Whit Johnson

Last updated

Whit Johnson
Born
Stephen Whitney Johnson

(1982-06-25) June 25, 1982 (age 42)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
Alma mater San Francisco State University (B.A.)
OccupationJournalist
Television KSL-TV
KNDO
KNDU
CBS News (2009–2012)
KNBC (2012–2017)
ABC News (2018–present)
Spouse
Andrea Fujii
​
(m. 2007)​
Children2

Stephen Whitney "Whit" Johnson [1] (born June 25, 1982) is an American journalist and co-anchor of the weekend editions of Good Morning America , the anchor of the Saturday edition of ABC World News Tonight , and he is also fill-in and substitute anchor of Good Morning America, and ABC World News Tonight.

Contents

Early life

Johnson was born and raised in San Francisco. [2] He graduated from San Francisco State University with a B.A. degree in Television and Radio Broadcasting. [3] Johnson credits his stepfather, TV and radio host Dean Edell, with having introduced him to the world of broadcasting. [4]

Career

Johnson began his on-air career in 2005 with NBC affiliate KNDO/KNDU-TV in Yakima/Tri-Cities, Washington, as a reporter and evening weekend anchor. He next worked for Salt Lake City, Utah, NBC affiliate KSL-TV as a reporter and as an anchor on evening weekdays. [4]

Johnson joined CBS News as a Washington, D.C.–based network correspondent and fill-in anchor in 2009. While there, much of his coverage focused on the White House, on Capitol Hill and foreign policy issues. [5] [6] He reported on the death of Osama bin Laden and interviewed then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over the course of her tour of the Middle East in 2011. [3] [4]

In 2012, Johnson joined KNBC in Los Angeles as an anchor and general-assignment reporter. In that role, he reported from Boston for Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential run, covered the Asiana flight 214 crash landing at San Francisco International Airport, and reported on the Washington D.C. Navy Yard mass shootings. In June 2014, he joined Today in L.A. , as co-anchor alongside Daniella Guzman. [3] [4] He traveled to Sochi to cover the 2014 Winter Olympics and later to Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Summer Olympics. In Rio, he co-hosted a special report on the Opening Ceremony that won a Los Angeles Emmy. [3] [7]

ABC News announced Johnson had joined as a correspondent in March 2018. [8] In September of that same year, Johnson took over as a co-anchor of the weekend editions of Good Morning America. [9]

Johnson served as a lead correspondent for ABC News throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. During the 2020 election cycle he covered election week from Arizona as well as the Democratic primaries. [3] On February 1, 2021, ABC announced that Johnson would become Saturday anchor of ABC World News Tonight , replacing the departing Tom Llamas, but that he would also continue to co-anchor Good Morning America on the weekends. [10]

Personal life

Johnson lives in the New York area with his wife (married on August 11, 2007), Andrea Fujii, an ABC News reporter, and their two daughters. [11]

In 2018, Johnson unwittingly found two of his father's brothers through a 23andMe DNA test. [12]

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References

  1. ↑ "Stephen Whitney Johnson, Born 06/25/1982 in California". californiabirthindex.org. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  2. ↑ Johnson, Whit (February 3, 2024). "Video Lifelong 49ers fan and 'GMA' anchor gets a Super Bowl surprise". ABC News. Archived from the original on February 5, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Whit Johnson Official Biography". ABC News . February 5, 2021. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Whit Johnson Joins NBC4 Southern California as Co-Anchor and General Assignment Reporter". Business Wire . August 3, 2012. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Whit Johnson Joins CBS News Newspath". ViacomCBS Press Express. August 27, 2009. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  6. ↑ "About Whit". whitjohnson.com. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  7. ↑ "Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards 2017: Full Winners List". Variety . July 22, 2017. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  8. ↑ Petski, Denise (March 12, 2018). "ABC News Taps KNBC's Whit Johnson As NY-Based Correspondent". Deadline. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  9. ↑ "Johnson, Whit" [@whitjohnson] (September 30, 2018). "First show in the books with new weekend team on @GMA!!" (Tweet). Retrieved May 10, 2022– via Twitter.
  10. ↑ Ted Johnson (February 1, 2021). "Linsey Davis, Whit Johnson To Anchor Weekend 'World News Tonight'". Deadline. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Andrea Fujii". Santa Clara Magazine. October 30, 2012. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  12. ↑ Johnson, Whit (July 13, 2018). "DNA test 'accidentally unlocks family mystery' for ABC News correspondent". ABC News . Retrieved January 27, 2022.
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