5 badass African journalists who are changing the world

Chris Anyanwu

66-year-old Christiana “Chris” Anyanwu is a Nigerian journalist, politician, author, and publisher.  She earned her bachelor’s in Journalism from the University of Missouri and master’s degree in Mass Communication from Florida State University.  After her studies, she relocated back to Nigeria and worked for the Nigerian Television Authority and Imo Broadcasting Corporation as a news anchor and reporter.  In 1985 she earned the title of Imo State Commissioner for Information, Youth, Sports, Culture and Social Welfare. After her appointment was over she became the editor-in-chief and publisher of The Sunday Magazine – a publication geared towards politics in her native land.

In 1995, Anyanwu was jailed for a failed coup d’etát against the regime of Sani Abacha.  During her imprisonment, she was awarded the International Women’s Media Foundation Courage in Journalism.  She’s also been awarded the CPJ International Press Freedom Award and UNESCO’s Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize.

In 1998, Anyanwu was released from prison and moved to Virginia where she authored Days of Terror.  In 2005, she opened a radio station in Abuja named Hot 98.3 FM.

Deciding that she’d make more waves as a politician than as a journalist,  she ran for Senate as a People’s Democratic Party candidate in which she won.  As a senator, Anyanwu has spearheaded seven motions including a bill on Occupational Health and Safety.

Who says reporting the news has to be hum-drum? These journalists make the profession an exciting and much-needed task.