Early life
Johnson was born and raised in West Palm Beach, Florida, the only son of a public school teacher and Vietnam veteran. He became interested in journalism as a child, inspired by African American journalists such as Ed Bradley, Bernard Shaw (journalist), Bernard Shaw, and Dwight Lauderdale.Career
Johnson graduated from the University of Miami and began his career in public radio working for a collaborative project between WLRN-FM, WLRN and the ''Miami Herald,'' from 2004 to 2010. In 2010, Johnson relocated to San Francisco to work for KQED-FM, KQED, an NPR affiliate, where he served as morning newscaster until early 2016. In 2016, he hosted the radio series ''Truth Be Told,'' produced by KQED and distributed by Public Radio International. ''Truth Be Told'' dealt with issues of race in America, and four episodes were broadcast nationally. He was also a substitute host of KQED's ''Forum (KQED), Forum'' and taught courses in podcasting at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. In September 2016, he guest hosted ''The Diane Rehm Show'' for two days, and in November, Diane Rehm, Rehm announced Johnson would be taking over her time slot. Johnson served as the host of ''1A (radio), 1A'', which was distributed by NPR, from 2017 through 2019. In late 2019, he announced that he would be leaving ''1A'' on December 20 to become an anchor for MSNBC in 2020.Personal life
Johnson declines to discuss his own personal opinions, and says he has been called both conservative and liberal. Johnson is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists, and The National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association.References
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