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Longtime Local Newscaster, Bruce Johnson, Has Passed Away

By MCS Staff

Bruce Johnson, a local newscaster who started working at Channel 9 on March 16, 1976 when he was 25 years old, has died, according to a tweet by Mayor Muriel Bowser (seen below).

Johnson retired in November of 2020, after 44 years at WUSA 9. Johnson released his book ‘Surviving Deep Waters’ earlier this year in February and was scheduled to discuss his memoir at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in NW DC later this week.

There is no word on a cause of death at this moment.

Per Wikipedia:

Johnson has been awarded 22 Emmys by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS).

In 2018 Bruce Johnson was honored by NATAS with its Board of Governors Award. He also won the Ted Yates Award in 1984, given only with the unanimous consent of the NATAS Board of Directors. In 2003, the Society of Professional Journalistsinducted Bruce Johnson into the Hall of Fame. He was also a member of the Washington, D.C. Hall of Fame.

Johnson has been recognized by the D.C. City Council, D.C. Mayors, and hundreds of civic and community groups and charities for his service work.

Bruce Johnson is listed as a noted alumnus of Northern Kentucky University where he graduated in 1973 with a degree in Political Science. He later earned a master’s degree in Public Affairs from the University of Cincinnati. In 2018, Johnson returned to NKU as Commencement speaker. He was awarded an honorary Doctorate degree.

Johnson is a member of the National Press Club (NPC), The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), and Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. He is a national advocate for survivors of heart attacks and cancer.