Associated Press

Bill Stevens is a veteran radio news anchor and reporter, earning a number of honors and awards from Associated Press, UPI and the Michigan Association of Broadcasters. A native of southeast Michigan, Bill has been with WWJ since 1991. He has held a number of different reporting and anchoring assignments before moving into the afternoon drive slot, handling on-air news duties with co-anchor, Jayne Bower. Before coming to WWJ, Bill was on the air in Jacksonville, Florida and Grand Rapids, Michigan. Bill says, "I love the pace of the afternoons. Things move quickly. We try to give listeners a little bit of everything that's important to their day including traffic, weather, the stock market, breaking news and frequent updates to the day's major stories people may have missed while at work. It's a great way for listeners to catch up and stay plugged in".

Bob Stein is Assistant Professor of Communication Skills at Columbus State Community College. In addition to teaching journalism and advising Cougar News, he teaches courses in public speaking and group communication theory. Bob was a full-time journalist at Suburban News Publications from 2001-2002, where he covered Delaware County, Ohio, home to many of the fastest growing communities in Central Ohio. After joining the faculty of Columbus State in 2002, he continued to write for SNP's sister publications, Columbus Monthly and Columbus CEO. In 2004, Bob was awarded by the Cleveland Press Club for his article in Columbus CEO detailing the State of Ohio's use of its tobacco lawsuit settlement funds. In 2006, he received an award from the Society of Professional Journalists for his article in Columbus CEO uncovering a bitter legal battle between two of Central Ohio's largest restaurant franchises. Since 2004, Bob has been a freelance sports reporter for the Associated Press. He covers the Columbus Crew of Major League Soccer, as well as the United States Men's and Women's National soccer teams.

Carla K. Johnson works as a reporter and desk supervisor at The Associated Press in Chicago. She has covered health and medicine since 2001 and has been an AHCJ member nearly that long. In 2002, she attended the Rocky Mountain Workshop on How to Practice Evidence Based Health Care. A 1980 graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, she has worked as a copy editor and covered the education beat. She recently returned to her native Illinois after working many years at the daily newspaper in Spokane, Wash.

Daniel Plassmann has been a professional photographer for 4 years, covering news and sports for newspaper from Europe to the United States. He has been shooting for some of the biggest photo services including WireImages.com and McClatchy-Tribune Photo Service (MCT) and is also a contract photographer for the Associated Press (AP). He has cover events form College to Professional sports to the 2006 World Cup in Germany to the 2007 Homeless World Cup in Denmark. He reads, writes and speaks fluent German.

David Shaffer concentrates on education accountability, higher education and workforce development. He has written about state government and public policy since 1973 - first as a reporter for The Associated Press, and, since 1980, on the staff of The Business Council of New York State, Inc. From 1993 through 2007 he was president of the Public Policy Institute, the Council's research affiliate. He served as a member of Governor George Pataki's budget transition task force in 1994-95; worked with the Rockefeller Institute on the Commissioner's Review of the New York State Education Department in 1996; and served as a member of the Governor's Commission on Education Reform in 2004. He is a graduate of Duke University (B.A., 1970) and of Rockefeller College at the University at Albany (M.A., 1972).

Evan Kafka began to develop a passion for photography while working as a computer technician for Associated Press. He graduated from RIT in 1995 with a BFA, and started his professional career after moving to New York in 1995, when he began shooting for national magazines. He first became known as a photojournalist shooting stories for ESPN, New York Magazine, Metropolis, and Fortune. He also photographed weddings in a documentary black and white style which was just becoming fashionable at the time. In addition to his regular editorial portrait and journalistic assignments, Evan is working on a series of personal photographs that explore man on earth. Evan's work has been featured numerous times in Communication Arts and PDN.

Gregory Katz, a writer and commentator based in London, is the Houston Chronicle's bureau chief for Europe and the Middle East. His work has also appeared in Esquire, Rolling Stone, Atlantic Monthly and Conde Nast Traveler. He won a Pulitzer Prize for international reporting in 1994.

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Jenny Benevento is a librarian who is currently the Controlled Vocabulary Developer at the Associated Press. She has worked in public, academic, and special libraries in most departments and currently runs an information consulting business called Bento Information Consulting.

Jim Drinkard has covered Washington politics and policy since 1981, when he came to the capital as a Midwestern regional reporter for The Associated Press. He has covered agriculture policy, the Iran-Contra scandal, the ethics case of former House Speaker Jim Wright, foreign policy, intelligence matters and the congressional leadership.

Matt Reed grew up in California and moved to Washington, D.C. , after college, where he wrote about congressional campaigns. He then spent four years in Cambodia as a copy editor, reporter and then editor-in-chief of The Cambodia Daily. After graduation, he will be a reporter for The Associated Press in Ohio.

