Steve Osunsami

Last updated

Steve Osunsami
Born (1971-02-06) February 6, 1971 (age 53)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Education University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Occupations
  • Journalist
  • news correspondent
SpouseJoe Remillard

Steve Osunsami [1] is a Nigerian-American journalist. He is a senior national correspondent for ABC News in Atlanta, Georgia, contributing reports to World News with David Muir , Good Morning America , and other station broadcasts and platforms since his start with ABC News in 1997. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Early life and education

Osunsami was born in Washington, D.C., to parents who were Nigerian immigrants. [5] Osunsami has shared that he came from poverty and is a graduate of the Head Start Program. [6] He is a graduate of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, [7] where being an Illinois Broadcasting Association intern and writing for The Daily Illini helped launch his career. [8] [9]

Career

Osunsami started his career at WREX-TV in Rockford, Illinois, WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and at KOMO-TV in Seattle before becoming a correspondent for ABC News in 1997. [10]

His work has taken him all over the country, from covering riots in Baltimore and Ferguson Missouri, [11] to the 2000 United States presidential election recount in Florida, [12] and the shooting deaths of nine black parishioners at the Charleston church shooting in 2015. [13]

Osunsami was the subject of political debate after he was one of several African-American reporters who showed emotion live on the air on the night of the election of the nation's first black president, Barack Obama. [14]

Amidst the political and racial unrest of 2020, Osunsami covered the killing of Rayshard Brooks and the murder of Ahmaud Arbery. [15]

Osunsami wrote and hosted the ABC podcast "Soul of a Nation: Tulsa's Buried Truth," which explores the 1921 Tulsa race massacre through archival audio and conversations with historians. Speaking on his personal connection to the project, Osunsami said, "It shocks me, as a high school and college-educated Black American, that until recently, the details of the Tulsa massacre have escaped me, and I think that’s a shame. It says a ton about the way we, as Americans, record history that’s racist and ugly. We like to give it the silent treatment. And like a fight with someone in your family, simply ignoring the injury never makes it go away." [16]

An essay by Osunsami was featured in the book, “My America: What My Country Means to Me, by 150 Americans from All Walks of Life,” edited by Hugh Downs. [17]

Awards and Honors

Osunsami has won or been nominated for many awards, including a National Emmy Award. [18] In 2022, he was inducted into the Illini Media Hall of Fame. [19] Osunsami’s documentary special “Soul of a Nation: Acceptance High” won a 2023 Webby Award. [20] In 2023, Osunsami was inducted into the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ Silver Circle Society of Honor. [21]

Personal

Osunsami identifies as gay and has spoken publicly on both his experiences as a black gay man in journalism, and a black member of the LGBTQ community. [22] He is married to Joe Remillard. [23]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medill School of Journalism</span> Journalism school of Northwestern University

The Medill School of Journalism is the journalism school of Northwestern University. It offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. It frequently ranks as the top school of journalism in the United States. Medill alumni include over 40 Pulitzer Prize laureates, numerous national correspondents for major networks, many well-known reporters, columnists and media executives. Founded in 1921, it is named for publisher and editor Joseph Medill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ABC News (United States)</span> News division of the American Broadcasting Company

ABC News is the news division of the American television network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ABC World News Tonight with David Muir; other programs include morning news-talk show Good Morning America, Nightline, Primetime, 20/20, and Sunday morning political affairs program This Week with George Stephanopoulos.

CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio broadcaster CBS. CBS News television programs include the CBS Evening News, CBS Mornings, news magazine programs CBS News Sunday Morning, 60 Minutes, and 48 Hours, and Sunday morning political affairs program Face the Nation. CBS News Radio produces hourly newscasts for hundreds of radio stations, and also oversees CBS News podcasts like The Takeout Podcast. CBS News also operates CBS News 24/7, a 24-hour digital news network.

The Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award honors excellence in broadcast and digital journalism in the public service and is considered one of the most prestigious awards in journalism. The awards were established in 1942 and administered until 1967 by Washington and Lee University's O. W. Riegel, Curator and Head of the Department of Journalism and Communications. Since 1968 they have been administered by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York City, and are considered by some to be the broadcast equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize, another program administered by Columbia University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hoda Kotb</span> American journalist and author

Hoda Kotb is an American broadcast journalist, television personality, and author. She is a main co-anchor of the NBC News morning show Today and co-host of its entertainment-focused fourth hour. Kotb formerly served as a correspondent for the television news magazine program Dateline NBC.

