Folasade Olayinka Baderinwa (born April 14, 1969), known professionally as Sade Baderinwa ( ), is an American broadcast journalist. Since 2003, she has been a

news anchor A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...

WABC-TV WABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, WABC-TV maintains studios in the Hudson Square neighborhood ...

, the ABC

flagship station In broadcasting, a flagship (also known as a flagship station or key station) is the broadcast station which originates a television network, or a particular radio or television program that plays a key role in the branding of and consumer loyal ...

in New York, and currently co-anchors the weekday 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts of ''Eyewitness News'' with Bill Ritter.

Early life and education

Baderinwa was born to a Nigerian father and a German mother. At age seven, her mother no longer took part in her life and her father returned to Africa, leaving her in the custody of a family friend. She was subsequently adopted in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

WBAL-TV WBAL-TV (channel 11) is a television station in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is the flagship property of Hearst Television, which has owned the station since its inception, and is sister to the company's sole ra ...

anchor Edie House, whose parents also provided additional support. When Baderinwa was 12, her birth mother eventually took her in to live with her family in nearby Montgomery County. She has since continued to maintain contact with her biological parents, as well as with her adoptive family. Baderinwa graduated from the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD i ...

's College of Agriculture and Natural Resources with a degree in agricultural business and resource economics.

Career

Early career

Baderinwa began her career as a production assistant for

ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...

' various programs, including '' This Week With David Brinkley'', ''

Nightline ''Nightline'' (or ''ABC News Nightline'') is ABC News (United States), ABC News' Late night television in the United States, late-night television news program broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC in the United States with a franchis ...

'', '' World News Tonight'', and News One. She went on to become a reporter trainee at WUSA-TV, the CBS affiliate in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, before becoming a reporter at WSLS-TV, the NBC affiliate in

Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It lies in Southwest Virginia, along the Roanoke River, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Blue Ridge range of the greater Appalachian Mountains. Roanok ...

. Baderinwa joined WBAL-TV, the NBC affiliate in Baltimore, in February 2000. There, she anchored the morning and noon newscasts and also hosted a weekly community affairs show.

2003–present: WABC-TV

In 2003, Baderinwa joined WABC-TV as a reporter and anchor for the station's noon newscast'''' before joining Diana Williams as co-anchor of the 5 p.m. newscast. On the evening of July 23, 2004, while preparing a report on location outside of 257 Hudson Street in

Hackensack, New Jersey Hackensack is the most populous municipality in and the county seat of Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

about local flooding, she was struck by a

hit and run In traffic laws, a hit and run or a hit-and-run is the criminal act of causing a traffic collision and not stopping afterwards. It is considered a supplemental crime in most jurisdictions. Additional obligation In many jurisdictions, there ma ...

driver who went through police lines, and was rendered unconscious following the collision. After undergoing multiple surgeries and months of physical therapy, Baderinwa returned on-air on December 13, 2004, but continued receiving physical therapy five times a week following her return. The driver in the collision was never caught. On October 27, 2006, Baderinwa appeared on '' The View'' as a guest co-host. In May 2011, Baderinwa became co-anchor of the 11 p.m. newscast with Bill Ritter, replacing Liz Cho, who vacated the slot to anchor the station's new 4 p.m newscast, which debuted after the end of ''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Oprah Winfrey. The show ran for twenty-five seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in which it broadcast 4,561 episodes. The show was taped i ...

''. She has also been a regular moderator at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

' celebration of

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on 8 March, commemorating women's fight for equality and liberation along with the women's rights movement. International Women's Day gives focus to issues such as gender equality, reproductive righ ...

References

External links