Omar Jimenez facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Omar Jimenez
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Omar Jimenez in 2024.
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| Born | November 27, 1993 Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S.
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| Alma mater | Northwestern University (BSJ) |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Employer | CNN |
Omar Jimenez is an American journalist who works as a correspondent for CNN. He was born on November 27, 1993.
Contents
About Omar Jimenez
Early Life and School Days
Omar Jimenez was born in Worcester, Massachusetts. He grew up in Kennesaw, Georgia. His mother, Jayne Morgan, is a heart doctor, and his father, Omar Jimenez Jr., is a brain surgeon from Colombia. Omar has three brothers. He identifies as Afro-Latino. When he was in sixth grade, his parents separated, and he lived with his mother.
Jimenez went to Kennesaw Mountain High School. He played basketball there. He once broke his back while playing, which stopped him from playing for eight months.
College and Learning
Omar Jimenez studied at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. He focused on broadcast journalism, which is about reporting news on TV or radio. He also played on the men's basketball team at Northwestern from 2011 to 2013.
While in college, Jimenez worked with the Chicago Innocence Project. This group helps investigate cases where people might have been wrongly convicted of crimes.
Omar's Journalism Career
Starting Out in News
Jimenez began his career as an intern at NBC News in Chicago. An intern is someone who works to gain experience. After that, he worked for almost four years at WGEM-TV in Quincy, Illinois. He was a multimedia journalist, meaning he reported, filmed, and edited his own stories.
Later, he worked at WBAL-TV in Baltimore, Maryland. There, he was a general assignment reporter and sometimes filled in as a news anchor. He worked at WBAL from July 2015 to June 2017.
Working at CNN
Omar Jimenez joined CNN on August 7, 2017. He first worked for CNN Newsource in Washington, D.C. He reported breaking news for over 900 local news stations that are connected to CNN. Today, he is a CNN correspondent based in Chicago.
Reporting on Protests
On May 29, 2020, Omar Jimenez and his news team were reporting live from Minneapolis, Minnesota. They were covering protests after the death of George Floyd. Police officers arrested Jimenez and his team even though they showed their media passes.
Jimenez was reporting live on CNN's New Day show. Officers told his team to move, and Jimenez agreed. But minutes later, officers surrounded and arrested them. They were held for about an hour and a half before being released. The Governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, apologized for what happened.
Jimenez also reported from Kenosha, Wisconsin, during protests there. He was on camera with a burning building behind him. Some people criticized CNN for how they described the scene, but Jimenez himself did not use those words in his report.
Awards and Achievements
While at Northwestern University, Omar Jimenez won several awards for his reporting. These included a national award from the Society of Professional Journalists. He also won a Bronze award from the National College Emmys for his work on newscasts.
When he worked at WBAL-TV, Jimenez was nominated for an Emmy Award for his general reporting.
Omar's Personal Life
Music and Hobbies
Omar Jimenez started playing music in high school. He enjoys rap and hip-hop music. He has released his own music online under the name OJ Tropicana. His first music collection, called Reporting Live, came out in 2017. He has worked with other musicians on his songs. He is inspired by the artist Childish Gambino. In 2013, he appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in a fun segment called "Battle of the Instant Rappers."
Family Life
In February 2020, Omar Jimenez went on his first date with Maya Voelk in Los Angeles, California. In March 2023, he asked Maya to marry him on a rooftop in Brooklyn, New York. On July 6, 2024, Omar Jimenez and Maya Voelk got married at the Seattle Tennis Club in Seattle, Washington.
See also
- List of CNN personnel
