John Johnson (reporter), Date of Birth, Place of Birth

    

John Johnson (reporter)

American television news anchorman/senior correspondent

Date of Birth: 20-Jun-1938

Place of Birth: New York City, New York, United States

Profession: reporter, television presenter, filmmaker

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Gemini


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About John Johnson (reporter)

  • John Johnson (born June 20, 1938) is an American television news anchorman/senior correspondent and documentary filmmaker.
  • He had been a fixture in New York City television news for many years. Johnson joined ABC News in 1968, ultimately becoming the first African American documentary producer, director and writer at a broadcast network.
  • He won distinction for his documentaries Welfare Game and Strangers in Their Own Land: The Puerto Ricans.
  • He was one of the first black filmmakers in the prestigious Directors Guild of America.
  • Johnson then became a network correspondent and covered such stories as the Attica prison uprising. In 1972, Johnson began a long run at WABC.
  • In the late 1980s, he served as a rotating anchor of the 6 p.m.
  • newscast in the aftermath of Roger Grimsby's firing with Kaity Tong and Bill Beutel.
  • Johnson, who had also anchored the station's weekend newscasts and served as a reporter prior to this, eventually returned to reporting as senior correspondent after WABC made the decision to have Beutel anchor the 6 p.m.
  • newscast by himself.
  • During his years as senior correspondent, Johnson covered the release of Nelson Mandela from a South African prison and his presidential election.
  • He reported from the first Persian Gulf war, the war in Bosnia and was one of the first reporters landing with American troops in Somalia.
  • One of Johnson's last assignments at WABC was his reporting at the O.J.
  • Simpson murder trial in 1994-95. While the trial was still going on, Johnson left WABC in March 1995 and became co-anchor of WCBS' 5 p.m.
  • and 11 p.m.
  • newscasts in June of that same year.
  • Johnson remained at the station until October 1996 when, along with several other notable personalities, he was fired.
  • The timing of the firings was peculiar as Johnson and co-anchor Michele Marsh had offered a preview of the upcoming 11pm newscast at the end of the 6 pm news, with the firings occurring in the interim four and a half hours.Johnson was not out of work for long, as he and his WCBS co-anchor Michele Marsh were hired by WNBC to anchor the station's new noon newscast.
  • After a year, however, Johnson left WNBC due to personal reasons and never returned to TV. During his 30-year television news career, Johnson won nine Emmys and numerous other awards as a reporter, producer, writer and director.Johnson was to resurface again with the publication of his critically acclaimed autobiography Only Son: A Memoir (Warner Books) in 2002.
  • His memoir achieved notable success in China where it was published in a Chinese language edition.
  • A former associate professor of fine arts and Chairman of the Arts Department at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania and a guest lecturer at other universities before his broadcast career, Johnson then resumed his painting career.
  • His paintings, which have been shown in Europe and the United States, have been featured at The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Walter Wickiser Gallery in Manhattan's art centers: SoHo and Chelsea. Johnson has portrayed himself in such films as CopLand and 54.
  • He was also featured in the award-winning documentary, Eyes on the Prize. In 2016, Johnson's alma mater, the City College of New York, dedicated and opened The John Johnson Archive, a permanent collection of his documentaries, videotape, photos, war memorabilia, documents and personal possessions.
  • The Archive celebrates Johnson's professional legacy and benefits students concentrating in the study of history, journalism, political science, social science and art.
  • Johnson received the CCNY President's Award in 2015 and the Townsend Harris Medal for Outstanding Achievement in 2000 when he was also inducted into the Communications Hall of Fame.

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