CLEVELAND — For nearly five decades, a knock on the door from Tom Meyer usually meant someone had some explaining to do.
Meyer has crafted a career holding people accountable, demanding answers and exposing dysfunction across Northeast Ohio.
Now, he's stepping back from the microphone, the stacks of files and the newsroom he's called home for 12 years.
Meyer's retirement begins July 1, but that doesn't mean he's making a permanent retreat. He'll spend some time with his wife, Sandy, and their six grandchildren before he delves into new endeavors. He says podcasting could soon be part of his future, though details haven't been revealed.
Meyer moved to Cleveland to launch Channel 8's I-Team in 1979 until he formed Channel 19's investigative unit 18 years later. He joined WKYC in 2007, where he has been at the center of several breaking stories and key moments in Northeast Ohio. Beyond exposing corruption within Cleveland's political hub, Meyer's stories have made an impact on our community, such as when Cleveland police ordered first-aid kits and training for all officers when Meyer discovered that they had not been equipped with the life-saving tools needed to save Tamir Rice.
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Meyer has won more than 185 local, state, regional and national awards, including a Regional Edward R. Murrow Award, the Press Club's National Headliner Award and a national UPI award. He has the distinction of winning 69 Emmy Awards -- more than any reporter in Northeast Ohio.
The Ohio Broadcasters Hall of Fame inducted Meyer in 2003. The Press Club of Cleveland followed in 2008 and the NATAS Emmy Silver Circle in 2017. The Cleveland Association of Broadcasters honored him in 2016 with a lifetime award for excellence.
One of the men that Meyer investigated the most during his career was former Cuyahoga County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora, now serving a 28-year prison sentence in one of the largest criminal corruption scandals in Ohio's history.
On Friday morning, Dimora sent this email for Meyer:
Please tell Tom Meyer that I said congratulations on his retirement! Hopefully God willing he will have a long Healthy & Happy Retirement for many more years to come!