Ammad Omar

Ammad Omar is the Chief National Editor for NPR News. He oversees a desk of nearly 50 journalists, based in bureaus across the country. National Desk correspondents cover breaking news and a broad range of topics, including criminal justice, immigration, national security, housing, state government and sports, among many others. The desk also works closely with hundreds of journalists across NPR's Member station network nationwide.

Omar also leads coverage of the reproductive rights debate in the U.S. Previously, he was the lead editor of the housing and immigration beats.

Before assuming his current position, Omar oversaw coverage of the western United States for NPR and served as the editorial lead at NPR West in Culver City, California, for nearly three years. He has also been editor for NPR's Morning Edition and Tell Me More, and served as an acting supervising editor for NPR's All Things Considered on the weekends.

Prior to joining NPR in 2011, Omar worked at WBEZ Chicago Public Radio for more than six years. His last role there was as the News Desk Editor, managing a team of reporters, producers and interns who covered breaking news. He also spent time as a host, and a news producer.

Omar got his start in journalism in 2002 when he anchored the news for a satellite television station, Indus Vision, in Pakistan, which was broadcast to more than sixty countries worldwide.

He graduated from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. [Copyright 2024 NPR]