WHYY News announced earlier this month that veteran and multi-time award-winning journalist Bobbi I. Booker has joined its newsroom.

She is PlanPhilly’s new managing editor, where she edits a team of journalists dedicated to reporting on city planning, development, and the built environment in Philadelphia. 

A Philadelphia native, Booker is a radio host, reporter, editor and producer with nearly four decades of experience in journalism as a mainstay over the years at City Hall and on the arts and culture reporting scene.

“Bobbi’s news expertise and coaching skills are a great addition to the newsroom,” said Sarah Glover, WHYY Vice President of News and Civic Dialogue, in a statement. “We are looking forward to her contributions and shaping of untold urban design stories, and just as important helping to hold our officials to account when it comes to the places and the environment that makes Philadelphia great.” 

For Booker, this latest career chapter is an honor, as she looks forward to having “the opportunity to lead the talented team of reporters at PlanPhilly.” 

“As a journalist, I’ve always been passionate about shedding light on the stories that matter and informing the public on important issues,” said Booker in a statement. “I look forward to continuing that work at WHYY News and to bringing my experience and expertise to the newsroom.”

In addition to this new role, she is also a contributing writer for Philadelphia magazine, features writer for Dosage Magazine, as well as an on-air host for WRTI. 

Throughout her career, Booker has also had stints at Metro Networks, Shadow Traffic Broadcast Service, WWBD, The Philadelphia Tribune, WUSL, CNN, and various other publications and stations. 

Booker also currently serves as the president of The Pen & Pencil Club, one of the oldest press organizations in the United States. Her contributions toward reporting about the city’s Black community has earned her the National Newspaper Publishers Association Merit Award — an honor she has won in four different occasions. 

She's also been adept at giving back and positively impacting the community, as she helped launch live radio broadcasts of City Council meetings to ensure residents could access city developments when she was an undergrad student. 

She earned a degree in broadcast journalism from Temple University, the same university in which she is currently a graduate student finishing up her master's degree in journalism. 

Booker officially began her role at WHYY News on March 24.