JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – As News4JAX celebrates 10 years of The Morning Show being the top-rated news program in the market, we want to honor one of the pioneers behind the scenes who not only helped design the program, but mentored and supported the team for decades.
Executive Producer Sharon Siegel-Cohen started at WJXT in 1979, and after a few stops in other cities, she worked with us until her death in 2020. She was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, less than two years earlier.
Sharon was more than a manager to us; she was a close friend whom many considered family.
She was a people person who truly cared about the show, about us, about her community.
She brought smiles and harmony to the WJXT team. TV news can be a tough business; we cover challenging topics and incredible tragedies. Sharon understood the importance of that and reminded us that we’re all human.
Her songs lightened the mood in tense situations. Her motherly approach earned her the title of “newsroom mom.”
“Sharon is tough to talk about because of her sad ending to her life,” said longtime News4JAX anchor Staci Spanos. “I want to think about the joy she brought — best friend and older sister rolled into one, rarely complained, made you feel loved and you loved her.”
Sharon was a sharp producer who put a personal touch on everything she did. She grew up here in Jacksonville, went to the University of Florida and took her talents to Tampa and Atlanta. However, the River City was home and this is where she spent the bulk of her career.
She earned numerous awards in journalism, from Emmys to Edward R. Murrows to a Peabody. The biggest prize to her, however, was her son Martin. She and her husband Joel cherished him and Martin became a familiar face at News4JAX, even appearing on his mom’s show from time to time.
Humor was Sharon’s outlet and she used it even through the darkest times of her life. In 2018, doctors diagnosed her with ALS. We watched as her health declined, yet she insisted on coming to work and telling her story to help others.
“Sharon made us all laugh with her funny songs and unsinkable personality,” said assignment manager Frank Powers, who worked two decades alongside her. “I am a better person for her friendship, and still have a ‘WWSD?’ (what would Sharon do?) sign on my computer. She always reminded me of Carol Burnett with her iconic closing song from her show.”
She was active with the ALS Foundation, pushing for more research with her fundraising team called Sharon’s Songbirds.
“I have many fond memories at Channel 4,” said former anchor and reporter Zac Lashway. “She wasn’t the first I met — she was the first to give me a hug. We met shortly after her diagnosis. She brought me on to local board, a mission I was part of until I left Jacksonville.”
As ALS took over Sharon’s body, she was dealt another tragic blow: her beloved husband and caretaker, Joel, died unexpectedly in his sleep. Despite the pain, she always showed love for others.
“Something that will always hit home is when my dad passed,” said former anchor and reporter Lauren Verno. “She made sure she gave me a personal card. She was there for you in your highs and lowest of lows and every step in between.”
Showing support until the end, in Sharon’s final months, we threw a party to celebrate all that she meant to us. Too sick to attend, she watched videos with a grin.
“Sharon is the reason I joined the News4JAX team,” said assistant assignment manager Lexi Suda. “As an intern, she made me feel capable of not only making it in the news business, but thriving. I’ll never forget my last day with The Morning Show before changing positions within the newsroom. Sharon greeted every person with a ‘good morning’ until she got to me — she called me a traitor (jokingly), but said she was proud to see me growing as a person. She is still one of my biggest and best influences.”
On April 9, 2020, in the height of the pandemic and lockdowns, she passed away peacefully at age 62.
We announced the sad news on the air, because, as Sharon said, the show must go on.
“While Sharon was still working at the station, there was a point at which she was wheelchair bound, yet still driving, which I always thought was a big middle finger to Lou Gehrig’s disease, and I loved it,” said social media and web producer Carianne Luter. “I would help Sharon out to her car and put her wheelchair in the back of her car. She always said how easy I made it look and poked fun at how much the men would struggle when they had to help. Sharon always made me smile and feel loved. She welcomed me into News4JAX with open arms from day one and helped guide and mold me into who I am today. We sat across from each other at work and would laugh, sing and help each other throughout the day. She will forever be missed at Channel 4 but will live in our hearts forever.”
“When I arrived at Channel 4 nearly 30 years ago, Sharon was already well established as the constant ray of light in the newsroom,” said former News4JAX.com managing editor Steve Patrick. “Because we had a lot in common and both lived in Mandarin, our young families shared birthday parties and other occasions for many years. Despite struggling with ALS and then suddenly losing Joel in her last year, she maintained her friendly smile and genuine empathy for those around her. Sharon was truly a gift from God to everyone lucky enough to know her.”
“Sharon is the reason I had an internship in college and now a career at News4JAX, and she’s the reason I’m fortunate to have gained the last 10 years of experience in the media,” said senior producer Nick Jones. “Perhaps she was not only gifted in the art of storytelling, but also in seeing the hidden talent that lies within those of us who were just breaking ground in the industry. Most importantly, she was a friend to us all and someone who always found a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day.”
“So genuine and caring. I always would smile when she wore costumes. she would be proud of us all,” said former traffic reporter and anchor Ashley Mitchem-Spicer.
Today, Sharon is not physically here. and trust me, there’s a gap in this newsroom because of it, but her spirit lives on in us. With love, we remember a woman who cared so much about us and our community.
“This is how I remember Sharon,” said Debbie Nolen, a childhood friend and colleague. “She was kind, considerate and one of the most caring friends I’ve ever known. She loved her family, friends and colleagues. Her sense of humor wasn’t lacking either. She used to say she had a “sick sense of humor,” when in actuality she was funny, but appropriately so! She loved to sing and perform any chance she had! She was strong, and fought hard for ALS, not only for herself, but to raise funds to advance research to find a cure, which we know didn’t happen in her lifetime. Sharon is missed tremendously. However, we are comforted in the knowledge she is with her beloved husband Joel in Heaven.”
I keep in contact with Sharon’s parents who live here in town and still watch the show. They obviously miss her dearly, but they’re so proud of the mark she left.
Her son Martin, by the way, is in Philadelphia about to finish dental school. He says he plans to do his residency in Hawaii, and he already has job offers here in Jacksonville.