Alumna Cheryl Whitlow Thompson makes lasting impact with career as renowned multimedia journalist

Cheryl Whitlow Thompson (BS ’82, LAS; MS ’84, journalism) will be the first to tell you journalism is not just a job to her—it’s who she is. 

Digging deep to uncover truths, holding those in power accountable, and asking the tough questions comes naturally to the investigative correspondent and senior editor at NPR who has spent the better part of three decades making a significant impact in the field of journalism—and earning numerous accolades for her exceptional work along the way.

In December, Thompson was honored with the 2024 Washington Association of Black Journalists Legacy Award for breaking barriers and increasing access and opportunities to people of color in journalism. 

Thompson, who also teaches journalism as an associate professor at George Washington University, recently added the title of author to her long list of accomplishments.

In Forgotten Souls: The Lost Tuskegee Airmen, Thompson shares true stories from families of the first Black military pilots and airmen who didn’t return from Europe in WWII.

“I think being a Black woman whose father was a Tuskegee Airman absolutely helped me connect with these families,” said Thompson. Her debut book is set to come out in the fall of 2025.

Thompson was born and raised in Chicago. She joined her two brothers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and earned a bachelor’s degree in speech communication in 1982. After graduation, Thompson considered going to law school but decided to pursue a master’s degree in journalism after working for a semester at an NBC affiliate in Chicago.

Thompson says she has fond memories of her time at Illinois, especially as a member of the Black Chorus led by the legendary conductor and professor of music Ollie Watts Davis, and as a student of professor of journalism Robert “Bob” Reid, who passed away in 2004.

“My savior was Professor Bob Reid. He was my advisor, and he was my savior. He really cared and had a big hand in whatever success I have had,” she said.

Thompson, who had mostly broadcast experience coming out of college, joined The News-Gazette after graduate school where she began to cultivate her inquisitive nature.

“I just had this sort of curiosity. When I would [work on] stories, I wanted to know more and more and more,” she said.

It’s also where she found another important mentor in John Foreman, long-time editor and publisher who passed away in 2018.

Thompson said she learned a lot from Foreman, including how to dig deeper on a story, and kept in touch with him long after she left the newspaper.

“I sent him every big story I did over the years because I wanted him to be proud and see what I turned into,” she said in this News-Gazette article.  

Thompson said she would always receive a handwritten note from Foreman in return saying, “I’m proud of you, kiddo”—a gesture she greatly appreciated.

If Thompson’s fire to become an investigative reporter began at The News-Gazette, her post at the Los Angeles Daily News really stoked it.

At the LA newspaper, Thompson spent six months covering the second largest school district in the country, going after stories and breaking news that eventually led to the resignation of the superintendent. Thompson said she was hooked after that.

“That was when it really all started, and I never looked back,” she said.

Thompson, who worked at the Chicago Tribune, The Kansas City Star, and The Gainesville Sun, spent 22 years at The Washinton Post, writing about political corruption, guns and criminal justice, and immigration.

She also served as the Post’s White House correspondent during Barack Obama’s first term, covered the Department of Justice, and was part of a team that won the Pulitzer Prize for National reporting in 2002 and 2016.

“I had a good run. I can't tell you what an amazing time I had at The Washington Post,” she said.

With a desire to broaden her knowledge as a multimedia journalist, Thompson moved to NPR in 2019 and became the inaugural editor of the station’s investigations team in 2021.

Thompson earned a third shared Pulitzer Prize as the investigative reporting coach on “No Compromise,” a podcast about gun rights advocates that won the 2021 Pulitzer for Audio Reporting. She received NPR’s Public Service Journalism award the same year.

Although Thompson admits today’s era of journalism can lack reverence, she still feels it’s a noble and worthwhile profession.

“I still say what we do is very honorable, and I don’t apologize for it,” she said. “It’s powerful. We can have impact, and we can make a difference.”

Thompson couldn’t begin to count the number of hours she’s spent over the years working on her craft, but she doesn’t mind as long as she’s producing good journalism.

When she’s at home in her office she feels inspired by the more than four dozen national, regional, and local awards that hang on her wall.

“When I think I can’t do something, I just look around the room and say, ‘I got this,’” she said.

—Kelly Youngblood