Nixon Kariithi was born in central Kenya, on the southwestern slopes of Mt. Kenya. He received a Bachelor of Arts (Honors) from the University of Nairobi (Nairobi, Kenya) in 1989 and a Master of Journalism Studies from the University of Wales (Cardiff, UK) in 1994. Currently, he is a PhD candidate in political science at the University of Houston, Houston, Texas. He lives in Houston with his wife, Emily, and son, Brian. This fabulous trio loves reading, jazz and pizza.

Between 1986 and 1992, Kariithi held editorial positions at the Financial Review (banned in April 1989 by the government of Kenya) and the Daily Nation (Kenya), and was correspondent for the African Economic Digest (London), Environment Matters (London), and the African Farmer (New York). In October 1992, he co-founded The Economic Review (Nairobi) with two other financial journalists and was the weekly magazine's assistant editor until fall 1993 when he left to pursue the master's degree in journalism.

Since 1993, Kariithi has published widely on African Media systems and international communications. Among these is three chapters in edited books: Centenary of African Film, Gaston Kabore et al (eds), Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso: Federation of African Film Makers (FEPACI), and Paris: Presence Africaine, 1995; Media and Sustainable Development in Africa, Charles Okigbo (ed) Nairobi: Africa Council for Communication Education, 1995 and Handbook for African Journalists, Macolm Mallette (ed) World Press Freedom Committee. He also contributed three major entries to The Encyclopedia of Television, Horace Newcomb (ed) Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1997.