WCC National Speaker Forum

WCC PRESENTS TRUTH IN JOURNALISM FEATURING RADIO HOST OF 1A JENN WHITE

JENN WHITE is best known as host of 1A, National Public radio’s nationally broadcast radio talk show airing on WVXU from 10 am to 12 noon on weekdays.  The 1A program name was inspired by the First Amendment’s five freedoms as laid out in the constitution.  Ms. White’s daily show replaced WAMS’s long-running Diane Rehm Show in 2016.  Protecting free speech and a free press allows 1A to convene conversations that explore the most important issues facing the country.

Ms. White is a seasoned journalist and podcast host, who has worked in public radio since 1999. She joined NPR from Chicago’s WBEZ, where she held several on-air positions, as host of the station’s local two-hour midday show, Reset with Jenn White, and before that as the host of  The morning Shift.

She is also a familiar voice on WBEZ podcasts, including  Making Oprah, Maknig Obama, and 16 Shots, which chronicled the fatal police shooting of Laquan Mc Donald and the trail of Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke.  White is skilled as a public speaker and has moderated numerous on-air gubernatorial and mayoral debates.

Born in Detroit and raised on the city’s west side, Jennifer White was one of seven children. At the age of sixteen, her sister introduced her to the NPR show Car Talk.  She became further interested in radio through her performing arts classes at Cass Technical High School.  After graduating from the University of Michigan, her first official radio broadcasting job was in 2010 when she took a job on Michigan Radio’s All Things Considered.  In July 2020 she succeeded journalist Joshua Johnson as permanent host of 1A and moved from Detroit to Washington, D.C. with her husband and two dogs.