Omar Jimenez, a former Northwestern basketball walk-on and journalism student, has a ‘front-row seat’ to history as a CNN correspondent

As a middle-schooler who played basketball and baseball near Atlanta, Omar Jimenez loved watching Stuart Scott as an ESPN “SportsCenter” anchor.

Jimenez dreamed about being a sports broadcaster, introducing highlights with a Scott-like flair.

“The appeal (of journalism) really became that I can have an ability to learn about the world firsthand that I don’t think I could get in any other industry,” he said. “As I got older and was pursuing that path, (Scott) was someone who came to mind. Maybe I can find a way to incorporate myself into the way I tell the news.”

After training at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, where he was was a walk-on with the basketball team from 2011-13, Jimenez’s voice now tells America’s most compelling stories from sites of wildfires, hurricanes, COVID-19 hot spots and civil unrest in the streets as a CNN correspondent.

Jimenez was known at Northwestern for his dedication to basketball and journalism.

“'Playing’ is a generous word,” he said with a laugh in a phone interview last week with the Tribune.

Jimenez rarely checked in to games as a walk-on but was a favorite among teammates. He scored his first points as a freshman in the 2011 Big Ten-ACC Challenge in front of family and friends in Atlanta against Georgia Tech, his favorite team as a child.

“I always recognize the excitement of teammates in the moment,” said Tavaras Hardy, a former Northwestern assistant who is now the coach at Loyola-Maryland. “The guys he helped get better in practice were equally joyful in helping him get success.

"He knew what he wanted and what he wanted to get out of it. He was realistic. He was joining the team not to play a lot but wanted to be part of what we were doing.”

Jimenez, who is based in Chicago, often likens his experiences in athletics to his role in journalism.

All of his training and focus was required May 29 in Minneapolis, when Jimenez and his CNN crew were arrested as Jimenez reported on the aftermath of George Floyd’s killing that sparked nationwide protests against police brutality.

“You’re always concerned for your safety. That’s the nature of the job,” Jimenez said. “I’m always thinking of safety. The pandemic, I’m wearing a mask when this happened. How am I going to cover this protest with a mass of people during a pandemic? But I never would have considered we would have ended a live report in handcuffs.”

Minnesota State Troopers detained Jimenez, producer Bill Kirkos and photojournalist Leonel Mendez during their live 5 a.m. broadcast near where a police precinct building had been set ablaze.

Jimenez was heard telling officers he and the crew would move to wherever they were instructed to relocate. He was seen holding his CNN press badge and identifying himself as a reporter. He continued to speak on-air as an officer grabbed his arm and put him in handcuffs.

“We can move back to where you like,” he said during his televised arrest. “We are live on the air here. We are getting out of your way -- wherever you want us, (we’ll) get out of your way.”

The CNN crew was released about an hour later.

One of the tougher parts, Jimenez said, was knowing his mother was watching his broadcast that morning. She felt helpless.

“The scarier part for her was after I (was led) away from the cameras,” he said. “Nobody knew where I was. My mom had no idea watching whether I was OK or not. It’s something that’s going to stick with me and stick with her for a long time.”

She later sent a text, telling him: “I didn’t want to be another mother whose beautiful Black son died in police custody.”

Journalists avoid becoming central figures in a story. Jimenez was relieved his managers and producers agreed “the larger story of George Floyd can’t get lost here.”

“I tried to always frame what happened to me within the larger story of George Floyd and why we were there in the first place,” Jimenez said. “What happened to me was a microcosm of the larger story we were covering. At its core it’s an interaction between a member of the community and the police and how it can go terribly wrong.”

When he was on air next, he and his crew returned to the same spot where they had been detained. Again, Jimenez recalled lessons from sports.

“This is the athlete in me: In my mind, the arrest was something trying to knock us off our game,” he said. “We need to show strength, go back to doing the job we were meant to do in the first place, the job the world is watching us for. You can knock us down but you can’t knock us out.”

Only 26, he has covered enough high-profile events to qualify as a veteran newsman.

“A lot of (stuff) has happened,” Jimenez said. “I’ve covered four hurricanes, five wildfires, too many mass shootings, the pandemic. It grew me up really fast.”

Jimenez stood out almost immediately at Medill, where he worked with the Chicago Innocence Project investigating potential wrongful convictions. He interned with CNN International out of the United Nations and at the NBC News Chicago bureau.

“I saw a real go-getter,” Medill associate professor Larry Stuelpnagel said. “He always had a lot of poise. He always had a good (plan): ‘I’ve thought this out. Here’s how I’m going to do this story and how I’m going to execute it.’ He was a natural with that.”

During a residency at WGEM-TV in Quincy, Ill., Jimenez led an investigative report on the business of methamphetamine use in the area.

He also worked at WBAL-TV in Baltimore as a reporter and fill-in anchor, covering trials of police officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray, led an award-winning special on opioids and published pieces on child sex trafficking across the state.

Jimenez’s career is lifting off as media undergo a period of reckoning about how it covers topics such as police brutality and against a wave of antimedia sentiment.

Reporters have come under attack in recent years. CNN has been a frequent target of President Donald Trump.

Jimenez said he tries to be a window into other worlds for viewers and represent communities he covers fairly.

“We are bringing stories to light that I can only assume some of our readers don’t usually get,” he said. “If I’m telling stories from a Black community and a white person who maybe doesn’t have many Black friends is reading my story, that person’s interpretation of what a Black person is is told through my lens. That’s my responsibility if I’m going into a Black community, a white community, a rural community, a city. I am representing whatever population I’m covering.

“Sometimes I have to head it off (misinformation) and I carry that responsibility into a lot of stories."

Covering heavy topics such as natural disasters, violence and an intense election, Jimenez said he ensures time for his mental health.

He enjoys music. He once won a Jimmy Fallon rap battle as a Northwestern student going by his alter ego OJ Tropicana, and he plays the piano. He likes playing “Call of Duty” with friends.

And, of course, he goes into the gym to shoot hoops for hours at a time.

“I’ve made a point this year to treat my mental health as importantly as my physical health,” he said.

And then it’s right back to the field, reporting on monumental moments.

“(I have a) thankfulness to have that front-row seat and being as close as you can be to these major events in history.”

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