Allison Keyes
Allison Keyes is an award-winning journalist with almost 20 years of experience in print, radio, and television. She has been reporting for NPR's national desk since October 2005. Her reports can be heard on Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Weekend Edition Sunday.
Keyes coverage includes news and features on a wide variety of topics. "I've done everything from interviewing musician Dave Brubeck to profiling a group of kids in Harlem that are learning responsibility and getting educational opportunities from an Ice Hockey league, to hanging out with a group of black cowboys in Brooklyn who are keeping the tradition alive." Her reports include award-winning coverage of the Sept. 11 terror attacks in New York, coverage of the changes John Ashcroft sought in the Patriot Act, and the NAACP lawsuit against gun companies.
In 2002 Keyes joined NPR as a reporter and substitute host for The Tavis Smiley Show. She switched to News and Notes when it launched in January 2005. Keyes enjoyed the unique opportunity News & Notes gave her to cover events that affect communities of color on a national level. "Most news outlets only bother to cover crime and the predictable museum opening or occasional community protest," she said. "But people have a right to know what's going on and how it will affect them and their communities."
In addition to working with NPR, Keyes occasionally writes and produces segments for the ABC News shows Good Morning America and World News Tonight.
Keyes is familiar with public radio, having worked intermittently for NPR since 1995. She also spent a little less than a year hosting and covering City Hall and politics for WNYC Radio. Prior to that, she spent several years at WCBS Newsradio 880.
Keyes' eyewitness reports on the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York earned her the Newswoman's Club of New York 2002 Front Page Award for Breaking News, and, along with WCBS Newsradio staff, the New York State Associated Press Broadcast Award for Breaking News and Continuing Coverage. Her report on the funeral of Patrick Dorismond earned her the National Association of Black Journalists' 2001 Radio News Award.
In addition to radio, Keyes has worked in cable television and print. She has reported for Black Enterprise Magazine, co-authored two African-American history books as well as the African American Heritage Perpetual Calendar, and has written profiles for various magazines and Internet news outlets in Chicago and New York.
Keyes got her start in radio at NPR member station WBEZ in Chicago, IL, in 1988 as an assistant news director, anchor, and reporter. She graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University with a degree in English and journalism. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Inc. and the National Association of Black Journalists.
When not on the air, Keyes can be found singing jazz, listening to opera, or hanging out with her very, very large cat.
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The Transportation Security Administration modifies some of its air-travel safety rules regarding liquids and other carry-on items over the weekend.
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The House votes to increase the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 over the next three years. The increase was part of a complicated and much debated package that includes a big cut in the estate tax and pension law changes.
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People living near the Susquehanna River in Wilkes-Barre, Penn., are returning to their homes as river waters recede. But flooding still threatens other communities in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and other parts of the Northeast.
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A report from the Government Accountability Office says FEMA wrongly paid out nearly $1.5 billion in assistance to victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Congressional investigators found numerous examples of waste and abuse and say nearly 16 percent of monies paid out was unwarranted.
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Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill are expressing reservations about the prospect of Gen. Michael Hayden heading the CIA. Several members of Congress say the CIA should be led by a civilian. -
Washington-area developer Theodore Lerner will become the owner of the Washington Nationals baseball team, says Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig. Lerner will pay around $450 million for the team once known as the Montreal Expos.
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Thousands gather Sunday on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., demanding an end to genocide in Sudan's Darfur region. Celebrities, politicians, religious leaders and demonstrators urge President Bush to use his office to strengthen the multinational force protecting Darfur civilians.
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The Maryland legislature has blocked a proposed state takeover of 11 Baltimore schools. The schools have limped along for years with low student achievement. The school district says it's fixing the problems. But state officials are skeptical.
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Maryland lawmakers Thursday overrode Gov. Robert Erlich's veto and approved a measure, directed at Wal-Mart, requiring a certain level of expenditure on employee health care. Unions are vowing to push for similar laws in at least 30 other states.
