Michael Chiaka Douglass Okwu is a Nigerian American journalist, television personality, and media entrepreneur.

Early life and education

Michael Okwu was born in Imo State in southeastern

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. His father and mother, a diplomat and educator respectively raised Michael and his four brothers abroad in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Washington DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and Dar es Salaam before the family fled as refugees of the Biafran Crisis and permanently re-settled in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Okwu was schooled at St Aedan's Parochial School and Phillips Exeter Academy, and studied

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

where he was an editor of the Crimson, a soccer player and a sprinter on the track team.

Career

After graduating Okwu moved to New York to accept a paid internship on the CBS news magazine "West 57th". He was later hired by CNN where he worked as a production assistant, assignment editor, and field producer before becoming a correspondent and anchor. In 1998, he was assigned to work on

CNN NewsStand ''CNN NewsStand'' is a project to create CNN programming associated with publications owned by Time Warner, shortly after CNN owner Turner Broadcasting System had been bought by Time Warner. The second "S" in "NewsStand" was not capitalized cons ...

, the network's prime time news magazine. He also hosted the entertainment unit's

Showbiz Today ''Showbiz Tonight'' is a defunct American entertainment news program that aired from February 20, 2005, until February 6, 2014, on HLN. ''Showbiz Tonight'' was hosted by A. J. Hammer at CNN New York at the time of its cancellation. The show r ...

reports, interviewing and profiling artists and celebrities, and later served as an anchor for Diplomatic License, a weekly world affairs program centered on the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

. He has been cited for his live reports from

Ground Zero In relation to nuclear explosions and other large bombs, ground zero (also called surface zero) is the point on the Earth's surface closest to a detonation. In the case of an explosion above the ground, ''ground zero'' is the point on the groun ...

following the attacks on 9/11, and his U-N coverage preceding the

second Iraq war {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...

. From 2004 to 2010 Okwu was a

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

based correspondent for

NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's var ...

appearing regularly on

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 ...

, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams and

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and politi ...

. He also filed special reports for

Dateline A dateline is a brief piece of text included in news articles that describes where and when the story was written or filed, though the date is often omitted. In the case of articles reprinted from wire services, the distributing organization i ...

and long form segments for

CNBC CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sho ...

's Business Nation. He worked across North America,

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

, and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

including the US Olympic track and field steroids scandal,

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

's 2005

royal wedding ''Royal Wedding'' is a 1951 American musical comedy film directed by Stanley Donen, and starring Fred Astaire and Jane Powell, with music by Burton Lane and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner. Set in 1947 London at the time of the wedding of Princess ...

and parliamentary elections, the papal conclave following the death of

Pope Paul II Pope Paul II ( la, Paulus II; it, Paolo II; 23 February 1417 – 26 July 1471), born Pietro Barbo, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 August 1464 to his death in July 1471. When his maternal uncle Eugene IV ...

, the 2008 presidential election of Barack Obama, and the death of

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

. In 2010, he moved on to host interview specials on

public television Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

in California and contributed long-form reports for So-Cal Connected. Episodes included profiles of local figures like jazz musician Herbie Hancock and chef

Thomas Keller Thomas Aloysius Keller (born October 14, 1955) is an American chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author. He and his landmark Napa Valley restaurant, The French Laundry in Yountville, California, have won multiple awards from the James Beard Foun ...

as well as reports on the rising black market for prescription drugs, the new age of eco-terrorism and animal rights extremism. As a national correspondent and special host for

America Tonight ''America Tonight'' was Al Jazeera America's flagship news show, airing at 9:30 p.m. EST. It was a showcase for thought-provoking and insightful in-depth reporting and programming with a focus on investigative reporting. Its mission is to tell ...

Al Jazeera America Al Jazeera America was an American pay television news channel owned by the Al Jazeera Media Network. The channel was launched on August 20, 2013, to compete with CNN, HLN, MSNBC, Fox News, and in certain markets RT America. It was Al Jazeera' ...

's flagship news magazine show, Okwu travelled to towns in and around the exclusion zone in

Fukushima may refer to: Japan * Fukushima Prefecture, Japanese prefecture ** Fukushima, Fukushima, capital city of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan ***Fukushima University, national university in Japan *** Fukushima Station (Fukushima) in Fukushima, Fukushim ...

for a series of reports about how the

nuclear disaster A nuclear and radiation accident is defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as "an event that has led to significant consequences to people, the environment or the facility. Examples include lethal effects to individuals, lar ...

changed life in Japan. He anchored special broadcasts about California's years long drought, a retrospective about the Watts riots, and an investigation on forced arbitration. Okwu is currently developing multi platform content including several internationally syndicated television series. Okwu also serves as news anchor for Deutsche Welle's English-language bureau, DW News.

Personal life

Michael Okwu is married to Jeanette Okwu a digital and social media marketer for Spark44. He is the father of one daughter.

Awards

Okwu is the winner of three

Emmys The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

and Cable Ace Awards, five LA Press Awards, a National Headliner Award, and a features prize from the

National Association of Black Journalists The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) is an organization of African-American journalists, students, and media professionals. Founded in 1975 in Washington, D.C., by 44 journalists, the NABJ's stated purpose is to provide quality p ...

References

External links

* So-Cal Connected at https://www.kcet.org/shows/socal-connected * Jeanette Okwu on https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeanetteokwu * Spark44 at http://spark44.com/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Okwu, Michael Harvard Crimson men's soccer players Living people Phillips Exeter Academy alumni Harvard Crimson men's track and field athletes American male journalists Association footballers not categorized by position Year of birth missing (living people) Association football players not categorized by nationality