As 2022 ends, many people take a moment to reflect on their year and count their blessings.
They count their blessings so they can ring in a new year by appreciating what they had. For Wayne Dawson, the counting of blessings started a long time ago and seems to continue year after year after year.
Dawson is the morning anchor for Cleveland’s WJW FOX8 News program going on for twenty years. His career at FOX spans over forty years and Dawson is currently the one person, on air, who has been on local TV, at any station, that long. “I am so blessed. Every day I thank God for what I have been able to do,” Dawson said.
The Glenville native and Shaw Highschool graduate always knew he wanted to work in news. The journalism major got his first job at FOX8 as a part-time employee and worked his way up to morning anchor over the course of time.
Dawson’s career at the station has survived eight ownership groups, nine station managers, eight news directors, and he has worked with ten co-anchors over his 42-year career at the station. He credits his faith, and his ability to stay relevant as the keys to his success for being on one network for that long.
“Everyone always asks me what the keys are to me being on TV this long. I always tell them that my secret is to know that times change. You can either stay with the times or die. I choose to stay up with the trends so I can be the best journalist I can be,” Dawson explained.
The times have changed. Back when Dawson first started on the news, there were only three channels on TV. The purpose of the news was to inform and keep communities connected. Today, the news is seen much differently. FOX8’s morning news show has been number one in the market since Dawson became the morning anchor.
Dawson attributes his success to his strong belief in God. His faith guides his decisions and choices, so much so that for the last five years, Dawson has been the pastor of Grace Tabernacle Baptist Church. He always wanted to do more when it came to working for other people and pastoring allows him to do that.
“It’s a lot of hard work to be a pastor. But it’s God’s strength that allows me to do all the amazing things I get to do,” Dawson said.
And he is doing amazing things. This month, Dawson released his new book, The Seeds of Greatness are Within You. The book discusses Dawson’s amazing career and his wonderful life.
The book goes over Dawson’s life growing up in a single-parent household, his struggles in school, and how he barely graduated because of hanging out with the wrong crowd. And finally, how he turned his life around to become what he is today.
“I hope the book shows that you can come from humble beginnings and get everything you
want out of life,” Dawson stated. “I didn’t have a lot growing up. We were poor. But I found something that I wanted to do with my life, and I worked hard to get my degree from Kent State University, and I got lucky some, too.”
Dawson doesn’t want people to use their current condition as an excuse to not try. He wants everyone to believe that there is something better for them out there and that they can achieve their goals with prayer, hard work, and effort.
The message of the book is that adversity makes you stronger. If Dawson could share any point, it’s that people can rise and overcome their problems.
Dawson wants people to know that his path was not easy. He had to go to summer school to graduate from Shaw. He had to go to night school to graduate from Kent State University. He wants people to know that when they see him on TV, they’re seeing him at the end of tons and tons of hard work put into being on TV every day.
“Most people see the effort and think that I had it easy. It’s not true. I struggled as a kid. My mom was on food stamps when I was growing up. It’s what it is. But we overcame it. I’m here and I did it,” Dawson said.
The book and story of Wayne Dawson are so important for kids to understand today. In the world of “everything comes easy,” people need to know that there are no shortcuts to success. It doesn’t come overnight. And it never is as easy as it seems.
Success takes sacrifice, dedication, and patience. Dawson’s 42-year career at one station may not seem like an accomplishment, but when you finally get it, you develop a great appreciation for seeing this Black man on TV. We all should be so blessed to do something that we loved for 42 years.
Dawson wishes everyone a very merry Christmas this holiday season, as only a pastor can. ●
