SOUTH SHORE — Joshua Short, just 22, will begin anchoring Sunday mornings for WNDU-TV in Northern Indiana this weekend.
The news was announced Wednesday. Short joined the station in May as a multimedia journalist.
The job comes after Short was nominated for the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Midwest Emmy Award earlier this year for a student-produced show he hosted during his time at Columbia College Chicago.
Joshua Short, a Lindblom grad, was nominated for an Emmy as a student at Columbia College Chicago. [Provided]
He is the recipient of several awards and scholarships from the National Association of Black Journalists Chicago Chapter and the Chicago/Midwest NATAS Chapter Tom Skilling scholarship. He's also been named a "Phenomenal Man of the Year," an annual award given by Boys II Men, a nonprofit for young men.
Short said landing the anchor job is "awesome."
“It’s surreal, and I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. I’ve earned everything that I’ve done, through hard work, dedication, passion and a will to learn and get better."
He added: “It’s just a blessing, and I wouldn't have imagined this a year ago.”
Born in Virginia, he and his twin brother moved to Chicago at age 4 with his mother. They lived in South Shore until 2005, then in Englewood and eventually in Marquette Park. The 2013 Lindblom graduate studied radio and television at Columbia College.
Before he graduated in May, he had produced and hosted a show in college called “The 30 with Joshua Short" that was nominated Thursday for an Emmy for best long-form production, with featured interviews with Issa Rae, Jussie Smollett, Andrew Holmes and more.
Short was hired in May by the NBC affiliate television station in South Bend, Ind. He said he started working there shortly after graduation.
Despite his success at a young age, Short didn’t grow up dreaming about becoming a news reporter or anchor, he said.
He said he didn’t really know what he wanted to do, but a high school trip to Qatar sparked his interest in the industry. He and 19 other students who were studying Arabic traveled to the country and visited the television network that has transformed the Arab world.
“While I was there, I went to Al Jazeera and I was like, ‘This TV thing is cool,’” he said, adding that another plus of the trip was connecting with different people from different backgrounds.
The impact of the trip didn’t fully hit Short, he said, until a month later. He said he began reflecting over his interactions with Muslims and other people during that trip. He said that media outlets in the United States rarely capture the "everydayness" of the average person living in the Middle East.
“The media doesn’t talk about that,” he said. “When you hear about the Middle East, you hear about the bombings, ISIS, attacks.
“It was a revitalizing experience and made me get rid of those misconceptions and preconceived notions,” Short said.
His passion for journalism stemmed from the trip, he said, leading him to sign up for a course offered at Lindblom.
“I was like I want to tell their stories,” he said.
After high school, he enrolled at Columbia, which he said truly prepared him for his career. He was getting trained by instructors still active in the field, he said. He was able to improve his presence in front of the camera as well.
During his time at Columbia, Short not only hosted his own show, he landed multiple internships, including CBS2 News, Comcast Sports Network, "Windy City Live" and more.
His former instructor, Columbia College associate professor Yolanda Joe, was his "journalism mother" Short said.
Joe called Short one of her best students.
"He's a good guy who's on his way," she said, adding that she did everything she could to help prepare him for his career, such as having him cover breaking news.
"He's funny, helpful, hardworking. And if you ask him to do two things, he'll do four. He's the kind of person you want to be in your newsroom," Joe said.
Short said the journey has been an amazing one and that he credits God, his hard work and team of supporters.
“It’s a blessing, and it's surreal that I've been able to accomplish this, but understand, it is all earned,” he said. “I don't ever want to be looked at as this person who just has stuff given to him.”
