PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. – Many WPLG-Local 10 News employees don’t know what the newsroom is like without Kerry Weston, a veteran Emmy award-winning journalist.
The beloved manager with a keen journalistic sense earned the trust of her Miami-Fort Lauderdale community and her colleagues with nearly four decades of service.
Weston was born in High Falls, New York, and she grew up in South Florida. Television and newspapers kept her family informed during The Vietnam War.
“We watched the news every night at home because my brother was of draft age,” Weston said.
After graduating from Coconut Creek High School, Weston moved to Columbia to attend the University of South Carolina. After she graduated, she started her career in journalism with Local 10 in 1981.
Weston helped to cover the chaos of the Overtown riot in 1982, and she was an assignment editor until 1984. She worked as a television reporter in Palm Beach, and she returned to the Local 10 newsroom in 1989.
“I was missing the desk,” Weston said about the area of the newsroom that deploys reporters and photojournalists. “I like to know what everybody is doing.”
Weston helped to deploy crews to cover the devastation that Hurricane Andrew caused in south Miami-Dade County. She also assigned reporters to cover the disputes over the fate of Elián González, a Cuban migrant boy who divided South Florida.
Weston said there were many stories during her long career that she will never forget. The most recent was when she was listening to the police scanners after the 2018 Valentine’s Day massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
“I remember being on the assignment desk, hearing the Coral Springs Police catch him,” Weston said about the 17-year-old gunman. “That is a radio transmission I will never forget.”
During countless morning news meetings and on the spot during breaking news, Weston helped to make decisions about how to cover history in the making for generations to come.
Photojournalists and digital journalists described Weston as a role model and guide. Local 10 veterans said she didn’t break under pressure and displayed leadership with integrity, respect, fairness, and transparency.
Jeff Weinsier, a veteran investigative reporter at Local 10 News, said Weston took him under her wing when he started 30 years ago, and he loves her like a “second mother.” Janine Stanwood, a Local 10 News reporter who has survived cancer twice, described Weston as both polite and fierce.
“She is a defender of all the journalists in this newsroom,” Stanwood said.
On Thursday, Weston retired as a futures planner and assignment desk manager. There were tears, a standing ovation, and applause. The celebration included dozens of balloons, cakes, and cards. There were hugs. Many will never get used to working without Weston’s guidance.
“She has a sharp memory and tracked court cases with meticulous attention to detail,” said Andrea Torres, a Local 10 digital journalist. “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.”
Weston’s organizational skills and discipline helped her show young women in the newsroom that juggling journalism and having a family was possible if they wanted to.
“I am going to be promoted to grandma,” Weston said. “That is what I would like to do, be a help to my daughter.”