Michael Okwu joined NBC News as a correspondent in April 2004. Okwu is based in Burbank, Calif. and contributes to "Today," "NBC Nightly News" and MSNBC.
Prior to joining NBC, Okwu covered a variety of breaking news and feature stories as a general assignment correspondent for CNN's New York bureau, including the search and rescue efforts from ground zero, New York political races, the D.C. area sniper case, the disappearance of Elizabeth Smart, and the crash of TWA flight 800. He also served as an anchor and correspondent at the United Nations, covering diplomatic efforts by the Security Council before the Iraq War.
From 1997 to 2000, Okwu co-anchored "Showbiz Today Reports" and served as a CNN Entertainment News correspondent while contributing reports as a full-time general assignment correspondent. He was also a regular contributor to the news magazine program "CNN NewsStand." Okwu joined CNN in 1987 and served as associate producer, assignment editor and field producer before becoming a correspondent in 1996.
Okwu has received several awards for his achievements in journalism, including an Emmy Award and CableACE Award, won as part of the CNN production team for their coverage of the Oklahoma City bombing. He has been recognized by the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) for a feature report on racism in Hollywood.
Okwu received his Bachelor's degree in government from Harvard University.