“…sometimes you just have to go the extra mile on your own”: Nischelle Turner’s training years, her ambitions, inspiration and her undying love for New Orleans: Read on it here!

Published on May 5, 2017 | Published By: Shahid | In Career , Lifestyle

Table of Contents

The revealing interview

In one of the interviews given to Tracey Wiley, Los Angeles-based entertainment correspondent Nischelle Turner talked about education and her childhood. Nischelle Turner belongs to a small town called Columbia in rural Missouri.

It is halfway between St. Louis and Kansas City. Nischelle Turner admits:

“You’ll miss it when you blink if you’re driving by”.

She is a country girl who grew up on a farm on a gravel road. Though she is the only child of her parents, she has a huge extended family that all live in Columbia.

She studied at public schools and later joined the University of Missouri for her journalism degree. She states that being a kid from a less privileged area and race, she had to make more effort to reach the place that she has now attained.

Turner had to go the extra mile on her own. She never took a no for an answer and pursued her dreams passionately. She faced some discouragements from her uncles but was fortunate to have a loving mother who had sacrificed everything for her daughter’s education.

Turner also had some supportive people who told her:

“Don’t ever think that you’re dreams are too big.” You need to follow your dreams.”

The roots of her career

Nischelle Turner is one of the hosts of Entertainment Tonight and also is an analytic contributor for CNN. She is the first black woman to be hired at Entertainment Tonight in almost 30 years.

Turner knew quite early in her life what she wanted to do. She says that she wanted to be either an attorney or a journalist.

She started writing at 13 years of age. When she was 15 years of age, Nischelle Turner took a class on Media Communications as an elective for her 10^th grade. It was a radio class by the former voice of Missouri Tigers, Rody Kelly who was of African descent.

She was inspired by this person who belonged to the same race as her. It was this great person whose teachings made her love journalism, broadcast, and the media. The sight of a female African reporter (April Eaton) and later Oprah on TV further solidified her desire to join this field.

She found great supporters in Mr. Mason, her principal in elementary school, Dr. Clinton Smith, her guidance counselor in junior high school, and her college professors Greely Kyle, Stacy Wolfel, and Kate Collins. She feels that her first news director, Michael Valentine, in Evansville, Indiana, also was a great motivator for her.

Her second news director, Keith Esparros, in New Orleans also aided her greatly in her job. Nischelle Turner says:

“Y’know it’s…it’s just…it’s sometimes you gotta have a partner in this walk”.

Her love for New Orleans

Nischelle Turner was offered a job in New Orleans but she turned it down twice. This was because her mother had said:

“that place is crazy…no…no…I don’t want you to go there.”

But Keith Esparros insisted on her to visit New Orleans once and then decide. Nischelle says:

“…the minute I stepped off the plane something hit me. And I knew I was home”.

She never wanted to leave that place and felt that it was the most genuine place in the world. Turner considers the people of New Orleans as the most welcoming and great. She acquired her love for music and her social values in New Orleans.

The calmness, culture, and heartbeat of the love of New Orleans had touched Nischelle Turner who adds:

“And that’s why I love New Orleans. That’s why I will always love New Orleans”.

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Short bio on Nischelle Turner

Nischelle Turner is an Entertainment Correspondent for HLN’s Showbiz Tonight and CNN. She was an entertainment correspondent for KNBC situated in Los Angeles. She was a general assignment Reporter for KTTV FOX 11 from 2004 to October 2, 2008, worked as a sideline reporter for FOX’s Sunday NFL broadcast, and did a segment on a show called Dailies. More bio…

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