Panelist Biographies

Dr. Joseph Hayden

Dr. Joseph Hayden is an Assistant Professor at the University of Memphis. Hayden has professional experience in television news as a writer, reporter and producer. He has written a book about media coverage of former President Clinton and is currently writing one about President Bush. His teaching areas are history, political journalism and writing.

Dr. Karanja Ajanaku

Dr. Karanja Ajanaka is the executive editor for The Tri-State Defender, an African American paper published in Memphis, TN, and one of the longest, continuously-published African-American papers in the United States.


Donna Davis

Donna Davis is a former WMC-TV Channel 5 anchor. 

Dr. Willie W. Herenton

Dr. Willie W. Herenton was elected as the first African-American mayor of Memphis, Tennessee on October 3, 1991. He also became the first Memphis mayor to be elected to five consecutive terms in office. He still holds his title as Memphis City Major to this day.

Ken Jobe

Ken Jobe is the Vice President of Fox 13 News.

Bruce Moore

Bruce Moore joined WREG News Channel 3 as News Director in January of 2006. Prior to working with WREG, Mr. Moore worked as Assistant News Director and investigative reporter at WVEC-TV in Norfolk, Virginia. He also worked as a reporter at WTVC-TV in Chattanooga, Tennessee. 

Otis L. Sanford

Otis L. Sanford is currently the opinion and editorial editor as well as a weekly column writer for the Commercial Appeal. Sanford has also given his talents as a staff reporter along with assisting the metro editor, deputy managing editor and managing editor of the Commerical Appeal since his employment in 1977.

Johnnie Turner


Johnnie Turner is the executive director of the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Memphis chapter. She has held the position for the past 12 years. Turner, a graduate of LeMoyne College, first began as a Memphis City School teacher and oversaw the CLUE program for gifted students. She now continues her involvement in the NAACP by focusing on education, finance, and erasing discrimination.