John Johnson (reporter)

John Johnson is an American television news reporter. He had been a fixture in New York City television news for many years.

He is best known for his long run at WABC, where he served as a rotating anchor of the 6 p.m. newscast in the aftermath of Roger Grimsby's firing (he had been working on "Eyewitness News" since the 1970s). In the 1990s he switched to reporting, and was one of WABC's original reporters at the O.J. Simpson murder trial in 1994.

During that time, Johnson left WABC for WCBS, and became co-anchor of the station's 5 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts. He was fired by WCBS in the mid-1990s in a mass dismissal where many of the station's news personalities found themselves looking for work.

When WNBC launched a noon newscast, Johnson moved over to that station and became the newscast's anchor. However, Johnson left the station for family reasons after one year into his run at WNBC and never returned to TV.

Before WABC, Johnson worked at ABC News as a documentary producer, director and writer. He then became a network correspondent and covered such stories as the Attica prison uprising.

During his 30-year television news career, Johnson won eight Emmys and numerous other awards.

Johnson was to resurface again with the publication of his well-received autobiography, "Only Son: A Memoir"/Warner Books in 2002.

Johnson, a former associate professor of art at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania and at Indiana University before his broadcast career, resumed his painting career. His paintings, which have been shown in Europe and the United States, were featured at the Walter Wickiser Gallery in Manhattan's art centers: Soho and Chelsea.

Johnson has portrayed himself in such Hollywood movies as "Copland" and "54." He was also featured in the award-winning documentary, "Eyes on the Prize."