NBC News Legend Mike Jackson Dead at 66

Longtime WCMH-TV NBC 4 anchor Mike Jackson has died. Jackson passed away at the age of 66 on Friday, Oct. 27 following a battle with cancer, NBC 4 in Columbus, Ohio reported. The beloved news anchor, whose broadcast career spanned more than four decades, had not been on the air since 2019 when he suffered a stroke. During rehabilitation from his stroke, he was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer, with surgeons having to remove his throat box.

"This is my final story. I recently was diagnosed with laryngectomy cancer with the removal of my voice box. I no longer have use of my voice," Jackson wrote in a message in November 2022 that was read by hospice minister Darryl Beckett and posted on the station's website. "I received 30 treatments of radiation. I had a career where I used my voice for more than 40 years of employment, public speaking and helping others. This was very hard for me to come to terms with... There's little time for self pity as I navigate a crowded lobby with similar patients. I realize there are other brave souls fighting a different cause. The clean shaven heads told part of their journey."

NBC4 is honoring and remembering longtime news anchor Mike Jackson, who has died at age 66.

For more: https://t.co/Tnb3Ut9NwC pic.twitter.com/zdd13YThzG

— NBC4 Columbus (@nbc4i) October 29, 2023

A West Virginia native, after graduating from West Virginia State College, Jackson's career began with positions at TV and radio stations in Charleston and Oak Hill. After making his way to Ohio, he found work at Channel 6, though he later left the area to become the evening anchor for the former NewsChannel 8 in Washington, D.C. When he returned to Columbus, he joined NBC 4 in 1994. He remained with the station through 2019 and was anchor of the 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts with Colleen Marshall when he left the air. He was well-known for the segment "Better Call Jackson," and in 1993, Jackson received a first-place award for reporting by the National Association of Black Journalists. His other accolades include four local Emmy nominations for reporting and two second-place awards for reporting by the Society of Professional Journalists. He was also awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from The Tribute to African American Committee.

Remembering Jackson, former Columbus Mayor Mike Coleman said, "When you heard of Mike Jackson, people trusted his word, trusted his reporting and knew that if it was coming from his lips to my ear, it was right." John Gregory, co-founder of the African American Male Wellness Walk, said Jackson's "voice gave a lot of Black men an opportunity to see that it's okay to go to a physician, to talk about health issues. He was a true hero to our community, and to the African American community and representing black men."

Jackson is survived by his wife of 45 years, Dawn, two daughters, Nicole Jackson Tubbs and Courtney Jackson Earlwine, nine grandchildren, and a cousin whom he viewed as a brother, Norman "Eddie" Jackson.