Rachel Konrad is Silicon Valley correspondent for The Associated Press, since 2002, covering the global technology industry. She received a Pew Fellowship in International Journalism at Johns Hopkins University in 2002, when she traveled to Ecuador to write about an ambitious (but doomed) universal Internet access program. She was a senior staff writer at CNET News.com from 2000 to 2002. She covered the automobile industry for the Detroit Free Press from 1995 to 2000 and covered small business in Spokane, Washington, from 1994-95 for the Spokesman-Review.

A former reporter and correspondent for The Associated Press, Hettena has exposed the torture death of an Iraqi prisoner in CIA custody, the only known case of its kind. He has also discovered photos posted on the Internet of Navy SEALs treating prisoners harshly and revealed that a secret Navy office contracted planes that were used in the CIA's rendition program. Hettena grew up in New York, attended The Fieldston School and spent his summers in high school working on oil tankers and coal carriers running to Panama, Alaska and the Netherlands. He is a graduate of The Johns Hopkins University and holds a Master's Degree in journalism from Columbia University in 1994. Before joining the AP in 1997, he worked for two Iowa newspapers. He and his wife, Anita, have a son, Ryan, and a yellow lab, Grace.

Dave is an editorial assistant for the Associated Press and has been the basketball statistician at Marquette University since 1979. DeGrace worked television statistics for CBS in 1983. He has attended six Mens' Final Fours and four Women's Final Fours. In addition, Dave has been at 21 different Mens' NCAA first round/regional tournaments and 11 rounds of the Womens' NCAA tournament, and has made the double six times attending Mens' and Womens' games in the same year -- including dual Final Fours three times.

After graduating from Vassar with a B.A. in History, Jennifer began a career in journalism (CBS News, Dow Jones Newswires) before deciding to pursue her acting dreams. In 2003 she received an MFA from the Actors Studio Drama School and was named a lifetime member of the Actors Studio in 2004. In between acting gigs, Jennifer is a financial news editor for The Associated Press and performs business theatre training seminars for such clients as Cisco and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

Jennifer O'Malley has switched jobs since she attended the 2004 "Newspaper Reporting, Writing & Editing: A Coaching Approach" seminar. She came as assistant city editor at the Indianapolis Star and is now the news editor for the Associated Press in Indiana . She has a new team to work her coaching magic on!

MARTA LAVANDIER is Florida Photo Editor for the Associated Press coordinating coverage of news, sports, breaking news and features around the state from Miami. She manages seven staff photographers and over 50 freelance photographers, scheduling and editing their work, reviewing performance, managing an annual budget, and servicing member newspapers, as well as coordinating short and long term projects with AP state editors and reporters. Recipient of a number of awards, Marta previously was a staff photographer for AP, the Boston Globe and The Patriot Ledger (Quincy, MA) and is a graduate of RIT and the Universidad Nacional Pedro Henriquez Urena, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Michael Oreskes, managing editor for national news at the Associated Press, was quoted as saying, "We are not distributing what are, in effect, visual press releases." The AP also rejected a photo of Obama re-taking the oath of office that was taken by Souza.

Paul Raeburn is the author of Acquainted with the Night, a memoir of raising children with depression and bipolar disorder. He is a former senior editor at Business Week and science editor at The Associated Press. He is also a past president of the National Association of Science Writers and a recipient of its Science-in-Society Award. His other awards include the Associated Press Managing Editors Award for excellence, two Deadline Club awards, two Computer Press Association awards, and the John P. McGovern Award for Excellence in Medical Communications from the American Medical Writers Association. He is an honorary member of Sigma Xi, the scientific research society. Raeburn was on the CASW board for more than a dozen years before leaving to become CASW's New Horizons Program Director.

Few people in Pennsylvania can match Tony's professional and governmental experience. As leader of Triad's strategic communications practice, Tony brings more than 30 years background in media, government and public relations. He has crafted winning messages and strategies for clients involved in some of the state's most contentious issues in recent years. Before joining Triad, he was executive vice president of central Pennsylvania's top consumer advertising agency, Neiman Group. Tony launched Neiman Group's widely respected social marketing and issues management division in 1994. At Neiman, he led the communications efforts for a host of clients including Fortune 500 companies, statewide labor unions and non-profit entities. Among the successful statewide efforts were communications and marketing programs for Pennsylvania's prepaid college tuition program, insurance fraud and auto theft prevention, education reform, tort reform, adult literacy promotion, securities fraud awareness, electricity and telecommunications competition and transportation services. Prior to joining Neiman, Tony was communications director for the late Gov. Robert P. Casey. He also served as press secretary for the late Gov. Milton Shapp. He was largely credited with building a state-of-the-art communications infrastructure for the Casey administration that included the Commonwealth's first local and wide-area networks, satellite links to news media, teleconferencing and maximization of public service advertising opportunities. He supervised the selection and management of more than 100 public relations, advertising and communications professionals and managed relationships with more than a dozen advertising and public relations firms representing billings of more than $25 million a year. Tony also served as the director of communications under House Speakers K. Leroy Irvis and James J. Manderino. He is a former reporter and editor for The Associated Press and newspapers in New Jersey, Ohio and Pennsylvania. He currently serves as chair of the Pennsylvania Public Television Network via appointments by both Govs. Casey and Tom Ridge.

