After nearly four decades of anchoring the newsroom with a mix of grit and grace, Kerry Weston, a staple of the Miami-Fort Lauderdale journalism scene, has decided to hang up her notepad. Through the years, Weston, an Emmy award-winner with an eye for detail and a reputation for fairness, has been the journalistic compass for her colleagues at WPLG-Local 10 News, according to a recent article by the station.
Hailing from New York, she grew up in South Florida during the Vietnam War years watching the news with bated breath—a personal habit that would inform her professional trajectory. Weston's career with Local 10 began in 1981 after she graduated from the University of South Carolina, she was quickly thrust into the tumult of the Overtown riot in 1982, and later as a television reporter in Palm Beach before making her way back to the Local 10 newsroom in 1989 where she held fort at the assignment desk and, said she was missing the desk and liked to know what everybody is doing.
Weston's tenure included deploying news teams to cover significant events like the Hurricane Andrew disaster and the politically charged saga of Elián González, and she stood at the helm during the dark hours of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, a moment that stayed with her, "I remember being on the assignment desk, hearing the Coral Springs Police catch him," Weston told Local 10.
The impact of her leadership was felt across the board with photojournalists and digital journalists alike looking to her as a guide, she didn't break under pressure and maintained her integrity, respect, fairness, and transparency, she showed young women in the newsroom that balancing journalism and family life was possible. Veteran investigative reporter Jeff Weinsier cherished her like a "second mother," while reporter Janine Stanwood highlighted Weston's polite yet fierce nature stating, "She is a defender of all the journalists in this newsroom," according to their testimonies.
On Thursday, emotions ran high as Weston bid farewell to her newsroom post amid tears, a standing ovation, and applause, wrapped in a celebration garnished with balloons, cakes, and cards; the moment was bitter-sweet for the team. Many, it seems, will need time to adjust to her absence, Andrea Torres, a digital journalist at Local 10, lamented Weston's departure noting her sharp memory, meticulous attention to detail, and calm confidence, "I was also impressed with her calm confidence and how she always prioritized the fast pace of digital news, She was a mentor to us all," she said. Echoing this sentiment, a post from CBoomerVazquez dubbed her a #Legend and reverberated with the respect afforded to a "Beloved manager," as posted on X.
We miss her so much already. #Legend “Journalist who dedicated nearly 4 decades to serving Miami-Fort Lauderdale community retires.
— Christina Boomer Vazquez, M.S. (@CBoomerVazquez) March 1, 2024
Beloved @WPLGLocal10 News manager bows out” https://t.co/HR8jQ1sGli
As Weston steps into the new chapter of her life, the title she covets is no longer that of an assignment desk manager but that of a grandmother helping her daughter, "I am going to be promoted to grandma," Weston reportedly exclaimed, looking forward to her new role with anticipation. Her legacy in journalism, however, is one of unrelenting dedication to the craft and to the Miami-Fort Lauderdale community she served tirelessly.
