Long before the city became the sprawling, multicultural hub it is today, Melanie Lawson was already watching, listening, and learning how stories shape communities.
For more than four decades, Lawson didn’t just report Houston’s news; she bore witness to its growth, its grief, and its greatness. Now, after 43 years at KTRK, ABC13, the native Houstonian and award-winning journalist is retiring, closing a chapter that helped define local television news for generations.
“I’ve been blessed to have a long and fruitful career in my hometown because people in the Black community felt they had a voice by trusting me to listen to their truths,” Lawson said.
That trust became the foundation of a career marked not by spectacle, but by service.
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Lawson joined ABC13 in 1978 as an intern, stepping unexpectedly into an on-air role that would launch one of the longest tenures in Houston broadcast history. Over the years, she became a familiar presence on Live at 5 and Eyewitness News, anchoring coverage of hurricanes, elections, civil unrest, and cultural milestones with calm authority and context.
She also hosted Crossroads, a public affairs program that created space for nuanced conversations around race, politics, faith, and community, issues often overlooked or oversimplified elsewhere.
“It has always been important to me to not only cover our stories but also to speak for people who don’t have the platform to
Melanie Lawson
speak for themselves.”
“It has always been important to me to not only cover our stories but also to speak for people who don’t have the platform to speak for themselves,” Lawson said.
Raised during the early 1970s, Lawson was part of the generation that integrated schools such as Poe Elementary and Lanier Middle School. She grew up watching Houston transform from a city defined by rigid racial divisions into a largely interconnected, multicultural nexus, a transformation she would later chronicle from behind the anchor desk.
From childhood homes on Wheeler Avenue, Rosedale Street, and South MacGregor Way to the first house she purchased on North MacGregor, Lawson is, by her own description, a tried-and-true Third Wardian. She was raised not only by her family, the late William Bill Lawson and Audrey Lawson, but by a community that collectively believed in accountability, excellence, and possibility.
“If I ever got in trouble in school, that walk home was incredibly long,” she said. “Every adult between school and home had to come out and fuss at me. There was a real comfort in that. As long as you lived in a neighborhood where you saw great accomplishments, you believed that was something you could do, too.”
That belief carried her far beyond Houston.
A self-described “nosy” child, a trait she now credits as essential to good journalism, Lawson developed an early love for reading and radio. While other children played outside, she immersed herself in books and ideas. She earned her undergraduate degree from Princeton University, followed by a joint degree in law and journalism from Columbia University. After practicing First Amendment law on Wall Street for three years, Lawson returned home in 1982 at the invitation of a mentor to join Channel 13 Eyewitness News full-time. She has remained a central figure in Houston media ever since.
Throughout her career, Lawson interviewed presidents, politicians, artists, and activists. She spoke with civil rights leaders, including Harry Belafonte, Jesse Jackson, and John Lewis. She helped contextualize the cultural significance of Black sororities and historically Black colleges and universities during Kamala Harris’ vice presidential campaign. She gave early interviews to Spike Lee and Tyler Perry and introduced Houston audiences to Joel Osteen as Lakewood Church prepared for its major expansion.
Yet Lawson has often said the most meaningful conversations weren’t with famous names.
“Sometimes it’s not necessarily the famous people,” she said. “It’s somebody very modest, humble, and a part of the fabric of the city.”
That philosophy extended beyond the newsroom. Last month, Lawson donated $43,000 to support the next generation of journalists through the Houston Association of Black Journalists, reinforcing her lifelong commitment to amplifying voices that might otherwise go unheard.
“For decades — four to be exact — Melanie Lawson has been a beloved staple in the Houston community,” said Nakia Cooper, president of the Houston Association of Black Journalists. “She’s who viewers trusted. She’s who little girls and women looked up to. She’s who made Houstonians proud. By giving of herself yet again, she poured into the futures of young storytellers and reminded them how much she believes in them. HABJ will forever honor Melanie Lawson.”Lawson leaves behind a legacy that extends beyond broadcasting. She leaves a blueprint for what local journalism can be when it is rooted in community, curiosity, and care.
