Kenneth Burns is WHYY’s New Jersey reporter. He joined the station in 2018 as an anchor. He also contributed stories and won a 2020 Keystone Media Award for one of them.
Prior to WHYY, he covered city government and urban issues for WYPR in Baltimore, his first stop in public media. His coverage of the Freddie Gray police trials won a 2017 National Headliner Award. Burns began his career shortly after high school as an intern and later news assistant at WTOP in Washington, D.C. He would go on to work for several commercial broadcasting outlets as a reporter, anchor, and producer in the D.C. and Baltimore metro areas.
The native Marylander and recently adopted New Jerseyan is a graduate of Towson University and Anne Arundel Community College.
More from the Contributor
Mistrial declared again in hate crime case against former South Jersey police chief
This is the second time a jury has been deadlocked on the charges of hate crime assault and civil rights deprivation against former Bordentown Chief Frank Nucera Jr.
4 years ago
Jury begins deliberations in hate crime trial for former South Jersey police chief
A mostly white jury will decide whether Bordentown’s former police chief Frank Nucera slammed the head of a handcuffed teenager into a door jamb because he was Black.
4 years ago
N.J. is sharing more data on COVID activity in schools. Here’s what it shows
In addition to data on the number of COVID-19 cases in N.J. schools, it includes information on staff vaccination rates and the number of students learning remotely.
4 years ago
Hate crime trial for former N.J. police chief will go to the jury on Monday
The defense only called one witness, an FBI agent on the case who called it “atypical.” Federal prosecutors and Frank Nucera Jr.’s attorneys will give closing arguments on Mon
4 years ago
N.J. coronavirus update: State pushes boosters, especially in under-vaccinated areas
State Police will be helping to set up clinics in Burlington and Somerset counties in the coming weeks. A Gloucester County site has been operating since September.
4 years ago
Star witness in ex-Bordentown police chief’s hate crime retrial wraps 4 days of testimony
Lt. Nathan Roohr cooperated with the FBI to secretly record his former boss, then-Bordentown Police Chief Frank Nucera Jr. for nine months in 2016.
4 years ago
Trenton approves $10 million overhaul of its emergency radio system
After nearly being shut down last month, New Jersey’s capital city will replace its emergency radio system for first responders which had been riddled with service issues.
4 years ago
New Jersey officials encourage residents to ‘get a booster’
Echoing Dr. Anthony Fauci, Persichilli said boosters are “not a bonus,” but an essential part in fighting the pandemic.
4 years ago
Frank Nucera hate crime retrial begins in New Jersey
Federal prosecutors are trying their hate crime case against former Bordentown Township Police Chief Frank Nucera again after a deadlocked jury two years ago.
4 years ago
‘Black Students Matter’ rally calls out discrimination at Rowan University
Citing a history of racial intimidation and bias incidents, Rowan University’s NAACP chapter organized a rally to get the attention of university officials.
4 years ago
Steve Sweeney has conceded. What does that mean for South Jersey?
N.J. Senate President Steve Sweeney has conceded his reelection bid. It’s the end of an era for South Jersey, so what comes next?
4 years ago
Listen 4:54
You now must request a straw with your soft drink in New Jersey
As part of an impending overall ban on single-use plastics in the Garden State, a restriction on straws took effect Thursday.
4 years ago