James Leroy Hartz was an American television personality, columnist and reporter during the mid- and late-1970s. At age 24, he was the youngest correspondent NBC had ever hired. Hartz became best known to a national audience for a two-year position as the co-host of the Today Show, along with Barbara Walters. Hartz replaced the deceased Frank McGee, who also hailed from Oklahoma, and at whose funeral Hartz had delivered the eulogy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michel Martin</span> American journalist

Michel McQueen Martin is an American journalist and correspondent for National Public Radio and WNET. After ten years in print journalism, Martin has become best known for her radio and television news broadcasting on national topics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michele Norris</span> American journalist (born 1961)

Michele L. Norris is an American journalist. Since 2019, Norris has been an opinion columnist with The Washington Post. She co-hosted National Public Radio's evening news program All Things Considered from 2002 to 2011 and was the first African-American female host for NPR. Before that Norris was a correspondent for ABC News, the Chicago Tribune, and the Los Angeles Times. Norris is a member of the Peabody Awards board of directors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Lemon</span> American journalist and news anchor (born 1966)

Don Lemon is an American television journalist best known for being a host on CNN from 2014 until 2023. He anchored weekend news programs on local television stations in Alabama and Pennsylvania during his early days as a journalist. Lemon worked as a news correspondent for NBC on its programming, such as Today and NBC Nightly News. Lemon is also a recipient of an Edward R. Murrow Award in 2002 for his coverage of the capture of the Washington, D.C. snipers. He also received three regional Emmy Awards for his special report on real estate in Chicago and a business feature on Craigslist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Byron Pitts</span> American television journalist (born 1960)

Byron Pitts is an American journalist and author, working for ABC News as co-anchor for the network's late night news program, Nightline. Until March 2013, he served as a chief national correspondent for The CBS Evening News and contributed regularly to 60 Minutes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juju Chang</span> American journalist (born 1965)

Hyunju "Juju" Chang is an American television journalist for ABC News, and is currently an anchor of Nightline. She has previously worked as a special correspondent and fill-in anchor for Nightline, and was also the news anchor for ABC News' morning news program Good Morning America from 2009 to 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Whitaker (journalist)</span> American journalist

Bill Whitaker is an American television journalist and a correspondent on the CBS News program 60 Minutes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erin Andrews</span> American sportscaster and television personality (born 1978)

Erin Jill Andrews is an American sportscaster and television personality. She rose to prominence as a correspondent on the American cable sports channel ESPN after joining the network in 2004. She later joined Fox Sports in 2012 and has since become the lead sideline reporter for the network's NFL broadcasting team. In 2010, she also gained further recognition from placing third on the tenth season of ABC's Dancing with the Stars and eventually co-hosted the show from 2014 to 2019 with Tom Bergeron.

DeMarco Morgan is an American broadcast journalist currently anchoring at ABC News. He currently co-anchors GMA3: What You Need to Know with Eva Pilgrim.

Edward Wyckoff Williams is an American television producer, correspondent, columnist, political analyst and former investment banker; whose work has appeared on NBC, MSNBC, Al Jazeera, BuzzFeed, PBS, ABC, CNN, CBS, BBC, VICE Media, NPR and national syndicated radio.

NewsNation Prime is an American television news program on NewsNation, which premiered nationally on September 1, 2020. Broadcast live from Chicago, the program utilizes the journalistic resources of the 110 television news operations throughout the United States that are operated under the network's corporate parent Nexstar Media Group. The program is designed as an alternative to the opinion-based programs on CNN, MSNBC and Fox News Channel, the top-rated cable news networks in the country in the early 2020s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asia Kate Dillon</span> American actor (born 1984)

Asia Kate Dillon is an American actor. They are known for their roles as Brandy Epps in Orange Is the New Black and Taylor Mason in Billions. Dillon identifies as non-binary and uses singular they pronouns. Their role on Billions is the first non-binary main character on North American television, and earned them a Critics' Choice Television Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. They also played the Adjudicator in the action film John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven Romo</span> American journalist (born in 1988)

Steven Romo is a news anchor, correspondent and writer. He is currently a New York City-based correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC. He also works as a contributor for HuffPost.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laci Mosley</span> American actress and comedian (born 1991)

Laci Risë Mosley is an American actress, comedian and podcaster. She performs improv comedy at UCB Los Angeles and co-starred in the Pop comedy series Florida Girls. Mosley is best known for her podcast Scam Goddess, which focuses on historical and contemporary scams and cons. She was a cast member on Florida Girls, A Black Lady Sketch Show, Lopez vs Lopez, and the iCarly revival series.

