The story goes on under the ad Over the decades, Mr. Johnson has developed a reputation for covering tougher parts of the city, gaining insight into these residents on the spot, and taking their perspectives into account when asking relevant questions to city leaders. “The real Bruce Johnson is the man you would see on the streets, usually two or three steps in front of his cameraman, trying to get wherever he goes,” said the veteran Washington-based radio, television and television reporter. , Tom Serwood. Mr Johnson, he added, developed a style that was “friendly and rude”. At a 1987 press conference, DC Mayor Marion Barry condemned residents who appeared to be abusing and overloading the 911 emergency response system to address more common health problems. The story goes on under the ad “A while ago, you blamed a specific department, I guess low-income people in the city, for abusing the 911 system,” Mr Johnson said. “You referred to a woman who had 12 or 14 children, how you punished her. You talked about a woman who did not keep her yard clean. “Is there an issue, a message here that you have for low-income people in the city?” The mayor replied: “I think the government has a responsibility to take care of the poor in areas where they can not take care of themselves. “But the message here is self-reliance, self-help, self-responsibility.” “Sir. Mayor,” Mr. Johnson continued, “you will not find them in them either [poor] communities the most violent crimes, the most domestic violence? People with serious health problems? “Isn’t it reasonable to call more ambulances than people who can get in the car and drive for help?” The story goes on under the ad “I’m not saying that,” the mayor said, changing the subject. “That’s why we want to try to elevate the whole community. That is why I have offered a job to every person who wants to work in the summer “. In his “Mayor for Life” memoir, Barry wrote that Mr. Johnson was always a simple, off-record guy. I trusted his political ideas and views. “But he said that at the end of the day, the journalists all had to do their job, whether they liked what was happening or not.” As he amassed 22 local Emmy Awards and other accolades, he gradually balanced his daily reporting and anchoring tasks over the weekend. He also featured “Off Script With Bruce Johnson,” a news bulletin for national and local news outlets in which Mr. Johnson interviewed “the people behind the headlines,” according to WUSA. He occasionally hosted documentaries and tributes, including one on the institutionalization of the mentally ill in Washington, D.C., and was reported by world capitals such as Paris and Dakar. The story goes on under the ad In 1992, at the age of 42, Mr. Johnson suffered a massive heart attack while on a routine mission in southeastern Washington. “The pain was intense and relentless and I immediately thought someone had shot me,” he later wrote in his book on cardiovascular disease, “Heart to Heart: 12 People Discover Better Lives After The Heart Attacks.” “My hands moved to my chest to put pressure on a bleeding that did not exist. Without blood. There is no hole in my stuck white shirt. “The pain was somewhere deep in my chest, where I could not reach it.” Mr. Johnson also interviewed other heart attack survivors and produced and coordinated a documentary on heart disease affecting the black community, “Before You Eat Church Food, Watch This Video.” Mr. Johnson also spoke about overcoming personal struggles, including long-term alcohol use before a heart attack and depressive crises afterwards, and became a community advocate for heart health. He spent two months recovering from a heart attack before returning to Channel 9 and starting to run. Eight years later, he completed the 26-mile Marine Corps Marathon. Chester Bruce Johnson was born in Louisville, June 5, 1950. He graduated in 1973 from the University of North Kentucky with a degree in political science and in 1975 received a master’s degree in public affairs from the University of Cincinnati. The story goes on under the ad He spent four years working in Cincinnati on WCPO-TV, then a subsidiary of CBS, before joining Channel 9 in Washington. One of the first stories in the Region that recognized him was the 1977 siege of Muslim hostages by a city government building, the Islamic Center and B’nai B’rith International. One person was killed. It was later introduced to the Hall of Fame of the local capital of the Society of Professional Journalists. He continued to cover areas he believed were most affected by poverty and violence. In 2004, Mr. Johnson interviewed six Ballou High School seniors about life in Washington’s poorest neighborhoods as he tried to graduate from school. “I went home, analyzed and cried for some of these kids,” Johnson told the Washington Times. “They do not have a chance.” The story goes on under the ad His first marriage, to ex-Madge Williams, ended in divorce and he married Lori Smith in 2003. They had homes in Washington and Lewes, Del. In addition to his wife, the survivors include two children from his first marriage, Bowie Brandon Johnson, Md., And Kurshanna Dean, of Washington. an adopted daughter, Carolyn Smith of Yonkers, NY. many brothers; and four grandchildren. He wrote the memoir “Surviving Deep Waters”, published in 2022. Throughout his career, Mr. Johnson continued to appear at press conferences and interview people on the street – a reference role he found more satisfying than reading scripts behind an anchor office. “That’s where you really make your money,” Johnson told the Times in 2004. “I do not understand how you can come to work every day and just anchor. Boring.”
