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DaLaun Dillard: Most Interesting People 2022

A newbie to the Cleveland news scene, Dillard has spent the past year learning to love Cleveland.

by Lynne Thompson | Dec. 28, 2021 | 1:00 PM

Courtesy WEWS-TV 5

Courtesy WEWS-TV 5

Why He’s Interesting: Dillard is a new kid on the local network-affiliate news block. He signed on to WEWS-TV 5’s “News 5 at 5” in April after stints in Illinois and Nebraska.

Made for TV: Dillard was a disenchanted finance major at Central Michigan University when “something in his spirit” prompted him to check out the school’s student-run TV news station. His first audition yielded a semester-long anchoring gig, before he had finished changing his major. “Once I started anchoring and taking some of the classes, that’s when I realized, Oh, I love doing this!

In the Action: Dillard’s most notable assignment was covering the unrest following the murder of George Floyd for Omaha’s ABC affiliate. During one shot, he noticed a pepper ball rolling right at him. “I was like, ‘Oh, wow! We have to run!’ So in the middle of my live shot, we’re running.”

Fleet-Footed: The downtown resident uses his runs to explore. His favorite discovery is the peaceful feeling at Edgewater Park. “On any day you can see someone out there just reading or people out there having a picnic.”

Click here to meet the 30 Most Interesting People of 2022.

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