Today we’d like to introduce you to DaLaun Dillard
Hi DaLaun, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I didn’t get bit by the “journalism bug” until I got to Central Michigan University. I started out as a Finance major—looking back, I honestly have no idea why I chose something math-related, especially since I’ve NEVER been great at math (the math wasn’t mathing lol). But I had friends who were Broadcast Journalism majors, and their classes always caught my attention. I remember watching the news on my time as a kid and teenager, fascinated by what was happening around the world. It was something I was drawn to, even if I didn’t know it at the time.
Eventually I served as a news anchor for CMU’s student run news station News Central 34. Oftentimes it takes most people several auditions to finally get the role, I auditioned once (before even changing my major) and got the role for the semester. That’s when I learned I wanted to do this, changed my major to broadcast journalism and the rest is history.
From there, I went on to report and fill in as an anchor in Peoria, IL. My second job had me anchoring weekends and reporting during the week in Omaha, NE. Then I moved to Cleveland, OH, to anchor and report evenings. Now, I’m anchoring weekday mornings at the Fox affiliate in Houston.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Getting to where I am today wasn’t easy—it’s been a long road. I remember interning at the NBC affiliate in Grand Rapids, MI, one summer. I’d drive an hour each way for an unpaid internship, but I knew I needed the experience. I was staying at my parents’ place an hour away and worked as a server in between internship days just to make enough money to get by.
My first news job was in Peoria, IL, and let’s just say it wasn’t exactly glamorous. It was a small city, far from my family, at a station with very few resources, and the pay was terrible. Honestly, there were people at McDonald’s making more than me, haha. But that’s how it goes when you start in news—it’s tough at first, but you stick with it, and eventually, things start to click.
Eventually, I moved to Omaha, where I got to anchor weekends and report three days a week. That meant working every weekend night, all the holidays, and being even further away from my family. Plus, I had a boss who didn’t exactly believe in my anchoring skills, which made things harder both personally and professionally. In many of the places I’ve worked, I often had to repeatedly explain to managers who don’t look like me why it’s crucial to cover stories that impact Black communities, a challenge a lot of Black journalists face. Our stories are often overly scrutinized, undervalued or poorly told (which is part of the reason why I wanted to be a journalist).
But honestly, none of this would’ve been possible without God leading me through every step. I truly believe He’s guided me through each challenge and triumph along the way, and I’m incredibly grateful for that..
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I anchor weekday mornings for the Fox affiliate Houston, Fox 26. I love covering breaking and harder news, but I have a passion for covering stories that are often overlooked and under reported in the Black community. I try to always be human, compassionate, REAL but most of all accurate.
How do you think about happiness?
As far as professionally what makes me happy is when my reporting real generates results. Some of my reporting has promoted legislators to change or enact news laws, I’ve shed light on community issues that otherwise many viewers wouldn’t know about, and I’ve given a voice to people who oftentimes wouldn’t have a platform to share their stories of peril. It brings me joy when I learn that someone’s life has changed for the better because my reporting or that I’ve informed people about something that they otherwise wouldn’t known anything about.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ddillardtv
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DaLaunDillardTV/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dalaun-dillard-11660b84
- Twitter: https://x.com/ddillardtv
