Melissa Block (born December 28, 1961) is an American
radio host and
journalist. She co-hosted
NPR's ''
All Things Considered'' news program from 2003 until August 14, 2015.
[ In August 2015 she became a Special Correspondent for NPR, responsible for detailed profiles of newsworthy figures, and long-form stories and series on topical issues.][
]
Biography
Melissa Block was born December 28, 1961. She graduated from Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and functioned as the female coordinate institution for the all-male Harvard College. Considered founded in 1879, it was one of the Seven Sisters colleges and he ...
, Harvard University and was a Fulbright Scholar
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...
at the University of Geneva.
She began her NPR career in 1985 as an editorial assistant for All Things Considered and rose to become the show's senior producer. From 1994 to 2002, she was a New York reporter and correspondent for NPR. Her reporting after the September 11 attacks helped earn NPR a Peabody Award in 2001.
''Melissa Block Takes on Expanded Role at NPR News'', NPR (website), August 14, 2015Chengdu
Chengdu (, ; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively Romanization of Chi ...
, China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, when the area was struck by a 7.9 magnitude earthquake.Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...
, a duPont-Columbia Award, a National Headliner Award, and the Society of Professional Journalists
The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is the oldest organization representing journalists in the United States. It was established on April 17, 1909, at DePauw University,2009 SPJ Annual Report, letter ...
' Sigma Delta Chi Award
The Sigma Delta Chi Awards are presented annually by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) (formerly Sigma Delta Chi) for excellence in journalism. The SPJ states the purpose of the award is to promote "the free flow of information vital ...
. Her coverage of the 9/11 terrorist attacks earned NPR a George Foster Peabody Award. Also, her reporting from Kosovo in 1999 for NPR won an Overseas Press Club Award.
See also
* Michele Norris
* Robert Siegel
References
External links
NPR biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Block, Melissa
1961 births
Living people
American radio reporters and correspondents
NPR personalities
Radcliffe College alumni
Place of birth missing (living people)
20th-century American journalists
American women radio journalists
20th-century American women
Fulbright alumni