Former News4JAX investigative reporter Michael Dillin dies following battle with cancer

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Michael Dillin, a former investigative reporter here at WJXT, has died after a battle with cancer. Dillin was 70 years old.

After retiring from his career in journalism, Dillin was living in Arizona. You may recall he was the lead reporter in News4JAX’s (then Channel 4 Eyewitness News) coverage of the campaign to get rid of tolls and replace them with a half-cent sales tax, something that voters approved in 1989 (more on that story in the video at the end of this article).

Dillin was always at Jacksonville City Hall, including in 1987 when he was covering the election victory of then-Mayor Tommy Hazouri.

Hazouri passed away almost two years ago, the city hall building where Dillin covered the mayor’s election victory was demolished four years, and Jacksonville has not had toll bridges for more than three decades.

Notably, News4JAX has not been Channel 4 Eyewitness News in quite some time — so much change with the passage of time.

Our condolences to Dillin’s family, friends and loved ones.

From The Archive: Click the image below to watch videos from Michael Dillin’s career at News4JAX


About the Author

Tom Wills joined Channel 4 in 1975 and has co-anchored Jacksonville's highest-rated evening newscasts for more than 40 years.

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