Carl Nelson

Carl Nelson started his broadcasting career in 1971 at WYNT Radio in New York City. He was later recruited by the Inner City Broadcasting Corporation, owners of WLIB Radio and WBLS Radio. Notably, he was the first reporter to interview Nelson Mandela on the eve of his historic 1990 release from his South African prison. As the News Director for Stevie Wonder’s KJLH Radio, he was the only reporter allowed across police lines during the 1992 Rodney King riots. KJLH’s coverage of this civil unrest earned the station the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award, an NAACP Image Award, a Golden Mike Award, the Los Angeles Press Club Award, and several other industry-wide honors. Nelson has interviewed a wide array of influential figures, including former US Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, former South African Prime Minister Pieter Botha, Zambia’s first President Kenneth Kaunda, Namibia’s former President Sam Nujoma, and former South African President Jacob Zuma. His interviews with US political leaders include Rev. Jesse Jackson, Senator Edward Kennedy, Representatives Maxine Waters, John Conyers, Diane Watson, Julian Bond, Andrew Young, and TD Jakes. In addition to political figures, Nelson has interviewed numerous celebrities such as Dionne Warwick, Elizabeth Taylor, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jackson, Prince, Sidney Poitier, Sammy Davis Jr., Gladys Knight, Smokey Robinson, Redd Foxx, Luther Vandross, Quincy Jones, Berry Gordy, Magic Johnson, Muhammad Ali, O.J. Simpson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Richard Pryor, and Nancy Wilson. In 1996, Black Radio Exclusive Magazine named Carl Nelson News Director of the Year. He is a graduate of the New York Institute of Technology and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists, the Radio Television Digital News Association, and the National Association of Black Journalists. Formerly the co-owner of WSRF AM radio in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Nelson also served on the President’s Advisory Board at St. Thomas University in Miami, FL. Currently, Carl Nelson hosts a four-hour daily news program airing Monday through Friday from 6:00 am to 10:00 am EST on Radio One’s flagship station in Washington, D.C., WOL 95.9 FM & 1450 AM. The show is also syndicated in Baltimore on WOLB 1010 AM.