The first thing Zinhle Essamuah does is pronounce her name, clearly and correctly, before asking how to pronounce mine. Essamuah’s father is from Ghana and her mother is from Uganda, but her name is South African (“they did that to confuse me,” she jokes, “because it’s not confusing enough to be a first-generation American”). The first part of her childhood was spent in Boston, where she remembers being one of the only Black students in her school, bullied for her skin tone and her name. When her family moved to Maryland when she was 12, things started to change for the introverted eldest daughter. Essamuah corrected people on the pronunciation of her name, immersed herself in the broader African-American community, and found what would become the love of her professional life: journalism.
First there was photography class, then the morning announcements, and leading a student-produced broadcast. Essamuah was connected with late journalist Wendi Winters, a local Capital Gazette reporter, who interviewed her for a “Teen of the Week” feature. “I was enamored by her curiosity and skill,” Essamuah said of Winters, who became a mentor to the young aspiring journalist. From there, Essamuah headed to George Washington University, where she jokes that she was the “opposite of a nepo baby,” taking out loans to pay for school and working up to three jobs at once. She graduated a year early to save on tuition costs and started climbing up the ranks of the industry, from an internship on The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer to NowThis to her current position as an anchor for NBC News Daily. At 29, Essamuah is NBC News' youngest anchor – and she's just getting started. Teen Vogue talked to her about her path to journalism, the stories she wants to tell, and what motivates her.
Teen Vogue: There’s this ongoing conversation in the journalism industry about whether or not journalists should bring their life experiences and identity into their reporting or whether we should strive to be completely [objective]. As a fellow first-generation American journalist, I was wondering where you land on that.
Zinhle Essamuah: I think I will always be Zinhle. The things that make me me and that are part of my story make me a stronger storyteller. Because of my experiences with gun violence, because of my experiences as a first-gen, I'm able to sit with people and be more present, both because I've experienced different forms of grief and I've experienced different forms of joy. I think for me, some of the best journalists are those who are able to lead with their humanity. To pretend that we don't bring our experiences would be false. Being able to acknowledge that also equips you to be a better journalist.
TV: What would you say to young people who want to go into journalism but may be hesitant or scared?
ZE: I get it because it can be scary. I think journalism is a beautiful industry because every day we tell stories, we ask questions, we hold people accountable. Those are my favorite things. And it can be scary because it's a landscape that's always changing. I've always said every job I've had in news and media did not exist until I had it, and it's true. The role didn't exist, the streaming platform didn't exist, the show didn't exist. I think in that way, for emerging journalists, you’ve got to find some comfort with change because the industry is always changing. Something my dad says is don't say no for them. I'm so glad he said that to me from such a young age because I think imposter syndrome is real and you can easily psych yourself out. But the worst thing someone can say to you is no, and then you can try again somewhere else.
TV: How did you develop your beat?
ZE: My first film was on the Black Lives Matter movement and my second beat has been gun violence and efforts toward gun reform. When I met [my mentor and Capital Gazette editor and community reporter] Wendi Winters in high school, we stayed in touch and I went on to work at NowThis. I spent two weeks in Parkland and just covered shootings for essentially a year or two back to back. At one point, I was based out of D.C. and was called to cover a mass shooting that happened and I was reporting live and thought, oh my gosh, I should reach out to Wendi for sources because I was in her town and my town, Annapolis. I was going to my hotel that night after filing the whole day. When I checked in, they released the names [of the victims of the Capital Gazette shooting] and she was one of the victims. That broke me in too many pieces.
TV: I’m so sorry. Did that change your path at all?
ZE: [That experience] highlighted the urgency of the work we do. I'll always remember Wendi, and she continues to motivate my work. She died doing this work, and I hope no one else has to. I pray no one else has to. It’s something that continues to motivate and move me. At the end of the day, it's not fluff. It's about the story. It's about the people. That's why we do the work. Yes, it can be shiny and fun, but we're not here to be influencers. We're here to tell stories that hopefully have influence. I think that is a key driving force for me, but I always try to honor Wendi when I'm talking, so I just want to share that.
TV: The show you're anchoring is doing things a little differently, like streaming live on NBC News Now, letting viewers tune in that way. What do you hope to bring to your new position as an anchor?
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ZE: One of my goals for this role, making it accessible, speaking in a language that everyone, whether you have a college degree or you work every day somewhere else, everyone should be able to understand the news because at the end of the day, we're not telling stories to sound smart. We're telling stories to hopefully educate people and keep them safe and maybe teach them something they didn't know before. Then I think just the other thing that has been big in all my reporting, because I started as a filmmaker and my thing has always been telling stories about underrepresented communities or underreported stories.