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Several years ago, Roy Wells envisioned a new kind of public affairs firm. Its core services would be lobbying, strategic communications and business consulting. It would capitalize on new technology to scan the public policy landscape, to reach key audiences and bolster the relationships conducive to clients' success. Triad Strategies quickly emerged as one of the largest and most successful public affairs firms in Pennsylvania, whose clientele includes Fortune 500 companies, major healthcare providers and hospital groups, agribusinesses, energy companies, non-profits, state agencies and professional trade organizations. Today, Triad is uniquely positioned to take on the tough assignments that require creative strategies. As president, Roy recruited the largest staff of registered lobbyists in the state. The team includes former legislative and executive branch staff members from both sides of the political aisle. With strategic communications practice leader Tony May, he also has assembled Pennsylvania's premier group of issue management and crisis communications professionals. The result is the triad of lobbying, strategic communications and business consulting. Building on the firm's success in Harrisburg, Triad now has a presence in Philadelphia, Washington, Lancaster and Scranton. The firm has strategic alliances with partners whose expertise includes law, finance, advertising and marketing.

Professional playwright, actor, composer/lyricist, entertainment publicist, and producer, Christopher wears many different hats. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild of America, ASCAP, The Associated Press, WGA-E, the Composers Society, and AEA. He has worked with the Dramatists Guild of America as a Contributing Editor, World-Upsidedown Players as their PR Director, CTC as their Southampton Associate Artistic Director, and You Are Here Productions as their AGM. In PR, Christopher represents a number of both emerging and high profile music, fashion, film, and tv network clients. He also serves as the Resident Publicist of Producers Club Theatres and is the Co-founder of Bacchae Nights.

Mr. Pruitt became Chairman of the Board in 2001. He has been Chief Executive Officer since 1996 and President since 1995, the year he also became a Director. He served as Chief Operating Officer from 1995 to 1996, and as Vice President, Operations and Technology from 1994 to 1995. Before that, Mr. Pruitt was Publisher of The Fresno Bee from 1991 to 1994, served as corporate Secretary and General Counsel from 1987 to 1991 and was Counsel from 1984 to 1987. He currently serves as a Director of The Associated Press, the Newspaper Association of America and The James Irvine Foundation.

George Wilson is chairman of the board of Newspapers of New England, Inc., a publisher of family-owned newspapers in New Hampshire, The Concord Monitor, The Valley News and The Monadnock Ledger, and, in Massachusetts, The Greenfield Recorder. He has resided in Concord, New Hampshire, with his wife, Marily, and been associated with the Concord Monitor, since 1962.

Peggy Kuhr is Knight professor of journalism at the University of Kansas. Until recently, she was managing editor for content at The Spokesman-Review in Spokane. Under her direction, that paper's newsroom has won five consecutive regional awards for general excellence, as well as national recognition for its coverage of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation and the costs of salmon recovery. Ms Kuhr has been a member of the board of directors of the Associated Press Managing Editors and has worked for The Hartford Courant and the Great Falls Tribune.

Susana Schuler joined Raycom Media in February 2006 to oversee Raycom Media's growing group of news operations. Schuler is responsible for oversight of the product, people, ratings, research, content and community involvement of the news operations. Prior to coming aboard Schuler was VP/Corporate News Director for Nexstar Broadcasting Group in Irving, Texas with oversight of that company's 27 news operations across the country. Prior to joining Nexstar Schuler served in News Management roles in Pennsylvania, Indiana and Texas as well as anchor, reporter, producer and assignment manager roles in Texas and Pennsylvania. Schuler is a Cum Laude graduate of Texas Christian University with a BS degree in Broadcast Journalism and a minor in Business. She is an active member of the Radio Television News Directors Association (RTNDA) board. Schuler also has served on advisory boards for the University of North Texas, Ball State University and Eastern Illinois University. Schuler also volunteers for the American Cancer Society, Race for the Cure and the American Red Cross. In 2002 Broadcasting & Cable Magazine named Schuler one of the Next Wave of Women in Communications to watch in the future. Schuler, her husband and younger daughter live in Montgomery. Their older daughter lives in California.