- Isha Sesay
Isha Sesay is a British
journalist ofSierra Leone an descent. She is best known in the UK as a former newsreader forSky Sports News andITN , and since 2005 has been an anchor forCNN International .Background
Sesay was born in the UK and is one of three children, having an older sister and a younger brother. Her mother is Dr.
Kadi Sesay , a formerlecturer atFourah Bay College , who entered Sierra Leonean politics in 1992 as an advisor to the government ofValentine Strasser . Her father, who worked as a legal advisor to the SLPMB (Sierra Leone Produce Marketing Board), died in 1988, having caughthepatitis while on a trip toIndia .Chantal Benjamin, [http://www.manovision.com/ISSUES/ISSUE19/is19ar02.htm "Isha Sesay: A star is torn"] , "Mano Vision", 2000. Retrieved onAugust 2 ,2008 .]Sesay moved to Sierra Leone with her family when she was seven years old, where she studied at Fourah Bay College School in
Freetown . At the age of 16 she returned to the UK, and after completing her A-levels was accepted intoTrinity College, Cambridge , where she studied English. It was there that she decided to become a television presenter, having previously aspired to become an actress, and during her final year began writing to media groups seeking work. [Adeline Iziren, [http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2003/nov/22/students.schools8 "What happened next?"] , "The Guardian",November 22 ,2003 . Retrieved onAugust 2 ,2008 .]Career
After graduating, Sesay began her television career as a researcher for the
BBC talk show "Kilroy", initially as an unpaid volunteer but later as a full-time paid employee. In 1998, she moved toGlasgow to work forBBC Scotland , and after a period behind the camera got her first job as a TV presenter on "BBC Choice ". She went on to present a variety of programmes for the BBC, CNN, and TWI, before joining Sky in March 2002. [http://msn.skysports.com/skysports/article/0,,15410-1096014,00.html Presenter Profiles - Isha Sesay] , "Sky Sports",July 19 ,2004 . Retrieved onAugust 2 ,2008 .]At Sky, Sesay spent over three years as a presenter on "Good Morning Sports Fans" for Sky Sports News. [http://www.cnn.com/CNN/anchors_reporters/sesay.isha.html Anchors & Reporters - Isha Sesay] , "CNN.com". Retrieved on
August 2 ,2008 .] She considers the high points of this period to be meeting former boxerMichael Watson , [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20070518115727/http://rfts.worldarcstudio.com/_mainsite03/sport/1087549638.html Presenter, Sky Sports - Isha Sesay] , "Sky.com". Archived onMay 18 ,2007 .] interviewingEllen MacArthur , and travelling with members of the Arsenal football team following an exhibition match atReebok Stadium in support ofNwankwo Kanu 's heart foundation. She later moved to ITN, where she anchored the "ITV Morning News " programme, and was also a newsreader on breakfast programme "GMTV ".In November 2005, Sesay became a news anchor at CNN International, based at the network's global headquarters in
Atlanta, Georgia . She travelled toNigeria in April 2007 to cover that country's presidential election, where she conducted one-on-one interviews with both outgoing presidentOlusegun Obasanjo , and the newly elected presidentUmaru Yar'Adua . Later that year, she was inSouth Africa to cover the launch of theGlobal Elders .As of 2008, Sesay was both host and reporter for "Inside Africa", a weekly programme dedicated to political, economic, social and cultural affairs in
Africa , and anchor of daily news programme "Your World Today".References
Persondata
NAME=Sesay, Isha
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SHORT DESCRIPTION=Journalist and news anchor
DATE OF BIRTH=
PLACE OF BIRTH=United Kingdom
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