Quick Facts:
- Kerwin Speight started at Poynter on Sept. 29 as the newest faculty member, focusing on TV and broadcast journalism.
- He comes to Poynter from REVOLT Black News, and prior to that, Spectrum News in Charlotte.
- A Poynter alum and award-winning journalist, Speight will help Poynter serve the needs of TV and broadcast news reporters, producers and leaders.
Poynter is pleased to announce that Kerwin Speight joined the faculty of the Poynter Institute on Sept. 29. He is an award-winning television journalist, with more than 20 years of journalism and leadership experience, and a strong track record of producing local news and programming.
“I’m thrilled to welcome Kerwin to Poynter, and I know he will change lives and careers in his role as faculty,” said Sitara Nieves, vice president of teaching and organizational strategy at Poynter. “As an award-winning broadcast journalist with a wealth of teaching experience, Kerwin will connect journalists to the values and skills that guide our profession.”
Speight most recently led editorial strategy at REVOLT Black News, and before REVOLT, was managing director of Spectrum News in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he led a team of journalists to grow audience engagement for both broadcast and digital to the highest level in station history.
Speight started his career as a producer at local stations including WCNC-TV in Charlotte, KHOU-TV in Houston, and WBAL-TV in Baltimore. He quickly rose to executive producer roles, including at WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh, WRAL-TV in Raleigh and WRC-TV in Washington, D.C. He’s won several awards for his work, including an Emmy for newscast coverage of a deadly mass shooting at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., and an Edward R. Murrow Award for producing a documentary focused on mass shootings called “Soft Targets, Hard Choices.”
Speight brings a wealth of teaching experience to Poynter, including training hundreds of journalists and media professionals for the Society of Professional Journalists. He also taught broadcast writing and reporting, video editing and production, and a class focused on minorities in mass media at North Carolina A&T State University.
“Working at Poynter means that I will be able to empower and engage more journalists,” Speight said. “I’m elated that I will be part of the team of professionals who are preparing folks to report the truth and engage diverse communities for quality storytelling and reporting.”
Poynter has a rich history training TV news professionals in storytelling, digital tools, leadership and ethics, spearheaded by recently retired Poynter faculty, Al Tompkins. Speight himself is an alum of some of these Poynter programs. He participated in the Leadership for Radio/TV News Managers program in 2007 and Teachapalooza in 2018.
“My experiences as a Poynter trainee were game changing,” said Speight. “Both trainings helped expand my skill set and prepared me for the next level of news production, leadership and teaching.”
Speight will develop new teaching programs to carry forth this tradition of excellence and meet the needs of professionals navigating the role of streaming and social media, market consolidation, artificial intelligence, and the ever-essential role of a free press in democracy.
Speight has a master’s degree in organizational development and management from The Catholic University of America, and an undergraduate degree in broadcast journalism from American University. He lives in Atlanta, and will continue to work from there, while making regular trips to Poynter’s campus in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Speight joins a quickly growing teaching team under the leadership of Nieves. Fernanda Camarena and Tony Elkins joined the faculty this year.
Meet the rest of Poynter’s teaching team and explore upcoming training opportunities.
