The Charlotte Association of Black Journalists gave WSOC-TV reporter Ken Lemon, the newly elected president of the National Association of Black Journalists, its Lifetime Achievement Award on Saturday. The “premature” lifetime award was a surprise for Lemon, who hasn’t quite hit 60.
“Your courageous reporting, insightful storytelling and relentless pursuit of the truth has set a high standard for all of us,” Kevin Hyrams, managing partner of Sidereal Global, a brand consulting firm based in Matthews, noted in presenting the award. He is a former president of the Charlotte group.
Lemon celebrated his 25th anniversary with WSOC news in September. He has worked all that time assigned to the station’s Gastonia bureau. In August, Lemon was elected president of the National Association of Black Journalists, an organization with more than 4,000 journalists, students and media-related professionals that advocates for diversity in newsrooms and in news content.
Several speakers joked about Lemon’s “Energizer Bunny” personality and his tireless recruitment for the national association. He contributes to the community as a journalist, mentor and organizer of events especially for Black men, said those who helped honor him.
“Ken is everybody’s best friend because he really cares about us as people. He really cares about this organization,” said Rod Carter, evening anchor at CBS 17 in Raleigh. Charlotte’s WBTV journalist Dedrick Russell declared Saturday “Ken Lemon Day,” which got the crowd of about 50 at the student center on the Johnson C. Smith University chanting his name.
Lemon thanked his family, co-workers and other journalists for the support he has received from them. “I don’t stand here at all by myself,” said Lemon. He talked about trailblazers for other Black journalists, such as Steve Crump, the longtime Charlotte WBTV journalist who died Aug. 31, at age 65 from colon cancer. Crump’s widow, Cathy, was in the audience.
Lemon helped revive the Charlotte Area Association of Black Journalists in 2008. He said he sees his role as president of the national group as a way of “championing diversity in the media.” He wants to see diversity spread beyond just those on camera or whose bylines appear in print or websites, but to those who make the decisions in newsrooms.
“The more Black people you have in journalism, the more stories you’re going to have from communities that are often overlooked,” says Lemon. “When you have diversity in your ranks, no matter what you are producing, studies show you tend to produce a better product.”
Lemon has won numerous accolades over the years for his news coverage, including three Emmy Awards. Before joining WSOC, the UNC Wilmington graduate also worked for TV stations in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Wilmington.