Isha Sesay
Encyclopedia
Isha Sesay is a British
journalist
of Sierra Leone
an descent, and an anchor for CNN International
. Based at the network's world headquarters in Atlanta, she anchors BackStory, the program that is revealing a side of the news that is rarely seen. She is also the host and reporter of Inside Africa, a weekly program dedicated to political, economic, social and cultural affairs in Africa
. On January 17, 2011, Sesay debuted on Anderson Cooper 360°
as the new permanent presenter of the 360 Bulletin.
, a former lecturer
at Fourah Bay College
, who entered Sierra Leonean politics
in 1992 as an advisor to the government of Valentine Strasser
. Her father, who worked as a legal advisor to the SLPMB (Sierra Leone Produce Marketing Board), died in 1988, and a neighbor of the Turay family.
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 into Trinity 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.
talk show
Kilroy
, initially as an unpaid volunteer but later as a full-time paid employee. In 1998 she moved to Glasgow
to work for BBC 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.
At Sky, Sesay spent over three years as a presenter on Good Morning Sports Fans for Sky Sports News
. She considers the high points of this period to be meeting former boxer Michael Watson
, interviewing Ellen MacArthur
, and travelling with members of the Arsenal football team
following an exhibition match
at Reebok Stadium
in support of Nwankwo 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
.
She worked in the UK as a newsreader
for Sky Sports News
and ITN.
In November 2005, Sesay became a news anchor at CNN International, based at the network's global headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia
. She travelled to Nigeria
in April 2007 to cover that country's presidential election
, where she conducted one-on-one interviews with both outgoing president Olusegun Obasanjo, and the newly elected president Umaru Yar'Adua. Later that year, she was in South Africa
to cover the launch of the Global Elders
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
of Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
an descent, and an anchor for CNN International
CNN International
CNN International is an international English language television network that carries news, current affairs, politics, opinions, and business programming worldwide. CNN is one of the world's largest news organizations. It is owned by Time Warner, and is affiliated with CNN, which is mainly...
. Based at the network's world headquarters in Atlanta, she anchors BackStory, the program that is revealing a side of the news that is rarely seen. She is also the host and reporter of Inside Africa, a weekly program dedicated to political, economic, social and cultural affairs in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. On January 17, 2011, Sesay debuted on Anderson Cooper 360°
Anderson Cooper 360°
Anderson Cooper 360° is a one-hour television news show on CNN, hosted by the American journalist Anderson Cooper. It is also broadcast around the world on CNN International....
as the new permanent presenter of the 360 Bulletin.
Background
Sesay lived in Sierra Leone for most of her childhood. Sesay was born in the UK in 1976 and is one of three children, having an older sister and a younger brother. Her mother is Dr Kadi SesayKadi Sesay
Dr. Kadiatu Sesay widely known as Kadi Sesay is a Sierra Leonean politician, feminist, pro-democracy advocate and the current deputy chairman of the Sierra Leone People's Party , She serves as Sierra Leone Minister of Trade and Industry from 2002 to 2007. She is the founder and Managing Director of...
, a former lecturer
Lecturer
Lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a position at a university or similar institution, often held by academics in their early career stages, who lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...
at Fourah Bay College
Fourah Bay College
Fourah Bay College is the oldest university college in West Africa. It is located atop Mount Aureol in Freetown, Sierra Leone...
, who entered Sierra Leonean politics
Politics of Sierra Leone
Government of Sierra Leone is the governing authority of the Republic of Sierra Leone, as established by the Sierra Leone Constitution. The Sierra Leone government is divided into three branches: the Executive Legislative and the Judiciary...
in 1992 as an advisor to the government of Valentine Strasser
Valentine Strasser
Valentine Esegragbo Melvine Strasser served as head of state of Sierra Leone from 1992 to 1996. He had been a junior military officer but in 1992, he became the world's youngest Head of State when he seized power three days after his 25th birthday...
. Her father, who worked as a legal advisor to the SLPMB (Sierra Leone Produce Marketing Board), died in 1988, and a neighbor of the Turay family.
Sesay moved to Sierra Leone with her family when she was seven years old, where she studied at Fourah Bay College School in Freetown
Freetown
Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean located in the Western Area of the country, and had a city proper population of 772,873 at the 2004 census. The city is the economic, financial, and cultural center of...
. At the age of 16 she returned to the UK, and after completing her A-levels was accepted into Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
, where she studied English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
. 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.
