Alumna at home on NBC4 anchor desk
This story is part of an occasional series, Why Liberal Arts, that explores how a liberal arts education helps people grow as thinkers and leaders and opens doors to meaningful careers.
Jummy Olabanji's journey to the anchor desk began when her middle school language arts teacher recognized her passion for writing. That plus years of working on her high school’s yearbook and newspaper in Chantilly, Virginia, made it an easy decision for Olabanji '06 to pursue mass communication and media studies at Virginia Tech.
Her career has taken her to television stations in Charlottesville, Norfolk, and New York City, but five years ago, she returned home to the Washington, D.C., area as the co-anchor of News 4 Today at NBC4 Washington.
Returning to her hometown has been especially meaningful because her biggest fan and motivation, her mother, can now watch Olabanji deliver the news every morning. She is one of NBC4’s most loyal viewers, and she’s watching her daughter live out the dream that she helped to inspire.
“My mom is an immigrant. She came to America with nothing, built a life for herself, and raised three children,” Olabanji said. “I owe it to her to give my all to every opportunity and to repay her for all her sacrifices.”
What is your favorite part about being a journalist?
I get to be a first-hand witness and sit in the front row to history being made, whether that is a presidential inauguration or the Olympics [She broadcasted from the summer 2024 Olympics in Paris]. Sometimes you sit back and think about how it’s going to be in a textbook or a history book, and I was there in the front row with my media credentials. It’s cool to be able to witness a lot of history in person that people end up seeing on TV or social media. You get to share it with everyone.
What is your biggest challenge working in the journalism industry?
Battling some of the misinformation because of the growth of social media. Anyone can pay for a checkmark and then people think they are a verified source and what they are saying is true. That is not always the case. Having to compete with those types of people, as a journalist, becomes difficult and that is one of the biggest challenges right now in 2025.
Where do you see the journalism industry going?
It will definitely be more of linear [traditional TV] and digital multimedia growing hand-in-hand. For instance, I did a series last week that aired on NBC4, but we also put it together for our YouTube page. A lot of younger people don’t watch the news on TV, they see stories on YouTube, a reel on Instagram, or video on TikTok. The news business has to be on everything. We have to be the traditional news person on broadcast TV, but we also have to be the person who does reels. We do a story, and the digital team asks us if there is anything that would be good for a reel, so we also shoot something that is more conversational for social media.
How did being a Hokie shape your career?
After I graduated in 2006, I was at my first reporter job when the tragedy at Virginia Tech happened that next April (April 16, 2007). My station that I was working for at the time in Charlottesville sent me to Blacksburg for the week. I had only been a reporter for six months, and I was covering what was the biggest story in the world. Having that personal connection because I had just graduated from Tech a year earlier really had an impact on my career as a journalist. That reporting experience shaped who I was and who I am as a journalist very early on.
I know Virginia Tech’s program has grown since you were here. What advantages did you have as a result of the program’s size when you were a student?
I’m almost 20 years out of Tech, but back when the program was small, I still had great resources, and it was so hands on. I got to learn so much. I got into every class, and got to do everything, including interning in Roanoke at the news stations there – it was totally worth it.
It has been awesome to see how much it (the program) has grown. When I was there, it was the Department of Communications, and now it is its own school.
What advice would you give to a journalism student hoping to enter the industry?
Work hard. Current students have so many more resources than I had 20 years ago. We had the internet, but it wasn’t what it is now with social media. Facebook came out my senior year at Tech and now look at social media. When I was applying for jobs in 2006, you couldn’t even find out who the hiring manager was because there weren’t websites that would tell you. Now, you can get on LinkedIn and send them a message. It is so much easier to access and network with people. There is no excuse for not being able to start making those relationships before you graduate.
Some answers were edited and condensed for clarity.
Written by Brooke Van Beuren '25
