Tanzina Vega

Tanzina Vega is an American journalist. After reporting for the New York Times and CNN, she is now the weekday host of The Takeaway, a public radio show broadcast on hundreds of radio stations.

Background, education and early career

Born in New York City of Puerto Rican ancestry, Vega identifies as a Latina of mixed racial background.[1] Vega grew up with her parents and brother on Manhattan's Lower East Side. Though they lived in public housing and were poor, both of her parents earned master's degrees.[2]

With scholarship assistance from the I Have a Dream Foundation, and by working several jobs as a student, Vega was able to attend Stony Brook University on Long Island. She was a sociology major who minored in women’s studies and Latin/American/Caribbean studies.[2] She graduated from Stony Brook in 1996.[2]

After graduation, she worked as a technical editor at CMP Media.[3] She then moved to Barcelona to improve her Spanish skills, and also taught English there. She backpacked in China and then taught English in South Korea. After the September 11 attacks, she decided to return to the United States. She returned to work for CMP Media, and returned to her education. She earned a Masters in Multimedia Journalism degree from the Graduate school of Journalism at the City University of New York in 2007. [3]

Professional journalism career

In 2010, Vega was part of a team of New York Times journalists who won an Emmy Award for the documentary film "One in 8 Million" about the individual stories of New Yorkers. [4] In 2013, Vega persuaded Jill Abramson, then the executive editor of the New York Times, to hire her as a national reporter on the newly created race and ethnicity beat.[5] She covered the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri following the shooting death of Michael Brown, produced a series of video interviews of minority comedians, and covered microaggressions on college campuses.[6] In 2015, her job title was eliminated, and she was reassigned to the metro desk to cover the courthouses in the Bronx.[7] She soon left the newspaper, going to work for CNN, again covering issues related to social inequality, racial justice[7] and the criminal justice system.[8]

In 2017, she was a visiting lecturer at Princeton University, teaching a course called "The Media and Social Issues: Reporting on Race in America Today". She was also an Eisner Fellow at The Nation Institute.[3]

In March, 2018, she was selected by WNYC and Public Radio International to be the weekday host of their morning radio show The Takeaway. The show's previous host was John Hockenberry, who retired in 2017, amid controversy.[9] The show is broadcast on about 280 radio stations.[7][10] Vega has continued her reportorial emphasis on race and inequality as a radio host.[11] Vega announced her intention to cover economic inequality in her current job.[12]

In 2019, she won the 15th annual Robert G. McGruder Distinguished Guest Lecture Award for media diversity at Kent State University.[13]

Personal life

In January, 2020, Vega gave birth to a baby at age 45. A single mother, she is raising the infant during the unusual stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic.[14]

References
  1. Vega, Tanzina (August 25, 2017). "Where are you 'really' from? Try another question". CNN.
  2. Jochum, Glenn (September 8, 2017). "Journalist Tanzina Vega '96 Personifies Social Mobility". Stony Brook University News. Stony Brook University. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  3. "Tanzina Vega: Eisner Fellow, The Nation Institute". Asian American Business Roundtable. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  4. Estrin, James (September 29, 2010). "One in 8 Million wins an Emmy". New York Times. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  5. "Tanzina Vega: Visiting Lecturer in the Humanities Council; Ferris Professor of Journalism (Fall 2017)". Princeton University Journalism. Princeton University. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  6. Ip, Chris (January 28, 2015). "What will happen to The New York Times' race beat?: It's uncertain if the newspaper will replace Tanzina Vega, who is moving to the metro desk". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  7. "Talking race in America and diversity in journalism with "Takeaway" host Tanzina Vega: The WNYC journalist says newsrooms have to get better at who is sitting at the table". Nieman Foundation for Journalism. Harvard University. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  8. Peiser, Jaclyn (March 27, 2018). "Tanzina Vega Is New Host of WNYC's 'The Takeaway'". New York Times. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  9. Kim, Suki. "Public-Radio Icon John Hockenberry Accused of Harassing Female Colleagues". The Cut.
  10. Allsop, Jon (March 28, 2018). "Q&A: New Takeaway host Tanzina Vega is 'passed the mic' at WNYC". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  11. Goldsmith, Jill (January 8, 2019). "With two hosts at helm, 'The Takeaway' aims for depth and urgency in covering race and politics". Current. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  12. Curtis, Stephanie; Jones, Jeff (May 3, 2018). "New host of 'The Takeaway' has covered American diversity for years". MPR News. Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  13. "JMC Honors Two Journalists at 15th Annual McGruder Lecture". School of Media and Journalism. Kent State University. March 15, 2019. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  14. Vega, Tanzina (April 10, 2020). "Quarantined With a Newborn, Alone: Raising a baby is already isolating. The pandemic highlighted how fragile my social networks are". New York Times.
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