Jason Hackett’s “Sunrise” in the Twin Cities

If you wake up early enough, you may catch one of our own on your television screen. Your eyes could be glued to KARE 11’s “Sunrise” program starting at 4:30 AM. When you do, you will see one of our own giving you the news and other features just when you pour your first cup of coffee.

The Twin Cities NBC affiliate has been a place where you can watch their out and proud LGBTQ+ newscasters. Jana Shortal hosts the 6:30 PM “Breaking The News” program. They now have some company…

Let us introduce you to one of the hosts of “KARE 11 Sunrise” – Jason Hackett.

Hackett, along with his co-hosts Alicia Lewis and meteorologist John Zeigler, are on-air to wake you up every morning up to 7:00 AM from Monday to Friday. They are there not just to set up for the “Today” show, but to give you a local perspective of overnight news and to prepare for the day ahead.

For us, Hackett should be the sole reason to wake up and turn on the television. The Miami Gardens, Florida native is a proud University of Florida graduate. His television career made several stops before arriving in the Twin Cities, including Panama City, Florida, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, West Palm Beach, Florida and Oklahoma City. He arrived at KARE 11 and the Twin Cities in January of 2023.

“For people that are in this business, in TV,” Hackett explained, “KARE 11 has a name that stands out above the rest. When I was younger and coming up in this business, I would watch ‘Boyd Stories’ – Boyd Huppert’s stories – to get inspiration as a young journalist because he was the ultimate storyteller, everybody in this business wants to be Boyd. So, I’ve known about KARE 11 ever since I started down this track 12 years ago.”

Hackett further explained that as he was “coming towards the end of my contract in Oklahoma City, I was looking for jobs and I was on a job posting website and all of a sudden, I saw KARE 11 had an opening and I was like, ‘KARE 11 has an opening? That’s interesting. They never have openings.’ And I applied thinking, ‘Okay, well I don’t know if I’ll make it there, it’s KARE 11, the standards are high.’ I sometimes have imposter syndrome where I don’t believe enough in myself. It’s a big problem that I’m working on. But I applied saying, ‘Let’s just give it a shot.’”

Sure enough, Hackett heard back from KARE 11 and was offered an interview. Then, the job. “It’s a station that has a great pedigree and a great long list of amazing journalists that have come through,” said Hackett, “and to be a part of it is almost a dream come true.”

Getting into the door at KARE 11 is one thing. Being one’s authentic self is another. For Hackett, he called it “a journey.”

Hackett explained, “My parents are Jamaican immigrants, and Jamaica is not known for being a very friendly country when it comes to the LGBTQ community. I mean, you read of the horrible things with people being dragged and beaten in the streets, kids living in sewers and gutters because their parents don’t accept them, just horrible. And so, there are a lot of families that come here to America, my parents came here to America to make a better life, and I will always love them for that. The sacrifices they made, just can’t be thought of enough. I love my parents. They had a bit of a misunderstanding when it comes to being gay, and they had a certain idea for what they wanted for me. And that obviously clashed with who I am and how I was born.”

“[In] sixth grade is when I realized, ‘Wait a minute, I think I’m different.’ There was a kid at a bus stop every day after school when I was waiting and I always used to stare at him and be like, ‘Wow, there’s something about him that I really like. I don’t know what it is, but I really, really like something about him.’ And I started to get that feeling more and more when I started looking at boys. And I think it dawned on me somewhere around fifth or sixth grade that, ‘Wait a minute, I think I’m gay.’”

Hackett continued: “The next step is like, ‘Oh my God, how can I tell my parents? What happens from here? Is there anything I can do to change it? Is there anything I can do to fix it?’ I grew up in the church, I was a church boy growing up, a very religious family and being gay was just absolutely a no-go, I can’t be gay, that’s not going to happen. And so, I spent many years trying to deny it or trying to change it or trying to fix it, not accepting it.”

