Occupation Radio Journalist Books Chicago Education Oberlin College | Role Journalist Name Ben Calhoun | |
Born 1979 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. Notable credit(s) Chicago Public Radio, National Public Radio, The TakeAway Awards James Beard Award for Radio Show/Audio Webcast Similar People Ira Glass, Nancy Updike, Alex Blumberg, Fred Armisen | ||
2013 Radio In-Depth Coverage, Jack R. Howard Award
Benjamin Chang Calhoun (born 1979) is an American radio journalist and a producer for the public radio program This American Life. He is originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and now lives in Brooklyn, New York. Calhoun has taught at Loyola University Chicago and given lectures at Northwestern University. He is best known for his work on Chicago Public Radio, and has contributed to NPR's Radiolab, Morning Edition´, All Things Considered, and Day to Day, as well as WNYC's The Takeaway.
Contents
- 2013 Radio In Depth Coverage Jack R Howard Award
- Early life and education
- Professional career
- Personal
- References
Early life and education
Born in Milwaukee, Calhoun earned a bachelor's degree in English in 2001 from Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, where he was the station manager for WOBC-FM, the student-run and operated station on campus.
Professional career
Calhoun began his journalism career when he joined Chicago Public Radio as an unpaid intern during the summer of 2000. He was later hired full-time, and was promoted from newsroom coordinator to deputy news director in 2003.
From 2004 until 2008, Calhoun helped direct election coverage for Chicago Public Radio. He routinely appeared on episodes of the Week in Review with Joel Weisman on WTTW-TV's Chicago Tonight program, where he provided commentary on current political news. Even though much of Calhoun's work appeared on Chicago Public Radio, where he focused on politics and government, it was featured by National Public Radio, the BBC Radio, the CBC Radio, Radio New Zealand, and other syndicated programs including The World.
In 2005, Calhoun was awarded a grant by the Illinois Humanities Council that allowed him to pursue his interests in documentary work. Additional support was provided by Chicago Public Radio, where he used the grant to direct, edit, and curate an exhibition of audio and photo documentary work entitled The Daily Meaning: Life Inside America’s Service Industries that went on display at the Peace Museum on September 2, 2005. In 2006, the documentary was nominated for the Helen and Martin Schwarz Prize by the Illinois Humanities Council. Calhoun served as the executive producer for a documentary entitled A New Generation of Veterans which was awarded second place for "Beat Radio Documentary or Series" by the Illinois Associated Press.
In February 2006, Calhoun was named WBEZ-FM/Chicago Public Radio's political reporter.
Calhoun resigned from Chicago Public Radio in February 2009 to move to New York.
Calhoun is currently working as a producer for the radio program This American Life.
Personal
Calhoun is married to New York Times journalist Catrin Einhorn. Calhoun is half-Chinese through his mother.