Meet Otis Sanford

Otis Sanford is an award-winning writer and professor emeritus in Journalism and Strategic Media at the University of Memphis. He is the author of the critically acclaimed book, “From Boss Crump to King Willie: How Race Changed Memphis Politics”, published in 2017; and co-author of “In a Colorful Place: Seasoned Opinion About Memphis, About Home, About Life”, published in 2020. His third book is scheduled for release in spring 2026.

Otis serves as political analyst and commentator for WATN-TV ABC24 News, as columnist for The Daily Memphian online newspaper and political analyst for WKNO-FM, the NPR radio station in Memphis. He formally held the position of Chair of Excellence in Economic and Managerial Journalism at the University of Memphis where he taught freshmen through graduate level students.

Otis is a respected journalist who has more than 50 years of experience in journalism and has been interviewed by various regional and national news organizations, including NBC Nightly News, the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) News Hour and National Public Radio (NPR).