Don Lemon, host of “The Don Lemon Show,” isn’t entirely pessimistic about what faces the nation as former President Donald Trump again ascends to the nation’s highest office.
“I think we’re going to be OK,” because it’ll be similar to what we’ve already lived through, Lemon said Wednesday at “Covering A Divided Nation: Lessons from Black and Brown Media” at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
He spoke on a panel called “The Opportunity Before Media Now” at the URL Media– and National Press Club Journalism Institute-sponsored event. His co-panelist was Kenya Parham, global vice president of community and partnerships for the social media app SPILL. URL Media co-founder S. Mitra Kalita moderated the discussion.
Lemon and Trump have publicly lobbed sharp words at each other in recent years, with highlights including Lemon saying Trump was cowardly for declining an interview with Lemon and Trump calling Lemon “the dumbest man on television.”
While the new Trump era is leading some to say they’re planning to disengage from keeping up with news, Lemon urges people to stay tuned in to what’s happening around them, but be mindful about how much news is too much.
“You can be informed without being inundated … Control what you can control,” he said. “That’s your peace.”
WHY DON LEMON FEELS FREE
In his new role as the entrepreneurial host of a show broadcast on social media, Lemon says he considers himself part of the independent Black press. Although he’s best known for his lengthy tenure as a CNN host, he finds that his audience likes the new, authentic version of him that can interact with them more and isn’t constrained by corporate media (as Kalita noted, he curses on camera more these days).
He said he feels freer with his work on “The Don Lemon Show.”
“The frustrating thing for me when I was in legacy media is the false equivalency and having to give platform to people who you know are lying and who are election deniers, who are insurrection supporters, who are basically exhibiting cult-like behavior,” he said. “I don’t have to do that anymore.”
Lemon even feels more comfortable about his mistakes now that he doesn’t have to worry about brand safety for a multinational corporation. He can make an error and apologize “without everyone going ‘oh my gosh, you’ve got to come up to the big office and talk about it’ rather than saying ‘these are the conversations we should be having … no one needs to get canceled here,’” he said.
As he explores how to reach audiences, he’s experimenting in new spaces, including SPILL, where he’s even been known to play virtual spades with Parham, other members of the company’s leadership and the platform’s “SPILLionaires,” or users.
WHAT RESPECT LOOKS LIKE ON SOCIAL MEDIA
The platform welcomes users who are aligned with its message about respect for each other and the necessity of protecting marginalized communities. Its leadership is serious about wanting SPILL to be a place where people can have fun, but also safely learn and vigorously and civilly debate and challenge ideas, Parham said.
“We think that creates an incredibly open space for journalism to survive,” she explained.
Parham also noted that SPILL does not have an opaque algorithm that sends divisive posts to the top, but instead follows a model where everyone sees everything.
Lemon’s enthusiasm about the scrappy new platform contrasted starkly with his message that Americans should be concerned about media spaces owned by rich people.
A partnership between Lemon and Elon Musk, owner of X and the world’s richest man, ended acrimoniously in March 2024. Musk is close to Trump and is expected to lead a federal government efficiency initiative. Lemon said a lawsuit in the matter is ongoing.
Platforms like SPILL and local news organizations don’t have the kind of public profile or access to money common for larger organizations like X or CNN, or even popular podcasters like Joe Rogan, Lemon said. That’s why he continues to encourage people to support, read or watch news in and from their communities.
“It’s important for you to support independent media, to support independent platforms,” he said.
