and the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School​
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Special thanks to Bob Ellis/WDIV VP & General Manager
