Don Lemon anchors CNN Newsroom during weekend prime-time and serves as a correspondent across CNN/U.S. programming. Based in the network’s New York bureau, Lemon joined CNN in September 2006.
A news veteran of Chicago, Lemon reported from Chicago in the days leading up to the 2008 presidential election, including an interview with then-Rep. Rahm Emanuel on the day he accepted the position of Chief of Staff for President-elect Barack Obama. He also interviewed Anne Cooper, the 106-year old voter President-elect Obama highlighted in his election night acceptance speech after he had seen Lemon’s interview with Cooper on CNN.
Lemon has reported and anchored on-the-scene for CNN from many breaking news stories, including the George Zimmerman trial (2013), the Boston marathon bombing (2013), the Philadelphia building collapse (2013), the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting (2012), the Colorado Theater Shooting (2012), the death of Whitney Houston, the Inaugural of the 44th President in Washington, D.C., the death of Michael Jackson (2009), Hurricane Gustav in Louisiana (2008) and the Minneapolis bridge collapse (2007).
Lemon has also anchored the network's breaking news coverage of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the Arab Spring, the death of Osama Bin Laden and Joplin tornado. Lemon reported for CNN’s documentary Race and Rage: The Beating of Rodney King, which aired 20 years to the day of the beating. He is also known for holding politicians and public officials accountable in his "No Talking Points" segment.
Lemon joined CNN after serving as a co-anchor for the 5 p.m. newscast for NBC5 News in Chicago. He joined the station in August 2003 as an anchor and reporter after working in New York as a correspondent for NBC News, The Today Show and NBC Nightly News. In addition to his reporting in New York, Lemon worked as an anchor on Weekend Today and on MSNBC. While at NBC, Lemon covered the explosion of Space Shuttle Columbia, SARS in Canada and numerous other stories of national and global importance.
In addition to NBC5 and NBC News, Lemon has served as a weekend anchor and general assignment reporter for WCAU-TV, an NBC affiliate in Philadelphia, an anchor and investigative reporter for KTVI-TV in St. Louis and an anchor for WBRC-TV in Birmingham. He began his career at WNYW in New York City as a news assistant while still in college.
In 2009, Ebony named him as one of the Ebony Power 150: the most influential Blacks in America. He has won an Edward R. Murrow award for his coverage of the capture of the Washington, D.C. snipers. He won an Emmy for a special report on real estate in Chicagoland and various other awards for his reporting on the AIDS epidemic in Africa and Hurricane Katrina. In 2006, he won three more local Emmys for his reporting in Africa and a business feature about Craigslist, an online community.
Lemon serves as an adjunct professor at Brooklyn College, teaching and participating in curriculum designed around new media. He earned a degree in broadcast journalism from Brooklyn College and also attended Louisiana State University.
@DonLemonCNN
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I want to talk about Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl who was released from Taliban captivity over the weekend.
The reaction to his release from enemy capture Saturday has been odd to say the least.
Someone emailed me asking if the administration timed the release to draw attention away from the veteran’s administration… social media soon followed suit.
Some question whether the white house broke the law by not following the rules and notifying congress of the Guantanamo release.
Others flat out said the administration did break the law.
And on top of that they said America had negotiated with terrorists.
Some immediately began to question sergeant Bergdahl’s patriotism and called him a traitor and a turncoat who had walked away from combat and therefore did not deserve to return home safely to his family.
Remember the military “no man left behind” mantra we’ve heard so much since 9-11?
We haven’t heard it in the last few days from many who openly supported going to war in Afghanistan and Iraq, and who claim to support the troops.
Why is that?
Why are we so concerned right now with how Bowe Bergdahl went missing rather than how his life was saved?
Listen, I don’t know if Bergdahl was a deserter.
I don’t think anyone knows for sure but him.
And unless or until he says so, to me he is still an American, a war veteran, a sergeant, who does not deserve to be left behind.
As an American i am happy that he is safe.
I am happy for his family.
Right now rather than criticize i prefer empathize and put myself in his family’s shoes.
I’m going to refrain from blaming the victim.
Remember in America it’s innocent until proven guilty.
