Farai Chideya
Encyclopedia
Farai Chideya fəˈraɪ tʃɨˈdeɪ.ə (born July 27, 1969, in Baltimore
, Maryland
) is a novelist, multimedia
journalist and radio host. She is producing and hosting "Pop and Politics with Farai Chideya," a series of radio specials on politics.
Chideya is also the founder and president of one of the earliest pop culture blogs in the US, PopandPolitics.com. During the 15 years of its existence, PopandPolitics.com has been a training ground for young arts and culture journalists. In addition to her radio, video and online journalism, Chideya appears as a political analyst on CNN
, MSNBC
, CNBC
, ABC News
, Fox News, BET
and HBO and sits on the Journalism Advisory Committee for the Knight Foundation.
In May 2009, Atria Books published Chideya's first novel, Kiss the Sky, which details the life of a black female rock musician making a career comeback in New York. The book takes place just months before 9/11 and is rooted in the ethos of the Black Rock movement and the New York club scene. Chideya is also part of The Finish Party writing group, and is the author of three non-fiction books about race and politics: Don't Believe the Hype, The Color of Our Future and Trust: Reaching the 100 Million Missing Voters.
Prior to 2009, Chideya was the host of the National Public Radio radio program News & Notes
. Before that, she hosted "Your Call," a daily radio call-in show on San Francisco, California's KALW
public radio. She got her start in journalism working for Newsweek
magazine, MTV News
, the Oxygen Network and the non-profit community news website, TheBeehive.org. She has subsequently written pieces for The New York Times
, The Los Angeles Times Syndicate, The Chicago Tribune Syndicate, The American Prospect Online, The San Francisco Chronicle, Time Magazine, O: The Oprah Magazine, Vibe Magazine, Spin Magazine and Glamour
.
, Maryland
. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Harvard College
. She graduated from Harvard in 1990, Magna Cum Laude, and was a member of the improv comedy troupe The Immediate Gratification Players
. In 2000, she was distinguished as the most honored alumna from Harvard. Her academic life includes being a professional in residence at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California at Berkeley and a visiting professor at the Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Southern California
.
Chideya is the recipient of a Foreign Press Center fellowship that took her to Japan in 2002, a Knight Foundation fellowship based at Stanford University in 2001 and a Freedom Forum Media Studies Center fellowship in 1996.
She has won various awards for her work: a special award from the Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for AIDS reporting in 2008; an Enterprise reporting award from the National Association of Black Journalists
for a piece on Skid Row in 2007; a North Star Award for covering communities of color in 2006; a distinguished honoree award from the Black Entertainment and Telecommunications Association in 2004; a MOBE IT Innovator Award and an Alternet New Media Hero award for PopandPolitics.com in 2001; New York Public Library’s Best Books for Teens for The Color of Our Future in 2000; a WIN Young Women of Achievement Award in 1996; a GLAAD Award from Spin Magazine in 1995; and a National Education Reporting Award and an EdPress award for education reporting done for "Newsweek" in 1994.
Chideya's mother is from Baltimore, Maryland and her father is from Zimbabwe
. Her speeches on civic engagement, electoral politics, digital media, hip-hop, race and politics have taken her around the world—from India to South Africa to Alaska. Syracuse University, the University of Southern California, the California African-American Museum in Los Angeles, M.I.T., the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, the University of Chicago, Stanford University, the University of California at Berkeley, Louisiana State University, De Anza Community College, the University of Alaska at Fairbanks, Chicago State University, Harvard University and Smith College are just some of the places she has spoken.
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
) is a novelist, multimedia
Multimedia
Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...
journalist and radio host. She is producing and hosting "Pop and Politics with Farai Chideya," a series of radio specials on politics.
Chideya is also the founder and president of one of the earliest pop culture blogs in the US, PopandPolitics.com. During the 15 years of its existence, PopandPolitics.com has been a training ground for young arts and culture journalists. In addition to her radio, video and online journalism, Chideya appears as a political analyst on CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
, CNBC
CNBC
CNBC is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBCUniversal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers...
, ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
, Fox News, BET
Bet
Bet or BET may refer to:* A wager in gambling* Basic Economics Test * Bet , the second letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Aramaic, Hebrew, Phoenician and Syriac* Brunauer-Emmett-Teller isotherm. See BET_theory...
and HBO and sits on the Journalism Advisory Committee for the Knight Foundation.
