Former Host of NPR's '1 A,' Host of the MSNBC show 'The Week With Joshua Johnson'

Joshua Johnson | Biography

Johnson is expected to host an evening news analysis program as a part of the MSNBC's expansion

• By Ojasbi
• Update : August 24, 2021

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Joshua Johnson is a former radio host of the NPR program, '1A.' He currently hosts MSNBC's weekend segment 'The Week With Joshua Johnson.'

Who is Joshua Johnson?

Johnson is an American journalist who has been hosting The Week With Joshua Johnson, a weekend feature on MSNBC, since 2020. His previous work experience includes stints at WTVJ, a Miami-based NBC affiliate, WPEC-TV, a CBS affiliate, WLRN Miami Herald News, an FM broadcast, KQED, a radio station, and WAMU's nationally syndicated radio show 1A.

Johnson is an openly gay man who believes and preaches equality.

Early Life and Education

Johnson was born on 22 March 1980 in West Palm Beach, Florida. His father is a retired entrepreneur who had served in the United States Army during the Vietnam War, and his uncle, a Mariner. His mother is a retired teacher and librarian. Johnson has a stepfather who is a Palm Beach County teachers' union official.

School Education

For high school, Johnson went to an international baccalaureate public high school, Suncoast Community High School in Riviera Beach. In a 2020 interview with the Sun-Sentinel, he reminisced on his high school experiences. Johnson described Suncoast Community High School as a melting pot encompassing diverse students. He shared that it educated him on intersectionality (layers of marginalization) before the term was even coined. It further made him comprehend the difference in privileges.

College Education

In 1998, he enrolled at the University of Miami, School of Communication, to pursue a Bachelor's degree in Broadcasting & Theatre Arts. Amidst his period at the University, Johnson was recognized with several honors for his remarkable academic performances. He was on the dean's list for three semesters - fall 1998, fall 1999, and fall 2000. Those students who achieve a 3.5 or higher GPA are on the dean's list. 

Furthermore, in the spring 2000 semester, Johnson was added to Provost's Honor Roll. It is an acknowledgment to students who achieve a 3.7 or more GPA. He was also recognized by Alpha Epsilon Rho, a national broadcasting honors society, for his academic excellence. During his graduation year, in April 2002, he was listed among the top five outstanding seniors by the School of Communication.

Career

From an early age, Johnson was fascinated with broadcasting. Radio was incredible to him, and television was awe-inspiring. In 2020, he told Politico that he had known from a young age that he wanted to be a broadcaster.

Johnson's first job in journalism was at WTVJ, a Miami-based NBC affiliate. His other professional experiences include Planning Assignment Editor at WPEC-TV, a CBS-affiliated television station in West Palm Beach, Florida, from 2003 to 2004, and his contribution as an anchor and reporter for WLRN, an FM broadcast from 2004 to 2010. At WLRN, he additionally acquired expertise in drafting grants as a finalist in the Knight News Challenge, a media innovation financing initiative. 

From 2010 to 2016, Johnson worked as a morning newscaster at KQED, a radio station in San Francisco, California. Between March and May 2016, he created and hosted Truth Be Told, a nationwide radio series that delves on race concerns, for the radio station. He also lectured on podcasting as an Advanced Radio Course at the University of California, Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism from 2015 to 2016. 

National Public Radio's '1A'

He also hosted the WAMU-produced national discussion program called 1A on National Public Radio (NPR) which was the follow-up to the long-term Diane Rehm Show. 1A delves into topics including policy, politics, sports, technology, pop cultures, and humor and educates listeners on what binds everyone together despite the stratification and distinction in the country. He presented the program for more than four years, from November 2016 and December 2019. 

MSNBC

Presently, Johnson is employed at MSNBC. He joined MSNBC in 2020 and hosts a weekend segment, The Week With Joshua Johnson. Besides, he is also a member of the National Association Of Black Journalists.

MSNBC's The Week With Joshua Johnson is running through its second season as of August 2021. But, according to Johnson, from an interview with the Sun-Sentinel in 2020, he considers the program a means for him to cope with something he suffers from and believes others do as well. 

He said, "These days we are awash in a river of information. Often, once you pull yourself out of that river, you don't remember anything. Nothing sticks. That's where The Week is trying to come in to provide some context, to kind of dam up the river, for two hours, two nights a week." 

The Week delves deep into significant occurrences along the week with newscasters, journalists, politicians, and viewers. It aims to provide intelligent analysis and vital context rather than just releasing headlines. 

According to an article published by Deadline in July 2021, NBCU News Group is scheduling 200 new roles in a substantial expansion of its streaming and digital activities. It implies that NBC News Now is planning to have several new hours of live and diverse coverages. Johnson is expected to host an evening news analysis program as a part of the expansion.

Personal Life

Johnson is out and openly a gay man. In a 2017 interview with Washington Blade, Johnson shared he had a boyfriend who ran a barbershop in San Francisco. In the same interview, he made it clear that being homosexual and black had no negative consequences on his career choices.

He also described his birthplace, South Florida, as a highly gay-friendly one and further claimed that he intended to achieve his career by being honest about sexuality. Johnson was also well aware of the biases that the LGBT community faces, but he didn't want to propagate the stigmas by concealing his sexuality.