Akemi Harrison

NBC-owned WMAQ-Channel 5 has hired Akemi Harrison as assistant news director. She currently holds the same position at WVIT, the NBC-owned station in West Hartford, Connecticut.

Frank Whittaker, station manager and vice president of news at NBC 5, announced the appointment, effective August 2, in an email to staff Tuesday.

Harrison succeeds Tracy Davis, who left NBC 5 in May to become vice president of news at WVIT in West Hartford.

A graduate of Tougaloo College in Jackson, Mississippi, Harrison joined NBC Connecticut in 2019 after working as an executive producer at WPXI, the NBC affiliate in Pittsburgh, and KXTV, the ABC affiliate in Sacramento, California.

Here is the text of Whittaker’s email to staff:

To all:

I’m pleased to tell you that Akemi Harrison will be joining NBC 5 News as Assistant News Director.

Akemi comes to us from NBC Connecticut, where she has been Assistant News Director for the last two years. In that role, Akemi oversaw daily newsroom operations, scheduling, and breaking news and big event coverage. She also ran the newsroom for a couple of months before Tracy Davis was hired. Additionally, Akemi has been a leader for the station’s DEI initiatives.

Prior to working in Connecticut, Akemi worked as an executive producer at several stations, including WPXI in Pittsburgh and KXTV in Sacramento. She’s also worked as a producer in San Francisco/Oakland, Sacramento and Jackson, Mississippi. Akemi holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Tougaloo College in Jackson.

Akemi and her fiancé will be relocating to Chicago at the end of July. She will start here on Monday August 2nd.

Please welcome Akemi to NBC Chicago!