WPXI-TV ANCHOR DAMANY LEWIS has accepted an offer to become the weekday anchor of a new show on WSOC-TV in Charlotte, N.C.
by Rob Taylor Jr., Courier Staff Writer
What viewers see from WPXI-TV (Channel 11) anchor/reporter Damany Lewis when he’s on camera is a pleasantly-serious delivery, full of accuracy, and with a laid back, yet authoritative tone.
What viewers don’t see is Damany Lewis, the family man, the husband to Rochunda for more than 15 years. Damany Lewis, the father of two children, ages 9 and 6, as he took them to their first day of school just last week, then headed straight to WPXI to anchor the noon newscast. Damany Lewis, the man who sits on the Board of Directors for the local YMCA, and was a regular workout participant at the now-closed YMCA Penn Hills Branch.
Though he was born and raised in Chicago, Lewis told the New Pittsburgh Courier that for the past four and a half years, Pittsburgh has felt almost like home. The people here have treated him like family.
“I have established a lot of roots here in Pittsburgh,” Lewis said. “My kids are in school here…when we came here, we didn’t know anyone.”
Now, Lewis’ family has established a healthy network of family and friends in the area.
So when Lewis was presented with the opportunity to not only anchor the noon newscast on WSOC-TV in Charlotte, North Carolina, but also co-host a brand new weekday news show on the station, where he could help build it from the ground up, it was a no-brainer for him professionally.
But for the side you don’t see, Lewis the family man, Lewis the father of two children who have made friends here in Pittsburgh, it made Lewis’ decision whether to leave Pittsburgh for Charlotte that much more difficult.
In the end, it was Lewis’ better half, Rochunda, that provided the final word.
“My wife encouraged me to do this in Charlotte,” Lewis told the Courier, Aug. 22.
After Sept. 6, you’ll no longer see Lewis on WPXI in Pittsburgh—beginning Sept. 12, he’ll be the new face in Charlotte local news.
“This (Pittsburgh) is as close to home that I’ve lived in in a long time, so we’re really going to miss that aspect of Pittsburgh,” Lewis said. “But life is a journey…and this is the next step in that journey.”
Lewis came to be known as one of the most reliable voices in Pittsburgh television news, and is currently one of only two African American male news anchors on Pittsburgh local stations (Andrew Stockey, WTAE-TV 4).
Away from the anchor desk, you’ve probably seen Lewis report from the Summer Olympics in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil; or from Point State Park asking folks about the measles cases that were reported in Pittsburgh a few months ago; or on the South Side after a big Penguins or Steelers victory.
“When our sister station in Charlotte, WSOC, began looking for their next anchor, they initiated a nationwide search. That search ended when they determined the best person for the job was already working within CMG (Cox Media Group): Damany Lewis,” wrote WPXI news director Scott Trabandt to staffers in an email obtained by the Courier, Aug. 21. “Damany is a class act, and has been a great citizen in Pittsburgh. We never like to see talented journalists and good people leave, but this is a great opportunity for Damany, his family, and our colleagues in Charlotte.”
Indeed, Lewis, an Emmy Award-winning journalist, calls this move a promotion. “I get to put my fingerprint on this (brand new) newscast, and that’s rare. First impressions mean a lot (to viewers). And that’s a lot of responsibility, so I want to make sure everything looks right, and sounds right.”
Lewis’ professional journey has earned him some frequent flyer miles—Champaign, Ill., Tallahassee, Fla., Jacksonville, Winston-Salem, N.C., and Sacramento for seven years before invading “Television Hill” (WPXI in Pittsburgh).
But Lewis will tell you his real start in broadcast journalism came at Florida A&M University, a historically-Black college in Tallahassee, where he was taught the journalism craft and earned a bachelor of science in broadcast journalism with a minor in history in 2000.
Little did he know that he’d learn something else at FAMU—the importance of family.
“I had just lost my mom when I was 18 years old, and I needed a sense of family,” Lewis told the Courier. “When I went to FAMU, they provided that for me. They embraced me. They guided me. I will always love FAMU. That place has a special place in my heart.”
And to pay it forward, each year Lewis attends and lectures to journalism students at fellow Black college North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, N.C. The event is labeled the NABJ (National Association for Black Journalists) Multimedia Short Course.
“FAMU really instilled in me that I need to give back, not only to the university but also to my community and those who are looking to follow me in this field of journalism,” Lewis said. “We took care of you—do the same for others.”
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