WCCO's Ubah Ali Leaves Station To Help Start New Outlet 'The Somali Brief'

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Days after announcing her departure from WCCO-TV, reporter Ubah Ali has revealed her next move: She is the lead reporter for The Somali Brief, a new digital media outlet covering Somali American life.

The new outlet was founded by Sahan Journal's Mukhtar Ibrahim.

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Ali announced her exit from WCCO last week, writing in a post that after three years at the station she was walking away "with a lifetime of stories, lessons and gratitude."

She joined the Twin Cities CBS affiliate in September 2023, according to her station biography, which noted she made history as the first Somali American TV reporter in the Twin Cities.

Born in Kenya, Ali grew up in Rochester and graduated from St. Cloud State University. Before WCCO, she worked as a journalist in Rochester and Milwaukee.

The Somali Brief announced its debut with a launch video whose narrator describes "the lies, the attacks, the accusations directed at Somali Americans from some of the most powerful politicians in America."

The narration plays over clips of political figures disparaging Somalis, news coverage of an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis, and a viral video from Shakopee showing a man and woman hurling racist comments at a Somali family.

"But Somali American life is far bigger than the stories told about us," the narrator says. "Our lives are complex, joyful, ambitious, and too often those stories go untold."

The launch post quickly drew a flood of replies on X. Some users welcomed the new platform, but many others responded with hostility, pointing to the Feeding Our Future case and other fraud scandals involving Somali Minnesotans.

According to its website, The Somali Brief will report on the people, ideas and issues shaping Somali American life, fact-check claims circulating about Somalis, and partner with journalists, creators and community organizations to reach wider audiences.