Roland Martin Biography & Net Worth

Roland Martin Biography & Net Worth

Read this brilliant piece for all the information that you seek concerning the successful award-winning and versatile journalist, Roland Martin, who is also a columnist, commentator, and author of several noteworthy books. He works for TV One Cable Network as an analyst and also appears on a variety of shows on CNN as a commentator. Named by Ebony Magazine for three consecutive years as one of the Most Influential African Americans in the U.S., he has picked up several notable awards in his career due to his excellence. A provocative and insightful analyst, Martin has appeared many times on a variety of American networks, and also on media outlets in South Africa, Canada, Australia, Columbia, and Italy. From October 2005 to October 2008, he worked at WVON-AM in Chicago as a radio talk show host. A graduate of Jack Yates High School-Magnet School of Communications, Martin advanced to Texas A&M University where he earned a journalism degree in 1991 before joining Louisiana Baptist University for his master’s degree in Christian Communications.

He is the former general manager and executive editor of the Chicago Defender, the United States’ most historic Black newspaper. He is also the former founding news editor for Savoy Magazine and the former founding editor of BlackAmericaWeb.com. Previously, Martin served as the owner/publisher of the Christian monthly newsletter Dallas-Fort Worth Heritage. He also has served as managing editor of the Dallas Weekly and the Houston Defender which he led to multiple local, state, and national journalism honors. Moreover, Martin has also worked for KRLD/1080 AM as morning drive reporter, for KKDA-AM in Dallas as a news director and morning anchor, at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram as a city hall reporter, and for the Austin American-Statesman as county government and neighbors reporter. He has also written articles for Ebony and Essence magazines.

Roland Martin’s Early Life & Education

Now 52 years old, Roland Martin was born on November 14, 1968. He was born and raised in Houston, Texas, the United States of America, and equally obtained his education around the same region. His maternal great-grandparents were immigrants who left Haiti to Louisiana where they finally settled and raised their family.

Martin discovered his passion for communication during his time as a student of Jack Yates High School. During this time, he was a member of the magnet program in Communications in his school. After completing his secondary education in 1987, he joined Texas A&M University to pursue a degree in Journalism. He was in college when he started to work for the Bryan-College Station Eagle and KBTX channel 3. In addition, he also attended the National Association of Black Journalist convention.

Martin is an alumnus of Louisiana Baptist University from which he graduated with a master’s degree in Christian Communications. He also holds honorary degrees which he received from the University of Maryland and Florida Memorial University.

Professional Life & Journalism Career

After graduating from college with a degree in journalism in 1991, Roland started working at the Austin American-Statesman. He soon left the station and joined Forth Worth Star-Telegram as a city hall reporter.

In 1995, he joined KRLD radio as a sports reporter. He later moved to KKDA radio’s 730 AM and worked there as a news editor and morning host. He was an editor at Dallas Weekly as well. Beginning in 2000, he worked as a freelance producer reporting the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles.

In 2001, Martin became the first editor/supervisor of Blackamericanweb.com, a venture founded by Tom Joyner and his own wife Rev. Jacquie Hood Martin. He later returned to radio as a news correspondent and worked for the American Urban Radio Network. Moreover, he also worked as a sports commentator on the radio station WOL’s Fifth Quarter Program based in Washington, D.C.

Roland also established the ROMAR Media Group in Dallas, and later became the first news editor for the newly introduced Savoy magazine. In the year 2007, he appeared on CNN for the first time and also made a debut appearance on Fox television’s conservative-oriented O’Reilly Factor. This was after he was offered a position by the nation’s most historic black newspaper the Chicago Defender as a consultant in 2004. As hardworking as he can be, Martin rose to work as a general manager/executive editor of the Chicago Defender. At the same time, he worked at WVON-AM in Chicago, serving as a radio talk show host.

Books

As an author, Martin has written many notable books. These include;

• Listening to the Spirit Within 50 Perspectives on Faith
• Speak, Brother! A Black Man’s View of America
• The First: President Barack Obama’s Road to the White House

Awards & Achievements

Roland Martin has won over 30 professional awards for journalistic excellence. He is the recipient of the National Association of Minorities in Cable, the National Associated Press-Managing Editors Conference, top reporting honors from the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), and a regional Edward R. Murrow Award from the Radio-TV News Director. During his time at KRLD, he was honored by the Houston Press Club and also received the top sports reporting award from the NABJ.

Ebony listed him three consecutive times in 2008, 2009, and 2010 as one of the 150 Most Influential African Americans in the country. Martin is a winner of the 2009 NAACP Image Award for Best Interview, as well as the 2008 NAACP Image Award for Best Interview. As a CNN reporter, he was a member of the Best Political Team on Television that helped the network win a Peabody Award in 2009. Martin is also included on the Daily Telegraph’s list of the 50 top political pundits. The National Association of Black Journalists awarded the 2008 President’s Award for his works in media platforms. Furthermore, he was inducted into the Texas A&M University Journalism Hall of Honor.

Martin is a life member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and a life member of the National Association of Black Journalists. He has been received honorary degrees from the University of Maryland-University College and Florida Memorial University.

Personal Life & Family

Roland and his wife, Jacquie Hood Martin have been married since the year 2001. However, he was married to Deborah Duncan earlier in 1993 until their divorce six years later. His current wife, Rev. Jacquie Hood Martin is the vice president of Kennedy-King College in Chicago and also the author of the inspirational book ‘Fulfilled! The Art and Joy of Balanced Living’.

Martin and his wife and their children currently reside in Chicago, the United States of America.

Roland Martin Net Worth

Born Roland Sebastian Martin, this seasoned American journalist, author and commentator has been a striking force in the journalism field since he started his career in the 1990s. He is a CNN analyst based in Chicago at this time and has hosted many television programs at the network since joining in 2007. He is also the managing director and host of #RolandMartinUnfiltered. This is the first online show in history that mainly focuses on news and analysis of sports, politics, entertainment, and culture from unambiguously an African-American approach.

It has been reported that the veteran journalist is currently entitled to an annual salary of around $100,000 and $250,000. His primary source of income acquisition is his career as a journalist, and with his net worth pegged at $3 million as per various sources, it’s safe to say that this man has had a stellar professional career.