Johnson is a Michigan native who reported on the Flint water crisis and many other issues for
Detroit News,
Flint Journal and
NBC News. Johnson is currently the CEO of Brown Impact Media Group, an independent media company she founded in 2014, and sits on the board of directors as vice president for East Lansing Info, a local newsroom covering
East Lansing, Michigan.
Flint Beat Johnson's career as a journalist began in 2002 with
The Detroit News, before moving to the Flint Journal and, later, Flint Beat. She talked about the founding and growth of Flint Beat on the
PBS program "The Follow Up" in 2019, talking about the
news gaps in Flint that drove her to launch the site, and how
community was at the heart of creating Flint Beat. "They're not voiceless," she said in an interview with the
Poynter Institute, "They just don't have a platform. Flint Beat is that platform." In interviews, Johnson has said it's challenging to report on her own community where she grew up and has recounted her own daughter's exposure to lead in Flint's water, as well as to gun violence, as challenges. In 2021, Flint Beat won the "News Media Publication of the Year" award from the Michigan Press Association.
News Movement Following the creation of Flint Beat, Johnson developed an educational program, News Movement, to train students in reporting practices and journalism. The after-school and summer camp program, for youth in North Flint, is grant-funded by the
Ruth Mott Foundation and housed at the Sylvester Broome Empowerment Village. == Facebook censorship ==