<i>Major League Baseball on Fox Family</i> 2001 American TV series or program

Major League Baseball (MLB) games aired on the predecessor networks for the American pay television channel Freeform. These began in 2000, when the channel was known as Fox Family Channel, co-owned by News Corporation and Haim Saban, as a replacement for Thursday night games that had aired on Fox Sports Net in prior seasons. The package also included some games in the postseason Division Series. After The Walt Disney Company bought the channel in 2001, renaming it to ABC Family, the games were moved to the Disney-owned ESPN channels, although the 2002 Division Series games that had been acquired as part of the purchase remained on ABC Family because of existing contractual obligations. Those games moved to ESPN the following year as well.

References

  1. ↑ "Steve Osunsami". ABC News .
  2. ↑ Lindsay Powers (August 23, 2011). "ABC News' Steve Osunsami Reveals Childhood Poverty". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Steve Osunsami, Mara Schiavocampo Take Home Two NABJ Awards". Adweek. June 25, 2012. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Steve Osunsami Biography". ABC News. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  5. ↑ Bainbridge, Julia (November 16, 2017). "Home for Dinner: Steve Osunsami, ABC News correspondent". Atlanta Magazine. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  6. ↑ Powers, Lindsay (August 23, 2011). "ABC News' Steve Osunsami Reveals Childhood Poverty". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  7. ↑ "ABC Reporter Steve Osunsami At UTC". chattanoogan.com. March 5, 2002. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  8. ↑ Will, Kaitlyn. "EIU student earns exclusive IBA multicultural internship". eiu.edu. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  9. ↑ Allendorf, Faith (April 6, 2022). "What he brings with him 'every day': ABC News' Steve Osunsami reflects on journey, time at UI". The Daily Illini. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  10. ↑ "ABC Reporter Steve Osunsami At UTC". The Chattanoogan. March 5, 2002. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  11. ↑ Steinberg, Brian (April 28, 2015). "TV News: Baltimore Riots Draw Lester Holt, Anderson Cooper, Bill Hemmer". Variety. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  12. ↑ "CAMPAIGN 2000 (GORE VS. BUSH: FLORIDA RECOUNT)". Vanderbilt News Archive. Vanderbilt. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  13. ↑ Kim, Susanna (June 24, 2015). "Charleston Shooting Victims Remembered as Funerals to Begin". ABC News. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  14. ↑ Folkenflik, David (November 6, 2008). "Do We Want Our Journalists to Get Emotional?". NPR. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  15. ↑ Saunders, Patrick (December 8, 2020). "ABC reporter Steve Osunsami marks 23 years in LGBTQ Atlanta". Project Q Atlanta. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  16. ↑ Connor, Jay (March 31, 2021). "Exclusive: ABC Audio's Soul of a Nation: Tulsa's Buried Truth Unearths Black Wall Street's Painful History". The Root. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  17. ↑ "My America: What My Country Means to Me, by 150 Americans from All Walks of Life". Barnes and Nobles. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  18. ↑ "Osunsami '93 JOURN, nominated for Emmy". July 25, 2016. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  19. ↑ "Steve Osunsami". IlliniMedia. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  20. ↑ "ABC News Live - Soul of a Nation: Acceptance High". The Webby Awards. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  21. ↑ Rice, Lynette (August 29, 2023). "NATAS Announces 2023 Gold & Silver Circle Inductees". Deadline. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  22. ↑ Saunders, Patrick (December 8, 2020). "ABC reporter Steve Osunsami marks 23 years in LGBTQ Atlanta". Project Q Atlanta. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  23. ↑ "Home for Dinner: Steve Osunsami, ABC News correspondent". Atlanta Magazine. November 16, 2017. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.