Career
After graduating, Sesay began her television career as a researcher for the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
Kilroy
Robert Kilroy-Silk
Robert Michael Kilroy-Silk is an English former politician, former independent Member of the European Parliament, and former television presenter, best known for his daytime talk show Kilroy. He has been a university lecturer and Labour Party Member of Parliament...
, initially as an unpaid volunteer but later as a full-time paid employee. In 1998 she moved to Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
to work for BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland is a constituent part of the British Broadcasting Corporation, the publicly-funded broadcaster of the United Kingdom. It is, in effect, the national broadcaster for Scotland, having a considerable amount of autonomy from the BBC's London headquarters, and is run by the BBC Trust, who...
, and after a period behind the camera got her first job as a TV presenter on BBC Choice
BBC Choice
BBC Choice was a BBC TV station which launched on 23 September 1998 and closed on 9 February 2003. It was the first British TV channel to broadcast exclusively in digital format, and was the first new channel from the BBC since BBC Two launched in 1964...
. She went on to present a variety of programmes for the BBC, 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...
, and TWI, before joining Sky
British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....
in March 2002.
At Sky, Sesay spent over three years as a presenter on Good Morning Sports Fans for Sky Sports News
Sky Sports News
Sky Sports News is a 24-hour sports news channel in the United Kingdom. It is run by BSkyB whose sports channels include Sky Sports 1, 2, 3 and 4, as well as Sky Sports HD1, HD2, HD3 and HD4....
. She considers the high points of this period to be meeting former boxer Michael Watson
Michael Watson
Michael Watson, MBE is a retired British boxer whose career ended prematurely as a result of near-fatal injury sustained in a WBO super-middleweight title fight defeat by Chris Eubank in September 1991....
, interviewing Ellen MacArthur
Ellen MacArthur
Dame Ellen Patricia MacArthur, DBE is an English sailor, up until 2009, from Whatstandwell near Matlock in Derbyshire, now based in West Cowes, on the Isle of Wight. She is best known as a solo long-distance yachtswoman. On 7 February 2005 she broke the world record for the fastest solo...
, and travelling with members of the Arsenal football team
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
following an exhibition match
Exhibition game
An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition...
at Reebok Stadium
Reebok Stadium
The Reebok Stadium is the home stadium of English Premier League football club Bolton Wanderers, and is located on the Middlebrook Retail Park in Horwich, in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. It is commonly known as 'The Reebok'...
in support of Nwankwo Kanu
Nwankwo Kanu
Nwankwo Kanu, OON , or simply Kanu, is a Nigerian footballer who plays for Portsmouth. He was also a member of the Nigerian national team for 16 years from 1994 until 2010...
's heart foundation. She later moved to ITN, where she anchored the ITV Morning News
ITV Morning News
The ITV News at 5:30 is the early morning news bulletin on the British television network ITV1. It is produced by ITN.The 30-minute programme covers British national and international news stories, a brief business update, a look at the mornings newspapers and regular NBC News segments and...
programme, and was also a newsreader on breakfast programme GMTV
GMTV
GMTV was the national Channel 3 breakfast television contractor, broadcasting in the United Kingdom from 1 January 1993 to 3 September 2010. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc. in November 2009. Shortly after, ITV plc announced the programme would end...
.
She worked in the UK as a newsreader
News presenter
A news presenter is a person who presents news during a news program in the format of a television show, on the radio or the Internet.News presenters can work in a radio studio, television studio and from remote broadcasts in the field especially weather...
for Sky Sports News
Sky Sports News
Sky Sports News is a 24-hour sports news channel in the United Kingdom. It is run by BSkyB whose sports channels include Sky Sports 1, 2, 3 and 4, as well as Sky Sports HD1, HD2, HD3 and HD4....
and ITN.
In November 2005, Sesay became a news anchor at CNN International, based at the network's global headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
. She travelled to Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
in April 2007 to cover that country's presidential election
Nigerian general election, 2007
The Nigerian general elections of 2007 were held on 14 April and 21 April 2007. Governorship and state assembly elections were held on 14 April, while the presidential and national assembly elections were held a week later on 21 April. Umaru Yar'Adua won the highly controversial election for the...
, where she conducted one-on-one interviews with both outgoing president Olusegun Obasanjo, and the newly elected president Umaru Yar'Adua. Later that year, she was in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
to cover the launch of the Global Elders
Global Elders
The Elders is an international non-government organisation of public figures noted as elder statesmen, peace activists, and human rights advocates, brought together by Nelson Mandela in 2007...
.