It took until college for Hackett to finally find a way to live as a LGBTQ+ man. He had his first relationship with a man there. Hackett also got involved with student groups that align with his interests, including the University of Florida’s Pride Student Union. Hackett explained: “I think that gave me the confidence to finally go up to my mom and finally tell her, start to have that conversation. But before I could do that, she found out that I was gay through a post on Twitter, I said something on Twitter and it got back to her and she confronted me about it.”

“Over the years, there’s been a lot of back and forth about my sexuality and a lot of distance between me and my family, and between me and my mom, and between me and my parents,” said Hackett. “But at the end of the day, and my mom told me this recently, “I love you and you are my son.” And I don’t think she’s at that place of full acceptance, but at least I’ve laid out, ‘This is where my life is and this is who I am, and that’s not going to change.’ And it’s a process, I know she’s not there yet, but I hope that she will be one day. And I know at the end of the day, she has my best interest in heart, and she loves me.”

After graduating from the University of Florida, Hackett was getting into a profession that sometimes might not be welcoming to LGBTQ+ people, in markets where it became tough to be “out.” “When it comes to being in this business,” explained Hackett, “there are a lot of gay people in this business, I’ve come across a lot of gay people in this business. And at my stations, every station I’ve been at, I’ve always been in this glass closet where I’ve told people and people know, and it’s not this huge thing. Initially when I get to these stations, I am hesitant.”

However, as Hackett explained, “once I get to know people better, I eventually let that part of myself out. So, people at the stations I’ve worked at usually know, but never people in the community. Every community I’ve worked and lived in, it’s been a thing I’ve kept to myself. This would be the first time that people in my community are aware that, ‘Okay, he is gay,’ which for me is important.”

Over at KARE 11, Hackett has been welcomed with “the best support” he has received in the broadcasting business. “This has been the most inclusive, accepting station that I’ve worked at,” exclaimed Hackett. “And every station I’ve worked at, I’ve told my bosses and it’s been no issue. But I feel like here at KARE 11, there’s been even more of a level of acceptance. I mean, the fact that we participate, the fact that I marched in a Pride parade last year with people from my station was huge. I could never do that anywhere else. To march in that parade was such a big moment for me. It was such a show of support that my station is here and has my back, and it’s here to support me in any way I can.”

Away from KARE 11, Hackett makes his home in the North Loop neighborhood of Minneapolis. He is happily partnered, living with two dogs. He currently spends his time off the air “exploring the Twin Cities and trying to find new things to do, discovering new restaurants and going to events,” said Hackett. “And we love sports, so we’ve been to Wolves games, we’ve been to Twins games. It’s really cool living in a city that has so much going on compared to other cities I’ve lived in. And right now we’re learning how to take advantage of it. We’re still trying to find our spots, like our go-to bar and our go-to restaurant, but it’s been a fun journey so far.”

For Hackett, telling his story of his coming out has resonance upon our community. He has picked the right place to land – the Twin Cities and at KARE 11. “There’s so much acceptance and tolerance here in Minneapolis compared to other cities I’ve been in,” explained Hackett, “and that definitely made this decision to tell my story that much easier. And I really do appreciate that.”

What happens next? “In a way, I don’t envision life changing too much,” said Hackett. “I think the biggest thing is that I will be somebody that other people may look to as a role model or an example.”

“When I was young, there wasn’t much representation in terms of media for Black gay men,” explained Hackett. “There were some niche shows here or there, or supporting character that would pop up in a sitcom that would be a stereotype, but there wasn’t many portrayals of just regular everyday gay men. And I kind of wish I had that sometimes as a kid, somebody that I could look up to and say, ‘Man, he’s making it, so can I. He’s living his life so can I.’”

Hackett hopes that “it’d be nice to think that after this story is published and after my story is told that there is another young, gay, black, or anybody of color kid out there that is like, ‘Wow, he is being his authentic self and he’s not getting killed for it, he’s not getting criticized for it. He’s being his authentic self, and maybe I can also be my authentic self, maybe I can also live my truth, just like Jason is.’”

Your truth is being told, Jason. We thank you for letting us tell your truth.