Currently, a Visiting Professor of Communication and Journalism at Texas Southern University, Dr. Anthony Obi Ogbo, joined the media fraternity in 1981 in Nigeria as the Cartoon Editor at a political newspaper, “The Trumpet.” He was a college student of Fine & Applied Arts at the time. He progressed in his media profession and worked as a Production Supervisor at the Nigerian Guardian (1985-1989) and Art Director at the Prime People Publication magazine (1989-1991).

Before joining Texas Southern University, Dr. Ogbo worked as the Strategic Advisor of Consumers Arts and Sciences at the Houston Community College. He is a design and quality control consultant for KTSU2 Radio. He is also a member of the Editorial Board of The West African Pilot News, a multimedia entity he co-founded in January 2020.

Dr. Ogbo attended The Institute of Management and Technology (Nigeria), Houston Community College, and The University of Phoenix. He holds a Degree in Fine & Applied Arts, Certificate in Commercial Arts, a Master’s degree in Human Resources and Human Resources Management (MHRM), a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA), and a Doctorate in Management in Organizational Leadership.

Dr. Ogbo’s classroom experience encompasses his media experience and academic research prowess. For instance, in 2015, he published a research article, “Newsstand survival of Houston African-American newspapers”, exploring avenues to endure economic challenges in the print market created by the online revolution.

Dr. Ogbo’s research interests focus on management and leadership as they apply to all academic disciplines, including the media, communication, human capital, business administration, organizational leadership, health, applied econometrics, and development economics. His latest peer-reviewed academic works are “Workforce problem-solving supervision: The complicated fine art of managing nonsense”, a study drawn from managing newsroom complexities, and “Survival in Obscurity —Tribulations of African Americans in the Pandemic” – a grant-funded documentary narrating the system-induced tribulations of the African Americans during the Pandemic.

Originally from Nigeria and now a naturalized citizen, Dr. Ogbo came to the United States in 1991 to escape hostility between the Media and a dictatorship government in Nigeria. He accepted a position as a foreign correspondent for “Prime People Magazine.” He resigned from this position in 1994 and joined the Houston Sun as a production director. During the same period, he worked with the Houston Chronicle as a graphics designer through the Houston Creative Concept. In 1998, he incorporated a newspaper business in Houston, “Guardian News.” In 2005, he established another Newspaper, The Black Senior News (The first Newspaper for African-American Seniors in Houston). Ogbo also worked directly with other African American entities on Newspaper redesigns and production efficiency. These include; African-American News and Issues, Houston Sun, Tiger News (Texas Southern University), The Christian Herald, and The Houston Punch.

Besides a longtime initiation in the newsprint confraternity, Ogbo served as President of the Houston Association of Black Journalists (HABJ) in 2002. He was the longest-serving executive board member in this group affiliated with the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ). He served as the Vice President from 2000 to 2002, the president from 2002 to 2004, and the Vice President from 2004 to 2006. As a member of NABJ and HABJ, Ogbo won numerous journalism excellence awards, including the 2004- NABJ Regional lifetime award. Furthermore, he received certificates of appreciation for his services and commitment to training aspiring African-American Journalists.

Dr. Ogbo is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists, the Houston Association of Black Journalists, The American Journal of Transformational Leadership (Founder), the World Association of Academic Doctors, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

In the early 90s, I left the trenches of full-time reporting to take on a new challenge in the academic halls at Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas. Since coming on board, I have made some unprecedented achievements in the journalism area. The most important achievement has been motivating and empowering students to be passionate about learning and succeeding academically and professionally. Each semester, I work to establish partnerships with the students to ensure that they are engaged in the learning process. Many of the students are first generation college-attendees. Some believe initially that they cannot succeed even though they are in a college setting. I create a learning environment that empowers the students.

Albeit vigorous, my teaching strategies offer students hope that they can achieve anything with hard work. I have developed interpersonal communicative strategies to help students move past epistemological limitations. As a result, many of these students have graduated and become successful professionals. It’s gratifying to see the transformation in students as they began to realize that they have the ability to succeed in the academic setting and become productive professionals.

I have used my years of experience as an educator, journalist and advocate of underserved and African-American learners to investigate how innovation, social networks and technology stimulate intellectual growth and improve academic performance. Studies show that African-American youth are big consumers of social networks and are the largest demographic on Twitter and Instagram. However, no one has explored the impact that these social networks have had on black learners’ intellectual growth or academic performance. I think these areas are fascinating and untapped. I am exploring these areas and writing about them. I have worked with the Center for Effective Pedagogy for African American Learners and will be expanding my research for urban, suburban, rural and challenged learners.

As an award-winning multimedia journalist, journalism professor who is breaking new ground in digital storytelling, where journalists use cutting-edge technology, social media, mobiles and tablets to tell in-depth news stories in multi-media platforms, I founded the nation’s first social media correspondents team on a college campus. The Social Media Correspondents (SMC) group, Social Media Correspondents, cover under told stories in underserved communities with traditional video and audio gear, mobiles and tablets.

I also created the hashtag #TwitterNewsChat as a social media news feed that focuses on posting pertinent local, national and international content. The SMCs live-tweet, live-cast and live-photo from various news events across Houston and Southeast Texas using the hashtag #TwitterNewsChat. I also created the historic website, Houston Student Movement, Houston Student movement, which chronicles Houston’s civil rights movement in the early 60s. My work on Houston civil rights led the Texas Historical Commission to designate a historic marker in honor of Houston’s first sit-in on the 50th anniversary on March 4, 2010. It was a labor of love and two year process to make this historic marker a reality. A multitude of Houstonians, current TSU students, and the original TSU students who led that first sit-in worked closely with me to ensure the designation of the marker at 4110 Almeda, the location of Houston’s first sit-in, which is now a U.S. Post Office.

I am a founding board member of the National Association of Black Journalists Digital Journalism Task Force (DJTF). I served as President of the Houston Association of Black Journalists 2006-2007, when it was named Chapter of the Year by NABJ. I’ve covered hurricanes on the Texas coast and political elections in New York City. I’ve interviewed Rudolph Giuliani, Mario Cuomo, Whoopi Goldberg, Carly Simon and the nation’s first Black network news correspondent, Joan Murray. I have had an exhilarating and exciting career; but nothing brings me greater joy than hearing from a former student who has become a successful professional. From CNN to Warner Bros. Studio Hollywood, my former students have made one of my dreams come true; ensuring diverse voices are represented in America’s newsrooms, boardrooms, courtrooms and classrooms. They made it and I always knew they could do it! You can always find me making a positive difference in everything that I do. I am a proud graduate of Texas Southern University and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where I was named the Reader’s Digest Scholar. I am also the mother of a wonderful daughter and son and wife of an amazing husband. Every day I feel blessed and thankful for the opportunity to have a positive spirit in everything that I do.