Kojo Nnamdi
Kojo Nnamdi | |
---|---|
Born | Rex Orville Montague Paul January 8, 1945 |
Alma mater | University of the District of Columbia |
Career | |
Show | The Kojo Nnamdi Show and The Politics Hour – (WAMU) Evening Exchange – (WHUT) |
Station(s) | WAMU (radio) WHUT (television) |
Country | United States |
Website | wamu |
Rex Orville Montague Paul (born January 8, 1945), better known as Kojo Nnamdi ( from 1985 to 2011.
Early life
Nnamdi was born Rex Orville Montague Paul in British Guiana on January 8, 1945.[2] As a high school student, Nnamdi and his friends opposed British colonialism, at odds with their parents.[3]
In 1967, a year after
Nnamdi moved to
Broadcasting career
Early radio career (1969–1985)
Nnamdi began his radio career in 1969 as an actor and director for children's plays that aired Sundays on Washington rhythm and blues radio station
In 1973, Nnamdi became news editor at
Evening Exchange (1985–2011)
Nnamdi left WHUR in 1985 to join Howard television station WHMM (later WHUT) as host of Evening Exchange, a public affairs show. Nnamdi hosted Evening Exchange until 2011.[2]
On June 13, 1990, Evening Exchange received its highest viewership numbers when Washington mayor Marion Barry announced on the show that he would not seek a fourth term.[6]
Public Interest and The Kojo Nnamdi Show (1998–present)
On August 31, 1998, Nnamdi became host of Public Interest on Washington public radio station
On Fridays, Nnamdi hosts The Politics Hour, which covers topics related to political issues and events in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, including surrounding Maryland and Virginia regions. Before May 2008, the show was titled The D.C. Politics Hour and focused solely on the D.C.-area political scene.[9] The show was renamed The Politics Hour in May 2008, after WAMU fired resident political analyst and Washington Examiner columnist Jonetta Rose Barras over a salary dispute.[10] The show then featured guest analysts until the long-term hiring of WRC-TV political reporter Tom Sherwood in February 2009.[9][11]
Barras joined the program after the late Mark Plotkin left in April 2002 to set up shop at all-news station WTOP, where he hosted The Politics Program. Originally called The Politics Hour, the name of Plotkin's show was changed after WAMU threatened a lawsuit. Nonetheless, Plotkin said in a 2006 online chat that he and Nnamdi remain friendly and regularly have dinner together.
Every Tuesday the first half of the show consists of a segment called Tech Tuesday that attempts to keep listeners current on various computer/computing and technology issues. For a number of years, the first Tuesday of the month featured "The Computer Guys," John Gilroy and Tom Pivovar. Pivovar left the program in early 2006 in a contract dispute and has been since replaced with a rotation of recurring expert guests, most of whom are employed at either Mid-Atlantic Consulting or the University of Maryland, College Park.
On April 1, 2021, Kojo ended his daily program, but the Politics Hour continues on Fridays.
References
- ^ "American Archive of Public Broadcasting Search Results". americanarchive.org. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
- ^ a b c d "Kojo Nnamdi Biography". The HistoryMakers. January 30, 2014. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
- ^ a b c Latifi, Ali Muhammad (February 3, 2011). "Kojo Nnamdi: From Black Power Radical to D.C. Power Player". Generation Progress. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
- ^ a b c Joynt, Carol Ross (November 8, 2013). "Kojo Nnamdi on 15 Years of Life and Radio in Washington". Washingtonian. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
- ^ a b c "Kojo Nnamdi". WAMU. Archived from the original on May 8, 1999. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
- ^ a b Prakesh, Snigdha (July 1, 1990). "Kojo Nnamdi". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
- ^ a b Fisher, Marc (June 30, 1998). "Kojo Nnamdi named WAMU's midday host". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
- ^ "Public Interest With Kojo Nnamdi". WAMU. September 23, 2002. Archived from the original on October 19, 2002. Retrieved April 1, 2021.
- ^ a b "Analyst on The Politics Hour departing WAMU 88.5". WAMU. May 14, 2008. Archived from the original on May 14, 2008.
- ^ Fisher, Marc (May 13, 2008). "WAMU Fires Jonetta Rose Barras". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 9, 2008.
- ^ "Revolving Door: Sherwood Named WAMU Politics Hour Analyst". Media Bistro. February 13, 2009. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012.