Wiggins

Bazi Kanani, a graduate of Wiggins High School, anchors 9NEWS’ weekday newscasts at 9 p.m. and is also a reporter. When Bazi joined KUSA in 2003, it was a happy homecoming. She’s a Colorado native, born and raised in Morgan County in the small town of Wiggins.

Bazi says she gained an appreciation for Colorado from her time spent elsewhere. She graduated from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, and also studied literature and language in London and Paris. She began her news career in Las Vegas, Nevada as a writer/producer and there got her start on-air.

She then spent time as an anchor/reporter in Lansing, Michigan and after that, in Buffalo, New York. Bazi received the Michigan Associated Press Award for Best Individual Reporting. While in Buffalo, she was flown to Washington D.C. to help cover the terrorizing sniper shootings in 2002. In Colorado, Bazi has been honored as Broadcast Journalist of the Year by the Colorado Association of Black Journalists.

She has covered a wide range of news stories including crime, storms, soldier funerals, local politics and heart-warming features. “I don’t have a specific category of favorite stories to cover,” says Bazi. “My favorite ones are simply those that show me or teach me something new. They’re the stories that make me see life in a new way, from a different perspective.”

The question most asked Bazi regards the origin of her name. “Bazi” is actually short for Baz’imana which means “ask God.” Bazi’s father is from Tanzania in East Africa. Her name is a traditional tribal name.

Bazi has a wide variety of interests. She enjoys reading, learning foreign languages, travel and theater. She and her husband live near family in Aurora.