TRI-C ALUMNI PROFILE
WAYNE’S
W RLD FOX 8’S WAYNE DAWSON HAS BEEN A FIXTURE ON LOCAL TV FOR DECADES, AND HE’S PROUD TO SAY IT ALL STARTED AT TRI-C
Cleveland is Wayne Dawson’s world.
For 42 years — all at WJW Fox 8 — Dawson has covered events that have shaped our lives and dictated our region’s future. His career has spanned five Cleveland mayors, eight Ohio governors and eight U.S. Presidents. Dawson was there for the highest of highs, perched above the Cavaliers’ championship parade in 2016, and the lowest of lows, reporting on the Browns’ move to Baltimore in 1995. He’s interviewed national newsmakers in politics, sports, business and countless other fields. Since 1999, Dawson has occupied one of the most visible anchor chairs in Cleveland as co-host of the Fox 8 Morning Show — the only local news and lifestyle program to compete with national programs on other networks in the 7-9 a.m. weekday time slot. He is one of Cleveland’s most accomplished and recognizable broadcasters. But at his roots, Dawson is just a kid from East Cleveland who discovered a love of journalism at a young age. “When I was in school, I knew I had an interest in journalism, but I was kind of an underachiever in the classroom who hadn’t yet learned how to apply himself,” he said. “So when I graduated from Shaw High School in 1974, I wasn’t ready to go to a four-year school.” It’s why Dawson enrolled at Cuyahoga Community College that fall. What he learned in his 18 months at the Metropolitan Campus would pave the way for his future success.
STORY BY
Erik Cassano Cody York
PHOTOS BY
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