Lo Jelks, a former WSB-TV reporter and Atlanta’s first Black TV reporter, has died at the age of 83. Let’s see more details about Lo Jelks in the following paragraphs.
What happened to Lo Jelks?
Former WSB-TV reporter and Atlanta’s first Black TV reporter Lorenzo “Lo” Jelks has passed away at the age of 83. He was announced dead on Saturday 25th February 2023 by jelk’s family.
“The Atlanta Press Club is deeply saddened by the passing of Lorenzo ‘Lo’ Jelks,” the organization said in a statement after his death. “His legacy will live on with the 2023 Lorenzo ‘Lo’ Jelks Communications and Marketing Internship sponsored by the Georgia Power Foundation.”
Cause of death
He died at the age of 83 leaving behind family and loved ones in shock and disbelief. Jelks’ family confirmed to Channel 2 Action News that Jelks passed away overnight.
His family has not commented on the cause of death. As soon as the news came out, Friends and Families are pouring condolence on Social Media. This is devastating news for all.
LORENZO JELKS OBITUARY
| Lo Jelks, a former WSB-TV reporter and Atlanta’s first Black TV reporter, has died at the age of 83. Lorenzo “Lo” Jelks joined WSB-TV in 1967. He stayed with WSB-TV until 1976. In 2022, he was inducted into the Atlanta Press Club Hall of Fame. Born in St. Petersburg, Fla., Jelks got his start in radio. He ran a weekly music radio show as a high school student in 1955, according to WSB-TV. He graduated from Clark College, now called Clark Atlanta University, in 1961 and was operations manager at WIGO-AM, an R&B station, in Atlanta when he get the call from WSB-TV. “He shined the light on the importance of education and I think in many ways changed the landscape of race relations in Atlanta and certainly in Georgia by his reporting,” Jocelyn Dorsey, former WSB director of editorials and public affairs, said in a tribute video for Jelks posted by the Atlanta Press Club. |
Jelks’ career journey
Jelks’ journey to Atlanta began in St. Petersburg, Florida, where he grew up. Like many broadcast reporters of that time, he started in radio. In 1955, Jelks ran a weekly music show on a local radio station as a high school student. “He will become the first Negro TV newsman in Atlanta,” his hometown paper, now called The Tampa Bay Times, reported in its June 5, 1967 edition.
The station initially didn’t show Jelks’ face on the air, fearing a backlash from some whites. Viewers only saw “Lorenzo Jelks reporting” in white letters in the middle of a black screen. “I didn’t complain about it because I didn’t have any control over it,” he said. WSB managers told Jelks they hired him in part because the station needed a Black reporter. Station officials insisted he would not solely cover news impacting the Black community. Jelks got training in writing for television news.
Jelks understood the significance of his position. He arrived at work before other reporters to read the newspapers to familiarize himself with the day’s top stories.
“You were watched a lot by the general public. There were people out there who didn’t wish us well at all and hoped we would make all kinds of mistakes,” he recalled.
Jelks returned to his first love- radio
Jelks traveled to other cities with mass transit systems for reports on Atlanta’s plans for what became MARTA. He interviewed Jimmy Carter during his 1970 gubernatorial run. For many, his most memorable assignment was interviewing Ku Klux Klan leaders before a rally at Stone Mountain.
After leaving WSB-TV, Jelks returned to his first love, radio, despite offers to become an anchor at the station and entreaties to report for NBC News.
He started a radio station, WAUC-AM, developing projects, such as “Campus Spotlight,” which highlighted life and education in historically Black colleges and universities nationwide. Jelks also founded The AUC Digest, a newspaper serving the Atlanta University Center, which he still published at the time of his AJC profile last February.
After leaving WSB-TV, Jelks returned to his first love, radio, despite offers to become an anchor at the station and entreaties to report for NBC News.
He started a radio station, WAUC-AM, developing projects, such as “Campus Spotlight,” which highlighted life and education in historically Black colleges and universities nationwide. Jelks also founded The AUC Digest, a newspaper serving the Atlanta University Center, which he still published at the time of his AJC profile last February.
Social Media Condolence
Atlanta Press Club Posted
The Atlanta Press Club is deeply saddened by the passing of Lorenzo “Lo” Jelks. A graduate of Clark College (now Clark Atlanta University), Jelks became the first Black television news reporter in Atlanta in 1967.
The Atlanta Press Club is deeply saddened by the passing of Lorenzo "Lo” Jelks. A graduate of Clark College (now Clark Atlanta University), Jelks became the first Black television news reporter in Atlanta in 1967.
Visit Jelks’ Hall of Fame video tribute: https://t.co/tRf1Ngq38V pic.twitter.com/uYrt6adgVh
— Atlanta Press Club (@atlpressclub) February 25, 2023
Craig Allen Brown Posted
Even as a journalist, it’s hard to find words for this loss. Lorenzo “Lo” Jelks is the embodiment of everything I love about our craft…and then some. He is an icon. He is a hero.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Lo Jelks’ transition to television wasn’t easy. WSB-TV initially didn’t show Jelks’ face on the air, fearing a backlash from some whites. Viewers only saw “Lorenzo Jelks reporting” in white letters in the middle of a black screen.
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