Michele Norris

For the British soldier, see Michelle Norris.

Michele L. Norris
Born	September 7, 1961 (1961-09-07) (age 50) Minnesota
Education	University of Minnesota University of Wisconsin–Madison
Occupation	Journalist
Spouse(s)	Broderick Johnson
Notable credit(s)	ABC World News The Chicago Tribune The Los Angeles Times The Washington Post

Michele L. Norris (English pronunciation: /ˈmiːʃɛl ˈnɔrɪs/ mi-Shell nor-iss;^[1] born September 7, 1961) is an American radio journalist and current host of the National Public Radio (NPR) evening news program All Things Considered since December 9, 2002. She is the first African American female host for NPR.^[2]

Biography

Early years

Norris was born in Minnesota to Betty and Belvin Norris Jr. She attended Washburn High School in Minneapolis, and went on to attend the University of Wisconsin–Madison where she studied electrical engineering, and later the University of Minnesota where she received an honorary degree in journalism in 2005.

Career

Norris was a correspondent for ABC News from 1993 to 2002. She wrote for The Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, and the Los Angeles Times. In 1990, while at The Washington Post, Norris received the Livingston Award for articles she wrote about the life of a six-year-old boy who lived with a crack-addicted mother in a crack house. In 2002, Norris won an Emmy Award. In 2009 the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) awarded Norris its Journalist of the Year award.^[3]

She is also the author of The Grace of Silence, a book which started as an extension of NPR series about race relations in the United States, but that in the end became mostly autobiographical.^[4]

Personal life

Norris lives in the District of Columbia with husband, Broderick Johnson, and her son, daughter, and stepson. Norris announced on October 24, 2011, that she would temporarily step down from her ATC hosting duties and refrain from involvement in any NPR political coverage due to her husband's appointment to the Barack Obama 2012 presidential re-election campaign. ^[5]

Notes

1. ^ Hepola, Sarah (2007). "Heart of Glass: My sexual fantasies about NPR". Nerve. p. 2. http://www.nerve.com/personalessays/hepola/heartofglass/index.asp?page=2. "Take Michele Norris, co-host of All Things Considered... there was the contrarian pronunciation of her first name, MEE-shell, which was staunchly enforced by every guest, all of whom must have been given a ten-minute primer prior to air." 
2. ^ "Michele Norris Biography". The HistoryMakers. 2008-05-02. http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/biography.asp?bioindex=1900. Retrieved 2010-01-28. 
3. ^ "National Association of Black Journalists". Retrieved 2010-11-14.
4. ^ Sragow, Michael (2010-09-24) "Michele Norris' new book reveals 'The Grace of Silence'", The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2010-09-28.
5. ^ "An Update for ATC Listeners", NPR. Retrieved 10-24-2011.

References

• "Michele Norris". The Notable Names Database. 2008. http://www.nndb.com/people/358/000166857/. Retrieved 2008-09-11. 
• "Reporter Honored for Articles On Child's Life in Crack House". The Washington Post. 1990-06-07. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1130841.html. Retrieved 2008-09-11. 
• "Michele Norris, NPR Biography". National Public Radio. 2008. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=2100974. Retrieved 2008-09-11. 

External links

• Michele Norris at the Internet Movie Database
• Radio Interview on WUNC's The State of Things: The Grace of Silence

Persondata
Name	Norris, Michele
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1961-09-07
Place of birth	Minnesota
Date of death
Place of death