Markina Brown
Markina Brown, First in Meteorology
She has just arrived in Southern California and has already changed the weather … the weather news that is, for the better.
By Yussuf J. Simmonds
Ass’t. Managing Editor
Since August 2008, Markina Brown has been a meteorologist at KTLA one of Southern California’s leading television stations. Unlike some who interpret and report weather phenomena, Brown is fully capable and uniquely qualified, having earned a degree in Geosciences with a concentration in Meteorology from Mississippi State University.
The story of her career is one of inspiration as a young African American woman; she has already made her mark in the field of Meteorology and weather news reporting. Speaking to the Sentinel, Brown said with a tone of pride, “I was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, I am one of the few Black women in the country with a degree in Meteorology and I have been told that I am the first Black woman meteorologist in Southern California.”
With those credentials, Brown is taking the West Coast by storm (sic) as the primary meteorologist for KTLA’s Prime News. Prior to coming to L.A., she was at WOIO/WUAB-TV in Cleveland, Ohio and before that she served as the weekday meteorologist at WBBM-TV in Chicago, Illinois.
As an African America ‘first’ with Chicago as her adopted home, like the President, she said, “We have Barack Obama and we have Markina Brown.
Both her professional and academic careers have additional highlights. In the former, Brown worked as a meteorologist/reporter at KPLR-TV, St. Louis, Missouri and at WSYM in Lansing, Michigan. And in the latter, she earned a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism and Cinematic Arts, and in Political Science with a concentration in International Relations from Central Michigan State University.
She displayed her vast reservoir of knowledge by explaining what International Relations is all about. “It entails political science from places around the world,” she said. “If I were to study just plain Political Science, it would just be politics of the United States,” she added.
In addition to her academic and professional qualifications, Brown is unique as a “degreed” meteorologist versus a “certified” one. As she explained, “Some of the meteorologists on the air are certified which is different from having a degree in meteorology.” And she has blended in neatly with the Southern California landscape and of course, its weather.
“Being from Detroit and having recently worked in Cleveland, it is very flat; we don’t have mountains or hilly areas there – no valleys and canyons this is beautiful.”
Brown is holds the Television Seal of Approval from the American Meteorological Society and the National Weather Association. As a reporter, she is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists, the National Council of Negro Women and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.
She is also an honorary member of the Urban League of Greater and the Sisters in the Spirit Tour has named her one of Cleveland’s most distinguished women.