In May 2009, Atria Books published Chideya's first novel, Kiss the Sky, which details the life of a black female rock musician making a career comeback in New York. The book takes place just months before 9/11 and is rooted in the ethos of the Black Rock movement and the New York club scene. Chideya is also part of The Finish Party writing group, and is the author of three non-fiction books about race and politics: Don't Believe the Hype, The Color of Our Future and Trust: Reaching the 100 Million Missing Voters.
Prior to 2009, Chideya was the host of the National Public Radio radio program News & Notes
News & Notes
News & Notes was a National Public Radio program focusing on issues affecting African-Americans and African diaspora communities. The listernership was multiracial and international. The program aired for one hour each weekday and was hosted by Farai Chideya until January 16, 2009, and then by Tony...
. Before that, she hosted "Your Call," a daily radio call-in show on San Francisco, California's KALW
KALW
KALW is a public radio station based in San Francisco, California. Its HD FM radio signal is broadcast over the immediate San Francisco Bay Area at 91.7 MHz, and is webcast with live streaming audio.-Background:...
public radio. She got her start in journalism working for Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
magazine, MTV News
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
, the Oxygen Network and the non-profit community news website, TheBeehive.org. She has subsequently written pieces for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, The Los Angeles Times Syndicate, The Chicago Tribune Syndicate, The American Prospect Online, The San Francisco Chronicle, Time Magazine, O: The Oprah Magazine, Vibe Magazine, Spin Magazine and Glamour
Glamour (magazine)
Glamour is a women's magazine published by Condé Nast Publications. Founded in 1939 in the United States, it was originally called Glamour of Hollywood....
.
Biography
Chideya was born July 27, 1969, in BaltimoreBaltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
. She graduated from Harvard in 1990, Magna Cum Laude, and was a member of the improv comedy troupe The Immediate Gratification Players
The Immediate Gratification Players
The Immediate Gratification Players are a collegiate improvisational comedy troupe based out of Harvard College. They specialize in long form, free-form improvisation.-History:...
. In 2000, she was distinguished as the most honored alumna from Harvard. Her academic life includes being a professional in residence at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California at Berkeley and a visiting professor at the Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
.
Chideya is the recipient of a Foreign Press Center fellowship that took her to Japan in 2002, a Knight Foundation fellowship based at Stanford University in 2001 and a Freedom Forum Media Studies Center fellowship in 1996.
She has won various awards for her work: a special award from the Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for AIDS reporting in 2008; an Enterprise reporting award from the National Association of Black Journalists
National Association of Black Journalists
The National Association of Black Journalists is an organization of African American journalists, students, and media professionals. Founded in 1975 in Washington, D.C...
for a piece on Skid Row in 2007; a North Star Award for covering communities of color in 2006; a distinguished honoree award from the Black Entertainment and Telecommunications Association in 2004; a MOBE IT Innovator Award and an Alternet New Media Hero award for PopandPolitics.com in 2001; New York Public Library’s Best Books for Teens for The Color of Our Future in 2000; a WIN Young Women of Achievement Award in 1996; a GLAAD Award from Spin Magazine in 1995; and a National Education Reporting Award and an EdPress award for education reporting done for "Newsweek" in 1994.
Chideya's mother is from Baltimore, Maryland and her father is from Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
. Her speeches on civic engagement, electoral politics, digital media, hip-hop, race and politics have taken her around the world—from India to South Africa to Alaska. Syracuse University, the University of Southern California, the California African-American Museum in Los Angeles, M.I.T., the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, the University of Chicago, Stanford University, the University of California at Berkeley, Louisiana State University, De Anza Community College, the University of Alaska at Fairbanks, Chicago State University, Harvard University and Smith College are just some of the places she has spoken.
External links
- FaraiChideya.com
- Farai Chideya's Twitter account
- PopAndPolitics.com
- Video (with mp3 available) of interview/discussion with Chideya and John McWhorterJohn McWhorterJohn Hamilton McWhorter V is an American linguist and political commentator. He is the author of a number of books on language and on race relations. His linguistic specialty is creole and the process through which it forms.-Early life:...
on Bloggingheads.tvBloggingheads.tvBloggingheads.tv is a political, world events, philosophy, and science video blog discussion site in which the participants take part in an active back and forth conversation via webcam which is then broadcast online to viewers...