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I’m exhaling. It’s been more than a week since the announcement that @kojoshow is ending, and there are a few things I want to say. The first is that I am so grateful for and awed by @Nnamdikid, who I grew up listening to. https://dcist.com/story/21/01/13/kojo-nnamdi-show-to-end-production-this-spring-after-23-years-on-air/
I’ve met enough people in this industry to know that sometimes your journalism idols aren’t so nice. Kojo is that rare person who is exactly what you’d expect — as brilliant as he is kind.
The @kojoshow convenes conversations with the community. When it’s gone, there won’t be anything quite like it.
A new local show is delayed indefinitely. All six producers (myself included) will be laid off.
A new local show is delayed indefinitely. All six producers (myself included) will be laid off.
It’s about money, and @wamu885 doesn’t have it. The station’s finances have been hit hard by the pandemic.
If you care about local journalism, and you have the means to do it, now is the time to make a donation. https://donate.wamu.org/page/15696/donate/1
Full disclosure: I’ve been crying a lot lately (for more reasons than this), but my most recent work cry came during a team meeting.
Our job prospects at WAMU were quashed by the pandemic, we all knew that.
Our job prospects at WAMU were quashed by the pandemic, we all knew that.
Kojo said how thankful he was for our work. And once again destroyed me with his kind words. “There is no me without you,” he told us.
I had to shut my camera off.
I had to shut my camera off.
Kojo’s semi-retirement had been planned for a long time (and my goodness does he deserve a break after 23 years of a daily show). But this is not how anyone wanted things to end.
We are all heartbroken.
We are all heartbroken.
Our team is close. We dress up for Zoom Halloween. We schedule morning coffee chats. In a past life, at the office, we threw skittles in each other’s mouths and did cartwheels and brought figs and pumpkin bread and bagels to share.
The producers I work with are some of the most talented, thoughtful and empathetic people you’ll ever meet. So, the rest of this thread is about them, and why you should hire them. 
Richard Cunningham ( @rccunni) is a smart and caring coworker. He puts a spotlight on issues of racial justice and routinely zooms in on the hyperlocal. Check out this exceptional interview he produced with @MayorCBH of his hometown, @HyattsvilleMD. https://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2020-11-23/discussing-black-politics-with-candace-hollingsworth
. @InesRenique joined our team last year from @columbiajourn and @radioambulante. She is so warm and friendly (and quick to master this work), I can’t believe we’ve never met in person.
Inés produced this all-time favorite about birds and bugs. https://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2020-09-24/birds-bugs-and-climate-change
Inés produced this all-time favorite about birds and bugs. https://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2020-09-24/birds-bugs-and-climate-change
. @kurtagardinier arrived at @kojoshow from the wonderful world of television. He’s laser-focused on issues of equity, including when it comes to our very own tree canopy.
Take a listen: https://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2021-01-05/achieving-tree-equity-in-the-district
Take a listen: https://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2021-01-05/achieving-tree-equity-in-the-district
Lauren Markoe is a veteran government and religion reporter and former managing editor of @RNS.
To me, the only good thing that came out of the pandemic was Kojo For Kids. And that came from the brilliant mind of @lmarkoe. https://thekojonnamdishow.org/projects/kojo-for-kids
To me, the only good thing that came out of the pandemic was Kojo For Kids. And that came from the brilliant mind of @lmarkoe. https://thekojonnamdishow.org/projects/kojo-for-kids
. @CydneyGrannan is The Politics Hour producer. She works harder than anyone I know. (Her preps are routinely 20+ pages.)
The Politics Hour with @Nnamdikid and @TomSherwood will continue. So should she. https://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2021-01-22/the-politics-hour
The Politics Hour with @Nnamdikid and @TomSherwood will continue. So should she. https://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2021-01-22/the-politics-hour
And me? Before I was a journalist, I was a teacher. This past year, I’ve been on the coronavirus beat, producing interviews with public health experts like @DrLeanaWen.
But the show I’m most proud of was about remembering the lives lost. https://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2020-09-30/remembering-lives-lost-to-covid-19
But the show I’m most proud of was about remembering the lives lost. https://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2020-09-30/remembering-lives-lost-to-covid-19
I don’t know how to wrap this, other than to say: I can’t convey the full worth of a person in 280 characters. Or even in a massive thread like this one. If you want to know more, just ask. I have only the highest praise.
