Background
Nababan was born with the name James Parulian Putra Nababan in Jakarta on 28 July 1974.
Nababan was born with the name James Parulian Putra Nababan in Jakarta on 28 July 1974.
He is second of three children. Nababan moved to Sioux City, Iowa, United States, in 1988 to continue his studies through a student exchange. He graduated from high school in one year.
Influenced by his father, he chose to be a journalist.
He enrolled in the department of journalism of Midland Lutheran College, Fremont, Nebraska, at the age of 16. He graduated three years later.
During his time in college, he held a part-time job as a security guard for two years. After returning to Indonesia, Nababan worked for Forum Keadilan magazine, Koran Merdeka (later renamed Rakyat Merdeka), and Metro television He has worked for RCTI since 2004.
In 2008, PDI Perjuangan offered to make him a legislative candidate for the party in the 2009 election, but he refused.
In March 2010, he interviewed United States President Barack Obama about his childhood in Indonesia.