From newsmakers to performers, health to finance, News & Notes explores fascinating issues and people from an African American perspective.

The one-hour daily program is hosted by well-known broadcast and digital media journalist Farai Chideya and produced at the NPR West studios in Culver City, CA.

In a fast-paced hour, News & Notes weaves on-location reporting, profiles, one-on-one interviews and commentary to capture the news and topics making headlines. A roster of respected experts contribute regular segments on a wide range of subjects, with input from the program's audience. The show is also extending its reach into digital media and building an online community through www.NPR.org to reflect how the public is seeking news and information as well as Chideya's proven experience in unifying traditional and new media. The radio listeners and Internet users will be invited to help the show identify issues of interest, spot trends, share discoveries, offer personal essays, participate in shaping the program and join in News & Notes' dialogue with newsmakers.

Chideya has worked in print, television, online and radio. Before joining News & Notes in February 2005, she was host of Your Call, a daily news and cultural call-in show on NPR Member station KALW in San Francisco. She has also been a correspondent for ABC News; commentator for CNN, Fox, MSNBC and BET, and anchor of the Oxygen cable network primetime program Pure Oxygen.

Chideya began her career as a reporter for Newsweek and, in 1997, was chosen one of the magazine's "100 People to Watch." She is the author of three books and has written for such publications as the New York Times, Vibe, O and Essence. For her extensive involvement in digital media, she was named one of Alternet's "New Media Heroes" and PoliticsOnline.com's worldwide "25 Who Are Changing the World of Internet and Politics," and is recipient of a MOBE IT Innovator Award. Other honors include a North Star News Prize from the North Star Fund, recognizing journalists of color who have made significant contributions to the field; a "Young Lion" from the Black Entertainment & Telecommunications Association (BETA), a GLAAD Award and a National Education Reporting Award. Chideya graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University with a B.A. in English.